Transformers: Dark of the Moon Doesn't Need Great Reviews to Be a Hit

COMMENTARY | Transformers: Dark of the Moon buzz is just starting to build up. After all, since the Transformers return Wednesday, Paramount Studios can't hold every review back forever, as much as it might like to. Yet Dark of the Moon doesn't have to do that well to be considered better than Revenge of the Fallen, which speaks to the low expectations from reviewers and the critic-proof nature of this franchise.

Despite being ridiculed by nearly every critic in America, the second Transformers still made about $400 million domestic. As such, if the latest sequel gets close to 40 or 50 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, it could probably challenge the likes of Avatar by that logic.

Since the last Harry Potter movie is coming out in 3D theaters in two weeks, Dark of the Moon probably can't make historic profits in time. However, everyone knows that it will have massive box office and likely be either the No. 2 or No. 1 movie of the summer. The bigger mystery is whether audiences and critics will be as ashamed to have seen it afterward.

Given that the first review batch just came in Sunday, days before the movie's release, it may not bode as a good sign. However, three of the first four comments on Rotten Tomatoes have been positive. Aint It Cool's Harry Knowles raved about it, although he isn't a fan of the franchise.

The actual scores aren't likely to be that high, since IGN Movies only gave it 3 1/2 out of five stars and Total Film gave it three out of five. However, Revenge of the Fallen sank to such low depths that a barely positive rating for Dark of the Moon looks that much better.

The last two weeks have been quite depressing for critics and fans, as Green Lantern and Cars 2 have been trashed by reviewers. Their poor scores have broken the early winning streak for summer movies after the likes of Thor, X-Men, Bridesmaids and Super 8 got solid box office and critical acclaim. Transformers will get huge box office no matter what, yet its main goal with critics is to avoid total embarrassment.

It would be something if Dark of the Moon gets a better score than a Pixar movie, even if that Pixar film is Cars 2. But with the benefit of lowered expectations and Michael Bay making his 3D debut, critics may actually recommend a Transformers movie more than a Pixar epic for the first time ever.

Many more articles will come in before Wednesday's opening; several are likely to be brutal, since this is a Transformers and Bay movie. But if those reactions aren't in the vast majority for the film, it will qualify as a massive victory.

Sources

Rotten Tomatoes- "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

Aint It Cool- "Harry says Third Time is the Charm for Transformers: Dark of the Moon"