In speaking with the Los Angeles Times Shia LaBeouf opened up regarding his new film Transformers: Dark of the Moon and made a claim I’m sure James Cameron is laughing at as he said, “We took the 3-D cameras out of the Avatar stages and put them on the head of a dude jumping out of a plane in Chicago while a building is exploding. For real. Four or five dudes actually… It’s the greatest 3-D film ever made.”
Now just so we’re clear, LaBeouf is talking about a very small group of films here when he says “it’s the greatest 3-D film ever made.” But I’m sure Avatar fans are now already buying their tickets and and wringing their hands at the chance to hate on this film. But wait, there’s more, and to be honest, this part doesn’t sound like it’s all hyperbole:
“The last hour of this movie is the greatest action sequence of Mike’s [director Michael Bay] career, which would put it on the same level as the greatest action ever made,” LaBeouf said. “You don’t breathe for the last hour. There’s just no letup, but it’s also not completely overwhelming and disconnected, as the second movie was. You didn’t know what was fighting what or where you were geography-wise. There was no way to be able to tell a story, whereas this is very Black Hawk Down action. The geography is very clear. There’s only four or five dudes you need to be following. The enemy is very clear. The second movie was so … complicated. The best movies are simple… The only artificial element is the robots… You’re really blowing Chicago up. It’s really an invasion.”
Okay, there’s some hyperbole in there as I am sure many of you are already starting to create lists of great action scenes in your head wanting to ask, “Oh yeah? Is it better than this?” However, you have to admit these comments get you jazzed a little bit to see just what exactly Transformers 3 has to offer.
In an attempt to decipher LaBeouf comments, Jeff Wells reached out to someone who has seen the film and they said:
The last 40-plus minutes of Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon amount to “the mother of all battle sequences,” he says. “It’s truly a Battle Royale. Nonstop mayhem battle….and your mouth is open that he did this. It’s really noticably epic…a big selling point.
“Except it’s a Transformers movie, you know, and it’s 2 and 1/2 hours or maybe even a bit longer. They had told me it was 2 hours and 20 minutes when I walked in but I don’t know [about that].
Encouraging and expected at the same time. I imagine it comes down to just how much you want this kind of thing, and as far as I am concerned… bring it on.
Just over a week ago I wrote about how much I was looking forward to this movie writing, “The hope is that Bay has somehow managed to turn this third attempt into not only something big and loud, but something big, loud and coherent. I’m even excited to see it in 3D, which is the first time I think I’ve been able to say that since Avatar. Can Bay make my eyes shake in their sockets and tell a story at the same time?”
Oh, and by the way, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley even has lines… and a lucky bunny. Check out this new clip I just added below.
Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us. Transformers: Dark of the Moon hits theaters on June 29 with special early IMAX engagements on June 28.
