154 mins. Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Frances McDormand, John Turturro, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey, and the voices of Peter Cullen, Hugo Weaving. Director: Michael Bay.

Megan Fox may have departed the Transformers franchise but director Michael Bay and the remaining cast return for an explosive third chapter, which is the first of the series to be screened in 3D and IMAX 3D.

Like its predecessors, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon is a ridiculously entertaining thrill-ride that jettisons script, dialogue and characterisation to deliver 154 minutes of testosterone-fuelled carnage.

The flimsy plot opens in the early 1960s when a Cybertronian spacecraft crash-lands on the Moon, sparking a race between the Americans and the Russians to reach the satellite.

During a TV blackout, the crew of Apollo 11 retrieves an important Autobot artefact and returns it to Earth, unaware that more than 40 years later, the device will spark a titanic war with the Decepticons.

As usual, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is caught in the eye of the storm, joined by his pretty girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley).

While Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen), Bumblebee and the other Autobots protect the humans, field commanders Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Master Sergeant Epps (Tyrese Gibson) spearhead the final stand against the Decepticons, comprising Megatron (Hugo Weaving) and his menagerie of terrifying predators.

Once you accept that Transformers: Dark Of The Moon junks logic and the laws of physics at every turn, it's a high-octane hoot.

Aside from James Cameron, there isn’t a better director of all-guns-blazing action than Bay.

He orchestrates some truly jaw-dropping sequences including an explosive highway pursuit and a breathtaking escape from a toppling skyscraper.