Nerds That Geek Movie Review - 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'

​Written by Scott Edwards

Looking for a new job is never easy, especially if you know what you want to be doing and no one will give you the opportunity fresh out of the gate. Everyone wants the jobs that are a couple positions down the road before they have proven that they are worthy of being there. I have been there more than once and looking back, I am glad that I traveled the path that I did since I learned so much more in doing so. You have to be able to walk before you can run, although most people do not believe this, it may prove to be beneficial in the end.

Not only wanting, but needing a job, Sam Witwicky is on the hunt fresh out of college, but is finding that getting a real job requires much more than he expected. Helping to save the world from the Decepticons more than once, Sam knows that he is better than any of the entry level positions that he is being offered, but will need to prove himself before he can advance. Wanting to become a provider in the house with his new girlfriend Carly, Sam is finding it difficult to find the right fit, especially after meeting her boss and seeing what kind of life she could move on to when she leaves him. After getting his first job as a mail clerk, Sam is approached by a co-worker that knows what is going on in the world with the alien robots that have taken refuge on the planet, but what Sam does not know is that there are more cards in play than even the government is willing to acknowledge. 

While on a mission in Chernobyl, the NEST team and Optimus Prime make a startling discovery, a piece of an ancient space ship from Cybertron that should not exist. Talking to the new liaison in place, Optimus finds out that there was a crash landing on the moon that has been hidden from the public since the sixties. Upset at this revelation, Optimus takes his team up to the moon and finds his predecessor in power down mode and brings him back to Earth, along with a handful of pillars that could have changed the war on Cybertron years ago. Awakening Sentinel Prime, the NEST team finds out more about the Autobot's history, but the importance of these ancient pillars is called into question. Locking the pillars up, the NEST team gets reports of Decepticons once again as Sam Witwicky has been targeted by them and is on their list for extermination. 

Finding out that the Decepticons are killing anyone with knowledge about the moon landing, Sam turns to his old friend Agent Simmons who is trying to get himself to calm down about the alien robot fiasco that has taken over his life for so many years now. Knowing that everything is not what it seems they are able to ask the right questions and find out that Sentinel is the key to everything, but what they do not know is that he has changed sides in the fight for survival. Working with Megatron, Sentinel is ready to put his pillars to good use and give Cybertron a rebirth on Earth. Bringing many Decepticons to the planet, Sentinel holds all of the cards and orders the Autobots to leave or else the citizens of earth will suffer his wrath. Leaving the planet, the Autobot's ship is destroyed and the Decepticons take over the city of Chicago to set up their main base of operations. With hope fading, and with Carly being held hostage in the city, Sam is able to get a little group of ex-NEST fighters together to head into the city to save Carly and fight back. But Chicago is in ruins as the Decepticons impose their will against their future human slaves. 

You know, after watching this movie again outside of the theater, it is not as bad as I remember it being. I cannot get enough of the tiny Autobots and the Wreckers that seemed to steal the movie from the big names that we all know and love.  With more interaction between the robots and seeing how Optimus is destroyed when his predecessor turns to the dark side, it is almost like the robots are developing more human like feelings, at least that is what they say in the movie. I think that they had feelings all along, hence why they are trying to protect the humans on the planet and not leaving after the second movie to let them fend for themselves. I was surprised that Epps made an appearance in the movie as well, not being on the NEST team any longer seems to be a huge step back for him, but when getting the call to help out, he is the first one to come back to the playing field. There are also so many more action sequences in this movie and even if they seem to be hard to follow, you can tell who is winning in the fights between the robots. A good way to finish up a trilogy, but wait, there is more as Age of Extinction made an appearance a couple years back, so I guess that is next on my list.  

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