Transformers: Dark of the Moon Directed by: Michael Bay Starring: Shia Labeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, John Malkovich Rating: TBD Release Date: July 1, 2011
TRAILER SCORE: 8/10
MY THOUGHTS: This was a very effective teaser trailer. Based on the approach taken, I imagine this teaser excelled at appealing to a very broad audience and at maintaining the average viewer's attention. Well, at least up until the final reveal, when at that point, undoubtedly, the many haters in audience threw their hands in the air and bellowed simultaneous sighs of disappointment. Though it did fare extremely well at the box office, and has throngs of loyal fans, the last installment, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was critically panned; violently and deservedly so. Director Michael Bay and company were smart here to not hit the audience with a transforming robot party right up front. They wisely saved that for the end, for the big reveal, when they finally gave their fans just what they always wanted: Tons of buzzing metal spinning inside of spinning metal buzzing inside of some more spinning metal that buzzes a lot. That sentence is ridiculous, but I'd say it accurately sums up the franchise.
Though this teaser was obviously designed to draw in as many people as possible, by delaying the big reveal to the last possible second, my bet is that the fans of the franchise probably nailed it all down pretty quickly. The score and sound design are very recognizable, at least to those who pay attention to such. I wasn't a huge fan of either of the first two Transformers films, but I did appreciate both the score and the sound design a great deal. All the sonic "skids" and "pangs" that come with the robot transformations are quite aesthetically pleasing, at least to my ears, and Steve Jablonsky is fantastic, easily one of my favorite composers working in Hollywood today.
All in all, I thought this was an excellent teaser. The first shot of the alien spacecraft on the dark side of the moon was very well fashioned. It's an exciting premise; the idea of a giant alien ship hiding on the dark side of the moon. Maybe Bay will redeem himself with this one?