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AICN EXCLUSIVE DARK OF THE MOON REVIEW[/align]
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AICN EXCLUSIVE: Capone emerges from the rubble of Chicago to give you the first review of TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON!!!
Published at: May 14, 2011 3:09:31 AM CDT
Hey everyone. Capone here.
It's very late in Chicago right now, and I contemplated getting a decent night's sleep before tackling this review. But I'll be honest, the way my brain is spinning right now with thoughts of images I've just seen and the sheer destruction I've just experienced, sleep ain't happening. You see, I've just come from seeing TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, the third and easily best entry in the Michael Bay-directed franchise, and all I wanted to do when I left the theater was gaze upon my beautiful city, just to make sure it was in one piece.
Let me say two quick things before I dive into this review. The first is that, as a kid growing up, I could not have cared less about Transformers--the toys, TV show, or animated movie. When it was first announced that a live-action TRANSFORMERS movie was being made, directed by Bay, I couldn't have cared less, not because I didn't dig Bay's work but because I simply didn't care about the subject matter. Second, and perhaps more directly relevant to this discussion, the only nightmares I remember having as a child (we're talking Reagan-era 1980s) involved the destruction of the city I was living in at the time, Washington, D.C. I didn't know how many nuclear missiles the Russians had, but I knew damn well that a whole bunch of them were pointed at the nation's capital. Seeing WAR GAMES for the first time as a teen did not do me a bit of good.
Make no mistake, D.C. takes a hell of a beating in DARK OF THE MOON, but it was in the final hour of this TRANSFORMERS chapter that I simply forgot to breathe; there isn't a spare second to do so. For a solid hour, Bay and his CGI-created robot buddies decimate Chicago. And I won't lie: seeing it so realistically and utterly leveled was almost more than I could handle. Granted, people outside of Chicago probably won't have the same reaction I did (I didn't even get a little misty eyed watching California sink into the Pacific during 2012, or New York die in countless sci-fi stories), but our city has never been the victim of an alien hate crime like this before. And as much as it hurt to see, I also loved watching it happen.
Let me also add, in the interest of total disclosure, that the version of DARK OF THE MOON that I saw was not in 3D, probably because some of the effects weren't completely done, which would have forced the film to go in and out of 3D since the unfinished effects wouldn't have been in 3D. But there were definitely a few times watching this movie, where the 3D potential was very clear. As a reminder, Bay shot this movie in 3D, and it will likely look awesome. In addition, the sound mix and design wasn't quite done, so some parts seemed especially loud to the point where voices were buried when they clearly were meant to be heard. But considering that the film doesn't come out until July 4 weekend, it looked remarkably complete.
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON begins with a great concept and a cool backstory (the screenplay is credited to Ehren Kruger on imdb.com, but in the print I saw, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman's names were credited as well; since the credits weren't finished, these may have been a temp credits pulled from the last movie): When the war on Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons appeared lost to the Autobots, their leader, Sentinal Prime, attempted to launch a craft from the planet, loaded with technology that would have saved their people. Instead, it crashed on earth's moon and the Autobots were forced to flee to earth. Coincidentally, this moon crash happened when John F. Kennedy was president, and he immediately made his famous promise to the nation to put a man on the moon (specifically, an American man, so that we would beat the Russians to investigate the crash; see how that works?). In fact, according to this film, every NASA moon landing was actually an investigation of this wrecked spacecraft.
The first hour and a half of DARK OF THE MOON focuses primarily on story (with brief fight and chase sequences pepperd in), but it's actually a cool story about the Autobots finding out that the technology that was supposed to save their race and planet has been sitting on the moon the entire time they've been on earth and nobody bothered to tell them; Optimus Prime is not amused. Naturally, we also get the continuing adventures of Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), who has now graduated college and is desperately looking for his first job. He has a new girlfriend, Carly (supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), who doesn't need an occasion to dress in the tightest clothes imaginable. Bay has a great deal of fun shooting Rosie like he's directing a Victoria's Secret commercial (which he probably did on his days off).
