TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009)

Add Review To List
Add Film To List
Write Your Own Review

"This sequel simply magnifies what you thought about the first one… times ten."

Okay. I haven't written a review for a movie in a couple of weeks but I'm ready to go. Now before I begin, I have to admit that I cheated and read quite a few reviews before attending a viewing of the film. Needless to say, I wasn't shocked by the poor reviews, but I just had to see it for myself. And believe it or not, I'm glad I did. Though many of the points that are brought up by my fellow reviewers are true (oh they are SO true), I couldn't help but enjoy the film.

Most of the reviews consider the story a problem so let me tell you what this film is about. Its been two years since the first movie and the Autobots have been helping the humans hunt down Decepticons hiding throughout the world. Starscream has assumed command of the Decepticons and has decided to return to Earth with reinforcements to revive Megatron (with the left over piece of the All-Spark). When Megatron revives he immediately goes to HIS boss The Fallen, one of the original nine Primes who were all mighty and well respected by all the Cybertron bots. The Fallen, however, strayed thousands of years ago and built a device to destroy the Sun and all living things on Earth. Now The Fallen is back seeking revenge on Earth for vanquishing him (with help from the Primes) and this time with Decepticon reinforcements. The Autobots, with reinforcements of their own, may have more to deal with then meets the eye.

I think the story is fine in its simplistic form. It isn't any worse than the first one but for some reason, some reviewers think so. This film is an action piece through and through. It has wild special effects, an explosive soundtrack and kick-ass action sequences. Michael Bay has perfected the art of this style, and in this respect, he makes a fine film. The plot, however, is held together with Scotch tape and bubble gum, resorting to not just one but two moments of robot narration to explain what's going on. The dialogue is downright horrible with crude jokes supposedly aimed at younger viewers, but with words like "bitch" and "pussy", I seriously doubt they were the target audience. And if they were, then shame on Bay.

The main hero, aside from Optimus Prime, is once again Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) who seems to have matured quite a bit since the last time we saw him running from robots. He now runs toward them with great bravado (idiot). LaBeouf does fine with Sam once again. Megan Fox continues to play Mikaela Banes (Sam's shagadelic girlfriend). Though she still has a lot to learn in the acting department, Fox doesn't need a brain to play her part. All Mikaela does the entire movie is run behind Sam as they're being chased by Decepticons. That's it. That's her role. John Turturro has a bigger role in this film than in the first. I'm glad to see they gave him more lines and more screen time as Agent Simmons from the now defunct Sector Seven.

Now for the bad. Josh Duhamel (Major Lennox) and Tyrese Gibson (USAF Master Sergeant Epps) just don't have enough screen time like they did in the first. They were portrayed as bad asses in the first flick but in this sequel, all they do is watch the robots do their thing except in the final battle. Isabel Lucas (Alice) plays a vixen who was totally unnecessary in the film. Don't get me wrong, the girl is hotlicious, (I know I know that's not a word, but I'm using it) but the problem is her character does nothing for the film. And don't get me started with what she turns out to be. QUICK SPOILER ALERT: Watching her skin peel back reminded me of the Terminator in "Terminator: Rise of the Machines". Ridiculous.

Also, there were other unnecessary characters. Leo Spitz, played by Ramon Rodriguez, was just simply annoying. He brought nothing to the film but yelling and screaming and... crotch jokes. His one moment in the sun, or should I say his only reason for existing in this movie, was to reconnect Sam with the outcast Agent Simmons. You'll know what I mean when you watch the movie. And finally, Sam's mom and dad (played by Julie White and Kevin Dunn respectively) were unnecessary. I realize they were placed in the film as comic relief, but with all the other mumbo jumbo comic relief, they simply were not needed except the first 10 minutes of the film. Oh... and the biggest tragedy of all... they didn't bring back John Voight as Defense Secretary John Keller. Ugh.

Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? I think so. Bay apparently believes we would like to stay in the theater for hours and hours just watching robots destroy each other with no plot to the story. This is not Lord of the Rings. There is no great story telling and there is no great dialogue. Which means the film's 150 minutes running time is about 30 minutes too long. Bay needed to cut out A LOT of film. And I believe I gave plenty of suggestions above. Completely cut out any scenes that have Alice, Leo Spitz, or mom and dad (again... except the first 10 minutes at their home). Oh yea, and cutting about ten minutes from the last battle scene would have helped as well. I think the fact that Bay is so fascinated in blowing shit up, he simply forgot to contain himself. Thus the long running time. This doesn't make him a bad director though. Just a flawed one.

The special effects, however, were absolutely amazing. I never get tired watching any of the robots. Their clashes, their movement, their transformations... absolutely incredible. Once again, ILM did an amazing job and my hat goes off to them. And after watching all the explosions in this film, I am totally shocked more people didn't get hurt or killed. I know this: near the end of filming, LaBeouf hit a prop and injured his eye. His injury required seven stitches and the doctor said he'd come an inch from blindness (he literally held up a thumb and forefinger and said "Blindness." That is crazy.

So... due to the fact that I am probably in the minority, I'll probably lose some friends for liking this movie. Some credibility at the minimum (wink wink). Hell, I've already had my buddy Ramasscreen tell me we're done professionally because of my rating (though he did end his statement with a "j/k").

But seriously... no matter what you're expecting from "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," you will probably get exactly that. If you loved the first film and thought it was the beginning and the end of cinematic action, you'll be similarly pleased with this movie. If you hated the first film because the dialogue was so bad that IQ points slipped away from you as you watched it, you'll also feel this way about the sequel. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is everything that made the first film awesome and terrible at the same time, but magnified times ten.

MOVIE RATING SCALE:

5.0 stars = A MUST SEE

4.5 stars = Excellent

*** 4.0 stars = Outstanding ***

3.5 stars = Good

3.0 stars = Above Average

2.5 stars = Average

2.0 stars = Disappointing

1.5 stars = Bad

1.0 stars = Terrible

0.5 stars = Horrible

0.0 stars = UNWATCHABLE