Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Let me get one thing out in the open.

I hate Michael Bay. I really really do. He is a hack director who tries to make up for his unoriginality by throwing in more pyrotechnics. He doesnt know the first thing about Transformers and was one of the worst choices for this franchise.

Now that we have that out of the way...

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was a surprisingly good movie.

Most of the characters made a return (Sorry NSA nerds, no room for you). Shia LeBouf returns as Sam Witwicky, the unintentional hero of the films. Megan Fox returns as the eye candy who except for hotwiring a car doesnt really do much for the story line. Josh Duhamel's Capt Lennox really deserved more screentime, Tyrese the same. John Tuturro again provides some comic relief though at time he feel like a parody, he is now joined by Ramon Rodriguez playing Leo, Sam's roommate and conspiracy nut who is the first to start screaming when a rocket lands.

Im going to avoid spoilers as much as possible but they might slip in, this is your warning.

The story starts off 2 years after the events of the first movie, the Autobots are working with the US govt to stop the remaining Decepticons from find the remaining shard of the Allspark, everything is kept from the public because, as everyone know, we really wouldnt be able to handle badass robots on our planet.

Sam is trying to live a normal life by going to college, as he is packing clothes he discovers another sliver of the allspark that shoots beams into his brain causing him to see symbols like his great grandfather did. This is the main driving force behind the story, in the first movie they were after the glasses that were etched, in this one they are going after Sam brain a la Johnny Mnemonic.

As a long time Transformers fan there is a real tear jerking moment, I'll admit it, I cried a little. You just have to see it.

The main villian in this film is The Fallen. One of the original transformers who rebelled against his bretheren and was banished. Megatron is his disciple, kind of a Palapatine/Vader relationship it seems. The Fallen is after a long lost artifact that was left on Earth long ago by explorers and the symbols Sam sees are a map.


The story line is decent although lacking in certain areas. In my opinion you could remove Shia, give all of his lines and actions to Josh Duhamel and the movie would be a bit more concise. The awkward romance that was attempted really just took up 10-15 minutes of screen time that dont really drive the story. Yes I know it shows part of the human condition that everyone is trying to protect, but this is being marketed to tweens and long time fans that want to see robot action.

Sam does a lot of running, ducking, and telling others to run and duck. Mikaela does the same but more in slow motion to accent her jiggly bits. Leo screams alot and Simmons over dramatizes everything but in a good way.

The action sequences are animated well and the physics look great, some over use of slow motion and explosions but this is Bay we are dealing with. My main gripe with the robot fighting is that, with few exceptions, all of the decepticons look the same. Matte Silver with sharp points, when they call in backups you really cant tell who is who. Sure in the credits they are given names to list the voice actors but they are never mentioned on screens so its up to you to guess.

Towards the end it seemed like some of the CGI was rushed, it just looked too bright for the setting and the events going on at the time. And a scene where a small robot is on Sam it definately looks like the animation wasnt matching his facial movements.



Overall this film was better than I expected. If you can get past the forced humor (blender robo dick and chihuahua humping), the awkward romance (you say it first, no, you say it first) and some gratuitous Michael Bay explosions (they make everything better), this film is a great summer action flick. It was a great follow up to the 2007 movie and it does leave it open to a continuation of the franchise. It was reported a year ago that Peter Cullen signed a 3 movie deal so we can probably expect the third installment in 2011.