Sam is upset that he's even looking for job, since he believes he should be working side by side with his Autobot friends, going on missions, and helping save he world. The Autobots are now firmly in place as part of America's military, as we see from a brief mission in the Middle East early on. They would have killed Bin Laden years ago. A few Decepticons are still around, including a severely beaten down Megatron, who's especially creepy in DARK OF THE MOON because half of his head is missing and these little spider-like robots crawl in and out of the place where his brain circuitry may have been at one time. He plucks them out, almost without noticing, which somehow makes it worse. Still, Megatron is in good spirits because a plot hatched long ago is coming to fruition.
The clever script manages to find new ways to place Transformers into world events, including one particularly nasty "accident" at the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, which was actually the result of some of the moon technology being experimented on. And I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that Optimus finds a way to retrieve Sentinal Prime's body from the moon wreckage and revive him (voiced to perfection by Leonard Nimoy). I don't feel right talking too much more about the twists and turns that lead to the Chicago showdown between a small group of humans and a massive alien robot army, but when Sam says to the Nest team "Chicago is ground zero!," I got a fucking chill.
Let's talk characters and performances. LaBeouf is LaBeouf; you either dig him or you don't. I happen to dig the guy a great deal, and he seems especially focused in DARK OF THE MOON, as well as broader in the shoulders. Huntington-Whiteley is actually pretty good here and certainly miles better than Megan Fox, if only because she's actually got something to do here beyond just looking like a million bucks. I wouldn't say Carly has a major players in this movie, but at least she's allowed to contribute. Also returning are Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as Nest team leaders Lennox and Epps, an shockingly enough there's little attention paid to personal growth in either of their cases.
And let's not forget John Turturro as former agent Simmons, who has written a book about aliens on earth and become a rich eccentric, trying desperately not to get sucked back into the alien game. Many of his scenes are with a fellow Coen Brothers regular, Frances McDormand, as Charlotte Mearing, the defense department commander in charge of missions involving the Autobots. She's kind of hard ass who couldn't care less that Sam wants to keep playing with his robots. "You're not a soldier; you're a messenger," she rightfully reminds him.
New to the cast are such dignitaries as John Malkovich, largely wasted (but still funny) as Sam's boss at a tech company where he eventually gets hired; Ken Jeong as co-worker with much-needed information on the moon project; Alan Tudyk, very good as Simmons right-hand man; and Patrick Dempsey, as Dylan, Carly's boss and perhaps competition for her affections. Oh, and he also harbors a desire for world domination. I'll thank whatever movie gods I have to that Sam's annoying parents are barely in this TRANSFORMERS installment. Without fail, they take us out of the action on the drop of a dime, they aren't funny, and we don't need comic relief like this anyway when we've got street-smart little robots to entertain us. Yes, they're back too, but let's just say they're toned down. [Hey, everyone. Just to be 100 percent clear, I'm not referring about the "The Twins" here; they are most definitely not in this film. I'm talking about Wheelie (Tom Kenny, who also voiced Skids in REVENGE OF THE FALLEN) and other similar smaller robots, who act like streetwise teenagers.]
So what about the scenes of Chicago's destruction? These sequences are cool for a few reasons, but let me talk about them purely from a purely action standpoint. Because the Decepticons (who have taken over the city for reasons that involve restoring their planet) can detect machines coming into their airspace, the military can't send planes to bomb them. As a result, small teams of Nest soldiers much base jump into the city using suits that effectively make them able to fly. As much as some of you might think this was accomplished with visual effects, guess again. I saw these guys jump off the Willis Tower and the Trump Tower. Those guys fucking flew, then pulled their chutes, then landed. In watching most of the action sequences, it appeared to me that Bay opted to go practical a lot more than he has with this franchise in the past. Pretty much the only totally artificial element in DARK OF THE MOON are the robots, and what a colossal difference it makes.
