If any Super Bowl movie commercial requires slowing down the pace for a proper look it’s Michael Bay’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon. There’s so much going on in several of the shots that watching it in real-time is near impossible to tell what’s what.
For example, there’s a scene of what I initially thought were two vehicles colliding head-on and then transforming in mid-air. After taking a look at the screen caps it’s clear that Autobot Ironhide is taking on a pair of Decepticon “Dreads” (as they were named on set) SUVs simultaneously. My money’s on Ironhide to be the only one to walk away from that fight.
Another detail comes out in the slow-mo shot of a base diver leaping from a helicopter as an Osprey plummets to the ground in front of him. Behind the action is the city of Chicago with not only an explosion here and there, but entire buildings tilting and crumbling to the ground. It makes you wonder how much of the city will end up in a pile of rubble by the time the credits role.
When I saw the Transformers: Dark of the Moon Super Bowl spot in real-time I first thought the “bird” looking Transformers was a dragon or perhaps a Dinobot. Upon looking at the screen cap it’s pretty clear we’re looking at Laserbeak, one of Decepticon Soundwave’s minions. The turbines on his wings appear to be a nod to where the circles in the cassette tape design of the old Generation 1 Laserbeak toy/cartoon were placed.
Take a look at 25 high resolution screen grabs from the Transformers: Dark of the Moon Super Bowl spot below by clicking on any of them to open the 1080p version. In case you missed the spot, you can watch it right here.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon starring Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey, Ken Jeong, John Turturro, Frances McDormand, Peter Cullen and Tyrese Gibson invades theaters on July 1 in 2D, 3D and IMAX.
