Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon teaser trailer

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was a huge disappointment for me. Rehashing the plot of the first film with even worse writing and even more incoherent action sequences, the sequel left a sour taste in my mouth. And yet, the money kept rolling in. Enough for a third entry into Michael Bay's childhood-destroying Transformers film franchise.

They've ditched Megan Fox in favour of supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, added several big names (including Frances McDormand) to the cast and gone 3D. Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon is the title of the new film, and frankly, I wouldn't get my hopes up.

Here's a link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmznvI9UF2U&feature=player_embedded

The trailer builds upon the conspiracy theory introduced in the first film, that the United States government has, for a long time, been aware of the existence of the Transformers. This teaser gives us the setup that while on the moon, the astrounauts of Apollo 11 discovered a large alien wreck on the far side of the moon. And what they discovered will probably come back to torment Shia LaBeouf and his new leading lady.

It certainly looks like they didn't have a budget problem: the footage looks slick and well-produced, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (or CGI approximations of them) hopping across the surface of the moon and exploring the crashed spaceship containing the Transformers.

I can't help but wonder what the actual astronauts feel. Do they think that the explosions-obsessed Hollywood director is mocking them? Or are they grateful that there is still hype yet to be milked from their trip to the moon made more than forty years ago?

The first film was passable, in a guilty-pleasure kind of way. It was certainly not high art, but it was fun to watch. The second, however, pushed the "leave-your-brain-at-the-door" quotient way too far, such that it was not a stupid-but-fun film, it was a stupid-and-stupid film.

And then there's the matter of "Executive Producer Steven Spielberg". Spielberg has always been one of my idols, but I can't help but feel that by throwing his name behind such garbage as the Transformers films, he has been seduced by the Hollywood machine, the promise of big returns from so much as raising a hand in support of what may not be a good venture.

I can only hope that Bay has taken into account what the critics had to say about his previous Transformers flick. But knowing the ego the man has, he most likely has not, and the sad part is even if Dark of the Moon is as agonizingly awful as the second film, everyone will still go and see it.

Alas.