And there's something about scaling things down somewhat in the Chicago scenes that proves far more rewarding than piling on large numbers of troops and artillery. There's one scene where Sam and Lennox are fighting a single Decepticon alone, and they manage to bring it down after a long, hard fight. Somehow, that small moment resonates so much louder than bombs and explosions that take out several bad-guy robots and half a city block at once (oh, don't worry, there's plenty of that as well). It's nice to see Bay act globally by thinking locally. The other thing that happens in DARK OF THE MOON that's spooky is that during the Chicago invasion sequence, civilians actually die…in large numbers, leaving behind a pile of clothes and a stripped down, scattered skeleton (it sounds silly, I know, but it's actually kind of traumatizing).
I think I'm going to leave TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON for a while, at least until I can see it again in 3D (maybe IMAX to boot, just to really blow out my eyes and mind). So, there may be a follow-up review come July 1 or thereabouts. But, I have to admit, I'm genuinely surprised what a strong effort this film is, not just in terms of its scope, but also in its pacing, performances, and ideas. This one dares to go dark from time to time, and that helped me find the often-lacking component of many Bay films: emotion. You probably won't shed any tears watching DARK OF THE MOON, but you will care when certain lives are lost or in peril. This one might actually rock you a little to your foundation; get excited about that. The summer keeps getting incrementally better from where I'm sitting.[/align]
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- Page 3: Movie starts off on July 20th, 1969 with the moon landing. They then cut off the signal; this is the scene from the announcement trailer. They tell the astronauts that they have 21 minutes.
- Page 4: We see the astronauts find the Ark, which had crash-landed there many years before.
- Page 5: The astronauts enter the Ark. They find Sentinel Prime there, and we see a close-up of his face. "We are not alone" is what the astronauts say.
- Page 6: We then cut to a suspected rogue state nuclear facility in the middle east in present day. We have the usual Optimus Prime voice-over: "We are not alone. And that has not been easy to get used to. For too long, we Autobots held the evil Decepticons at bay, ourselves. But as war spread from the dying planet Cybertron to our new home on Earth, we found something unexpected: Allies." There's a shot of the Defense Minister's car, followed by Bumblebee, Sideswipe, and Mirage all in vehicle mode. The guards let them in but are confused by the entourage of the Autobot cars. We see Mirage transform and the others in the background transform, and Mirage says, "Don't move and you don't have to die today."
- Page 7 is missing.
- Page 8: There's an explosion and the four Autobots are seen walking away from it. They are Mirage, Bumblebee, Wheeljack, and Sideswipe. Wheeljack calls to base, and says the mission is accomplished. We then see the decommissioned N.E.S.T. HQ in Diego Garcia. Optimus Prime at base tells Wheeljack to head back to Washington and that Optimus and Ratchet will be along when they finish closing down the old base. Optimus' voice-over continues: "While we track down stolen weaponry, Colonel Lennox believes he has a lead on the location of a recently surfaced foe. A foe whose crimes I vow shall not go unpunished. My fallen friends won't pass to the next life alone." Optimus Prime looks over at some crates labeled with the names of dead Autobots: "Knockout, Elita-one, Dune Runner, Blazemaster, Armorhide, and Jolt". He specifically looks at the picture of Elita-one. Colonel Lennox asks Optimus Prime if he's ready. He says Ratchet is onboard the C-17 and they're ready to head to Ukraine. Optimus Prime says he's ready and also hopes his contact is correct. Lennox says it's time to play hero again.
- Page 9: In Washington D.C., we see Carly wake Sam up and give him a stuffed animal bunny as a good luck charm and says he's getting a job today. Sam jokes and says she should just give him the rabbit's foot, and Carly says that's just mean to take a foot off of a rabbit. Sam talks about how demoralizing it is to have saved the world twice and is now groveling for a job. Then the small robot named Brains (from the prequel comics) jumps out from behind the bed and says, "Yea-- I guess we know who wears da pants in dis family!" Sam pushes him away and Carly leaves the room saying, "You're not normal, Sam" and Sam replies with, "That's why you love me." Carly leaves by saying, "Not love, yet. We'll be closer when you can cover your half of the rent. Now-- go get a job!" So it appears Carly and Sam are living together.
