Hearne: Transformers 3; It’s What Not to Sleep Through

Two years ago on a warm summer night, venerable KC Star movie critic Robert Butler fell fast asleep during the raging battle scenes of blockbuster movie Transformers 2.

"I can’t say for sure how long he was out," I reported then. "But I can tell you he was very much a goner when he was eye-witnessed by the entire KC Confidential Street Team and others in an unawake state. Hey, it was after 10 p.m. and people get tired."

Net result: Butler’s promised-before-noon, next day review didn’t hit the Star Web site until well after 2 p.m.

Complete with a KCC-inspired disclaimer.

"Something is seriously amiss when a movie as noisy and frenetic as ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ is so boring it puts you to sleep," Butler began. "But I’m not ashamed to admit it: I think even I might have caught a few ZZZZs near the end of Michael Bay’s latest."

Tonight it was deja vu all-over-again time for Butler at the Transformers 3 screening.

The bad news: it’s nearly three, how-in-the-world-am-I-ever-gonna-stay-awake, hours long.

The good: the exhibitor opted to start at 7:30 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.

I asked KCC critic Jack Poessiger beforehand if he’d be able to keep his peepers popped the entire show?

"I don’t know, I’ll try," Poessiger deadpanned. "But from what I’ve heard the final third of the picture is all action."

The exact scene in T-2 that Butler passed out during!

How about the three of us meet beforehand, have a few beers and see who stays awake, I offered?

"You’re cruel," Poessiger says. "You’re going to make me feel odd sitting there staring at him."