Okay, wow. I just got back from it. In my opinion, this not only redeems all of ROTF's mistakes, but it is also the best in the series. Just a little better than the first movie. I'll be uploading my full video review tomorrow, but let me just say this. See it. See it, and love it.
Acting was better from all parties involved. The humor actually had more hits than misses. No Twins. Exposition scenes didn't require the reading of EU comics to make sense. Bay pulled away the camera shots a bit more and shook the camera less (note, I didn't have a problem with this in the past, but others did, and it was clearly addressed) Better pacing overall.
Actually, one of my favorite parts about the action was that you could actually tell what the hell was going on this time. Very refreshing, if only the previous two movies had done that.
Oh, I'm not begrudging that to anybody. It's just that I can tell what was going on in films 1+2 to such a degree that I almost don't understand why people say they can't tell what's going on. Maybe I just have good eyes I guess...
Now I defended the critics somewhat during ROTF since I agreed with many aspects they panned the film for. However I have noticed that it's not only the TF franchise that is being panned, it seems many blockbusters are being critisized heavily. And yes, most are not the most thought-invoking, provocative films. They're fun, enjoyable films in which we can escape life for a couple of hours and enjoy something different. Critics tend to hate this and demand a strong, solid story with a moral. The general public doesn't agree and that's why we're seeing such a massive difference in views on films today.
I feel the same way. I can't figure out why some people say they don't know which robot is which because honestly to me its easy. Yes, I know that alot of scenes have so much going on sometimes it hard to really know where to focus but I've always known who is who.
I never had a problem with telling who is who, but I always had a hard time telling just what exactly was going on in the fight.
I have to say that after reading Roger Eberts review, he seems to have come into the film with a pure, immense dislike for the franchise, and Bay as a whole. I realize to many his opinion is highly praised, but I cannot say that I agree with him in regards to this film.
In all seriousness, he missed how the Transformers were the main characters, not the humans. That threw off his entire review.
If I remember correctly, Ebert gave the first one a positive review when a lot of reviews were mixed. A lot of times you'll actually see him give a positive review on a film with reviews that are mixed. Just because his opinion is different there is no need to insult him.
He also stated unequivocally that video games will never, ever be accepted as an artistic medium, roughly three months before the NEA decided that oops, they totally are a medium for artistic expression, and will be funded as such. His follow-up was to 'tell it like it is' that Jackass stuntman Ryan Dunn got what he deserved for drunk driving not 24 hours after the latter died in a car wreck, because some people totally just deserve to die. I'd love to hear from him what embarrassing prior error Siskel made to deserve brain cancer. In summary: Ebert is a wee bit out of touch with reality, and way out of touch with general humanity. I wouldn't trust him.