- Page 10: Sam escorts Brains back to the doghouses (for Frankie and Mojo). Brains tells Sam that Carly has to learn to live with them (referring to himself and Wheelie), so he has to pick. Sam picks Carly. Wheelie complains and says that he was there for Sam when Mikaela dumped him. Sam asks them if they ever wondered by the other Autobots don't want the two of them around. Wheelie says they're wasting their talent, and Sam replies with, "yours and mine both."
- Page 11: We then go to Prypiat, Ukraine. Ratchet and Optimus Prime are in vehicle mode. Ratchet jokes to Optimus saying that they've been to some beautiful places on Cybertron, but the wasteland here takes the prize. Optimus Prime asks if Cybertron was any better when they were done with it. We see Colonel Lennox ask if they enjoyed the tour. He says the city has been uninhabited since 1986, and the only way for humans to survive the radiation is with the suits they're wearing. A guy named Voskhod isn't wearing a suit and says it's only a matter of time for him anyways. Voskhod says that every year they dig deeper, but this year they found it (we don't know what "it" is yet). He says to follow him, but first he says he must tell Colonel Lennox something. Something flies overhead and Voskhod says that perhaps that can wait. Lennox tells Voskhod to keep no secrets. Voskhod says that Lennox doesn't understand this part of the world, and that if they're found, his country will deny he ever existed, just as they do the aliens at the heart of Chernobyl (we know Shockwave is kept there, so that may be who he is referring to).
- Page 12: They come upon something and Lennox says the object looks extraterrestrial and that it's in some kind of harness. He wonders why it has Soviet Space Program markings. Optimus Prime says that that is not the question they should be asking. The ground starts to shake and Voskhod says, "No, no-- not now..." The tentacle creature appears from the ground and starts attacking, and it kills some humans.
- Page 13: Everyone runs out and Ratchet tries to stay with Optimus Prime, but Optimus tells him to leave and that this one is his. As they leave, Lennox asks Ratchet if that's what he thinks it is. Ratchet says that it's a Driller, "the most feared and terrible beast on all of Cybertron, and worse..."
- Pages 14-27 are missing.
- Page 28: Laserbeak is chasing Sam through an office building firing away and Sam says, "I never know what you're talking about and you always attack me!" Sam has an axe. He's angry at always being attacked and he says he doesn't know anything. He gets on a table and slams the axe into Laserbeak. Sam's boss walks in, Sam says he doesn't think he'll have those files ready by three -- and can he take the rest of the day off? Laserbeak tries contacting Soundwave, so it seems he's still alive.
- Page 29: We're now at N.E.S.T. operations in Washington D.C., and we see Carly, Sam, Wheelie, Brains, and Colonel Lennox. Sam explains that after Laserbeak got away, he ran home and grabbed Carly and Bumblebee and they came straight there. Wheelie says he thinks it was the Decepticons. Sam says he knows it was the Decepticons. Someone named Wang said that Sam needed to warn Colonel Lennox and everyone. Apparently Wang also mentioned the moon. Carly asks why Decepticons would bother to kill humans, and Colonel Lennox says they're probably after what they just found. Then, a lady enters and starts complaining that this is a security breach of the highest order. Sam tells the lady to show some respect. Colonel Lennox introduces Sam to the lady, who is U.S. Intelligence Director Mearing. Director Mearing says she knows who Sam is and personally denied his application to work for N.E.S.T. because the squad is for veterans, not boys who once owned special cars. Carly says that's not fair and calls Director Mearing "Ma'am", and she doesn't like that.
- Page 30: The door opens to reveal Ironhide and Ratchet. Narration by Megatron presumably about how he could be jealous, after all Autobots have friends, but he takes solace that only friends keep secrets from one another. Ironhide points out Sentinel Prime to Sam and tells him that Sentinel was once Optimus Prime's mentor and their leader. Optimus opens his chest, takes out the Matrix of Leadership and says, "The Matrix of Leadership -- the only thing in the universe that could possibly re-power an Autobot that's been stuck on the moon for so long." Optimus uses the Matrix on Sentinel Prime and says, "Sentinel Prime.. we bid you return." Sentinel Prime awakes.
- Pages 31-36 are missing. Somewhere in these missing pages is this scene: It shows Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime driving down a beautiful part of the planet with a sunset. Sentinel tells Optimus that he left Cybertron to find a save haven for the Autobots, and that Optimus has finally found it. Optimus then opens his chest revealing the Matrix of Leadership. Optimus tells Sentinel that it's his if he wants it, but Sentinel refuses, because Optimus knows more about the planet than him.
- Page 37: We're at Sam's apartment with Agent Simmons, Bumblebee, and others. Carly walks in and Simmons asks who that is. Sam says he didn't hear her come in, and Carly says she came in through the kitchen. She asks what's going on and asks if he forgot. Carly tells Sam that it's Saturday and they were supposed to be at Dylan's (Carly's boss) party. She says she told him about it and it's for her job, the one that pays the bills. She said Sam told her she was done with this, that after what happened back at his school he was done with all the "life-and-death" stuff. She says the Autobots will take care of it and that's what they're here for, Sam is just in the way. That's what Director Mearing said. Sam says he didn't ask to be attacked by a Decepticon and this isn't what he wanted. Carly doesn't believe him and tells him good luck and she has to go. She rips the foot off the stuffed bunny. Simmons tells Sam he's better off this way and that "the warrior's path is a solitary one."
- Page 38: At night, we see Atlantic City. We see Agent Simmons, Sam, and someone else. Simmons says, "Nothing like going to a gig with Autobot backup." He talks about how Brains came up with three U.S.S.R. cosmonauts who made some interesting claims back in 1972. A former NSA member tracked him down. They walk into a bar and Simmons talks to one of the guys and tells him he knows who he is. Simmons says he was supposed to go to the dark side of the moon, then the whole program got shut down and asks him why. Suddenly, a bunch of guns are pulled at them.
- Page 39: The Russian cosmonaunt tells them they don't fear them just because they work for aliens. Sam says they don't work for the aliens, or at least not the bad ones. Brains is there with Sam and the others, and he starts speaking Russian and says they're the good guys and says they can ask him anything about the universe. The Russian guy said he dreamed of meeting life from another planet and didn't expect it to be so adorable. Sam asks the Russian guy if he knows what's up there on the moon. The Russian guy says the Russians were first to send cameras and saw hundreds of pillars on the moon. Sam says they found five of them, so the Decepticons must have the others. He wonders why they left Sentinel Prime since he's the only one that can use them. He then realizes something.
- Page 40: We see a lady who is apparently Director Mearing walking in a parking lot talking on the phone. It's Sam on the line and he tells her it's a trap and she asks who it is. Sam says they need Sentinel Prime to run the space bridge. Director Mearing says, "Mr. Witwicky, I thought I was clear..." Sam continues and tells her the Decepticons wanted them to find Sentinel Prime because only Optimus Prime could revive him. They need Sentinel Prime to run the space bridge, so they're escorting him back now. We see Sam in Bumblebee and there are other Autobots in vehicle mode there, including Sideswipe, Mirage, and Sentinel Prime (in fire truck mode). Director Mearing tells Sam that they have his space bridge and that it's safe. Sam tells her she has five pillars and they have hundreds. They're going to be coming for Sentinel Prime. They approach a bunch of Chevy Suburban SUV police cars.
- Page 41: One of them transforms into a Decepticon Dread and attacks a car, pulling Agent Simmons out of the rooftop. The Dread on top of the car being driven by Simmons' assistant then gets hit by an overpass sign.
- Page 42: Sam driving Bumblebee is being chased by the Dreads. Sam tells Sideswipe to tell Sentinel Prime to get out of there and for them to cover Sentinel. Simmons' assistant pulls up and runs over Simmons' leg. Sideswipe tells Sentinel to get out of there and head to base. Sentinel tells them to be safe. Sideswipe says "Safe isn't in our vocabulary, sir. You with me, Mirage?" Mirage replies, "Sideswipe -- there's nowhere else I'd be." Both are in Stealth Force mode using Mech tech weapons that appear from the vehicle.
- Pages 43-45 are missing.
- Page 46: Sentinel Prime blasts Ironhide in the face and says, "I have always been the key."
- Page 47: Ironhide dying says, "Sentinel... w-why?" and Sentinel Prime says, "I am sorry, my Autobot brothers." Sam, Simmons, Bumblebee, Skids, and others stand watching in shock. Optimus Prime's narration says that long ago on Cybertron, his mentor Sentinel Prime made a last-ditch effort to end the war between Autobots and Decepticons. Sentinel Prime's ship was blown out of the sky, and the war has continued ever since. Optimus Prime spent his life believing he was dead, and then he found him. He believed his fondest dream had come true, but he was wrong.
- Pages 48-58 are missing. Somewhere in the middle of that, we have this scene: we see some human shooting a cannon at what appears to be Sentinel Prime. He tells Optimus to run for it, and we see Bumblebee standing next to the human. Optimus Prime's narration says, "Only thanks to my friends do I survive. But the dream has truly become a nightmare." We see what appears to be an evil Sentinel Prime punching Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime says, "Let the humans serve us, or perish!" Bumblebee and the human are still there and Optimus is on the ground and says he told them to leave. Bumblebee and the human said they're not leaving and the human said, "since when did I ever listen to you, Prime?" The human asks what they should do next as he fires at what appear to be other Transformers and Optimus Prime's narration says he doesn't know. It looks like half of Optimus Prime's face is missing and only one eye is visible. His narration says, "But my friends count on me. Fate has placed me here... and fate... fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."
- Page 59: We then cut to the Gould Estate. We see Sam walk up to Dylan and Carly, and Sam calls Carly's name. Dylan says Sam almost missed the party, but he's a bit underdressed anyways. Sam says he needs to talk to Carly and he has a major problem. Carly says, "Thanks for finally recognizing that." and Dylan asks Sam to come sit down and join them. Sam says no and tells him there's a war going on out there and he needs to talk to his girlfriend and calls Dylan "Mr. Inappropriate Rich Guy" and she he takes Carly and leaves, and Carly tells Dylan she'll see him tomorrow. As they leave, Dylan says, "Sam, my dad taught me if it's not your war, you join the side that's gonna win." Outside, Sam wonders what that's supposed to mean. Carly says who cares and asks Sam what he thinks he's doing. We see the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG behind them.
- Page 60: Laserbeak then comes out of hiding and attacks Sam and Carly. Sam says, "You again?! I knew you wouldn't just leave me alone!" Then, Soundwave (who was the Mercedes) grabs Carly from behind while they're distracted. Dylan walks out of the building and tells Soundwave not to hurt her. He says to Sam, "You think you're so special, don't you? You think you were the first man asked to join the alien cause?" Dylan explains that they never went back to the moon after 1972 because that's the year they came to his dad and told him to do some creative accounting, make it too expensive to ever go back. His family got to live and the Decepticons have been been their clients ever since.
- Page 61: Dylan mentions someone named "Wang" who was a "loose cannon" and "nearly botched the whole deal", but Sam was the one thing he could never provide his client. He's had his eye on Sam for years. Dylan says he needs someone close to the Autobots. He tells Sam to track down Optimus Prime and ask him how he intends to fight back, or they will slaughter Carly. Sam promises Dylan that he'll kill him. Dylan holds this weird looking watch that he's giving Sam (maybe it's a tracking/listening device to use on Sam). Standing behind Dylan is Soundwave in full robot mode now, with Laserbeak perched on his shoulder.
- Page 62: Sentinel Prime is seen broadcasting a message on a TV screen. He calls out to the "Defenders of Earth" and says he is the "true" leader of the Autobots. He talks of how there was a civil war, but that is now over and their armies stand as one. He says they come from a damaged planet, which must be rebuilt, and says he needs the natural resources that our world has an abundance of. Things like precious metal, iron, steel... they will use space bridge technology to transport an "equitable share" and then leave Earth in peace. However, he says for such peace to exist, he calls for them to renounce the remaining resistance (an image of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Mirage, and Ratchet in front of the Washington Monument is shown on screen). He tells them to immediately exile from this planet the rebels they have harbored or he will deem their intent hostile and through his space bridge will come more battalions and they will know his "righteous strength."
- Page 63: Sam meets with Director Mearing. They couldn't find him. He's sarcastic to her saying she didn't want him in the first place. She apologizes. He's taken aback. She says he is more than a kid who bought the wrong car (Sam says, "The RIGHT car.") She says he's a valuable part of this. Sam: N.E.S.T.? No, the UN has voted to expel the Autobots. Sams' watch causes him some pain. He takes the hint and asks how since they don't have a ship sitting around. She says he's wrong.
- Page 64: We see Cape Canaveral. The ship is called the Xantium. It brought Sideswipe and the others a while back and NASA has been studying it since. She introduces the Wreckers, the Xantium's engineers. Sam has never heard of them. She says they don't let them off base bacause they're not nice. Topspin (the blue Wrecker) says, "Gonna be fifty thousand pounds of torque on that bolt -- it needs twenty and a quarter rotations! Not ninteen! Did I bloody say nineteen?!" Colonel Epps is standing there arguing with Topspin. Sam and Epps recognize one another.
- Pages 65-71 are missing.
- Page 72: We see a room filled with Decepticons. Megatron and Sentinel Prime are there, and so are Dylan and Carly. Megatron says that the city is secure and the humans can't stop them. This is the victory he promised Sentinel Prime, and now they can rebuild Cybertron together. Sentinel Prime says that he has deigned to work with Megatron, that their planet may survive. Sentinel Prime slams Megatron's face into the wall and says that he will never work for Megatron. Dylan and Carly leave the area where the Decepticons are. Dylan tells Carly that they're spreading hundreds of these pillars across the Earth. He mentions a Control Pillar that needs to stay anchored to Earth's magnetic core. He says that tomorrow morning, all of Earth's resources will be at the command of Cybertron. Carly asks what he means by our resources and Dylan says that they could get iron, metal, steel at any other galaxy. The reason why they're doing it here is to use humans as slaves, as a six billion-strong labor force. Carly than says that they can't transport people, they wouldn't survive.
- Page 73: Dylan says they're not going to be shipping people here, they're shipping their planet here. Carly calls him a monster, and Dylan says that you have to stand on the side of progress if you want to be a part of history, even if it means you stand alone. Sam is outside the window and Carly notices him, but Sam tells her to be quiet and act like everything is cool. Sam comes in the door and Carly tells him to look out as Laserbeak tries to blast him. Sam yells "You again!" and falls off the ledge of the building.
- Page 74: Carly yells for Sam, and Dylan grabs her and says that they're getting out of there because Sam probably didn't come alone. Sam then appears standing on a ship and says, "Hey Dylan, Laserbeak... you guys forgot something" and the ship destroys Laserbeak and starts blasting the building. Dylan runs, and Sam tells Carly to hop onto the ship, which Bumblebee is piloting by the way. He says Optimus Prime and the others are on their way. Dylan runs and tells Megatron and Sentinel Prime that they're here and alive. Sentinel Prime says of course they are and says Optimus Prime can't fool him with his own tricks.
- Page 75: We see Optimus Prime, Sideswipe, Mirage, and other Autobots driving through the city. Optimus tells them to be ready for anything. Suddenly, the Driller appears through the ground next to him. Shockwave is there and tells Optimus Prime he should have stayed dead this time. This is the scene from the trailer where Shockwave cocks his gun. Optimus Prime says the situation just got worse. They have no weapon that can match Shockwave and the Driller. Wheeljack tells him not to forget about his prototype. Sam and Carly are running from something. Carly says that all they have to do is shoot down the control pillar and the whole space bridge will collapse. She says she knows cause Dylan likes to talk. Epps says that they only have one shot with Hardcore Eddie's launcher and they are going to have a hell of a time sneaking closer. Sam tells Epps to radio for backup and to forget about getting closer, one shot is all they'll need. Sam asks Optimus Prime if they can hold off Shockwave.
- Page 76-80 are missing.
- Page 81: Dylan asks Soundwave what he's going to do to the Autobot prisoners (Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Mirage, Wheeljack... maybe more, but no Optimus Prime or Ironhide), and Soundwave replies with, "They are not prisoners anymore, they are trophies." When he says that, he rips Mirage's head off as the other Autobots look on horrified.
- Page 82: Bumblebee yells a cry and Sideswipe yells "Mirage! No!" Soundwave says, "I thought I'd have some fun with you, but now that it comes to it, I feel bored... time to die!" and we see Bumblebee looking at something that kind of looks like the speakers on Soundwave, but I can't be sure. We see Wheelie and Brains trying to climb aboard a ship. Brains says he doesn't think this is a good idea and he just wants to go home. Wheelie says that in a little while there isn't going to be a home and Sam needs them now. Wheelie finds something that says "Do not use in flight." Brains said, "Better not use it. We're in flight." Wheelie replies with, "Exactly, ya idiot." and pulls the lever.
- Page 83: Soundwave then looks at Bumbleebee and says something like he's next, then all of a sudden a ship crashes in (I think it's the one that Wheelie and Brains steal). Somehow the Autobots get released and Bumblebee kills Soundwave.
- Page 84: Down on the ground, some human says that Soundwave is down and the Autobots are on their way. Shockwave tells him that it's too late and that this world is theirs. Sentinel Prime is standing next to something that's glowing nearby. Optimus Prime flies in (he has a jetpack on, the one from the trailer) and attacks Shockwave. Optimus Prime slices off Shockwave's one eye and Shockwave says that even blinded, he is more than a match for Optimus. Optimus Prime says, "Sorry, I don't have time for you anymore" and proceeds to stab Shockwave and kill him. Sentinel Prime in the distance yells out, "The Anchor Pillar!"
- Pages 85-86 are missing.
- Page 87: The planet of Cybertron appears close. Megatron's narration says that Sentinel Prime has betrayed him, just as he had betrayed Optimus Prime, as he knew he would. What looks to be Starscream's head next to Megatron says, "Rarf! Master! Look!" A girl (Carly?) says, "All your work, to bring Sentinel back, when he clearly has all the power. I just find it ironic. Almost tragic, really."
- Page 88: Sentinel Prime tells Optimus that he was always the bravest, but could never make the hard decisions. Megatron's narration talks of how in the fight for Cybertron's future, he has no bounds, and that above all, one thing must be remembered: Megatron is always the master. Megatron then appears and punches Sentinel Prime in the face. Sentinel says that they were Gods once, all of them, but here there will only be one. Optimus Prime blasts Sentinel Prime and says it won't be him. As Sentinel Prime lie dying, he tells Optimus that all he ever wanted was the survival of their race and he must see why he had to betray him. Optimus says that Sentinel didn't betray him, he betrayed himself.
- Pages 89-90 are missing.
Those are the final pages of the movie.
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