TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009)

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"In our quest to protect the humans, a deeper revelation dawns: Our worlds have met before."

"Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen" could not have come sooner this summer. Up were my expectations after enjoying the cult classic that was 2007's first entry into the series, with Michael Bay geniusly at the helm. After last year's attempted blockbusters were beaten out for 2008 Movie of the Year notoriously by Nolan's legendary "The Dark Knight," and after glimpsing the lineup for Summer 2009, I couldn't help but think that TF2 could be this year's high contender.

STORY (SPOILERS)

The story was not hard to grasp in my opinion, as long as you took what was thrown at you and put two and two together. If you can overlook some cheesy moments enough to grasp your head around the plot, which encompasses both films, you can enjoy this flick immensely. This does require an attention to detail. Here's the short work I made of it.

The rulers of ancient Cybertron, known as The Dynasty of Primes, sought out lifeless solar systems and destroyed the powerful radiation of their G-stars (suns) in order to harness the energy to convert it as Energon to power the AllSpark, which was the creation of all life on Cybertron. They did this with a weapon known as the Sun Harvester, which can only be controlled with the Matrix of Leadership, the key to the weapon. For an unknown reason, one of the Prime brothers chose Earth for its powerful sun to destroy, and landed on our planet in the year 17,000 BCE. Known as "The Fallen" ever since, for 'fallen brother' due to his going rogue and becoming the first Decepticon, the remaining brothers sacrificed themselves on Earth to hide the key, in order to prevent destruction of a life-bearing world in which they had agreed not to destroy.

In the present, it is now two years following the events of the first film, "Transformers" (TF1), and the United States government has somehow covered up those events and others within the past couple of years by forming a new strike team with the AutoBots to search and destroy remaining Decepticons who are hiding on different continents without their Leader. This team is called NEST. Also, Sam is heading off to college and his girlfriend Mikaela is staying, while she works in a motorcycle detailing shop run by her weird father. Sam doesn't want to take Bumblebee, either, it seems, as Freshman are not allowed cars for some reason. As Sam talks to his bombshell babe over the phone, he fondles his tattered shreds of clothes that he wore in TF1 and has saved. As he does so, a sharp piece of shard from the AllSpark falls out of one of the pockets and temporarily blinds him, as well as burns a hole through anything it touches, sinking through the room's floor and through the kitchen ceiling to rest on the table, while simultaneously electrifying the room - turning every kitchen appliance into a hostile Transformer. He gives the AllSpark splinter in a vial to Mikaela and bolts for the university. Throughout the first half of the film we see the effects of Sam's touching the splinter: his head is now filled with Cybertronian symbols and he is thinking a hundred miles per hour.

The Decepticon orbiting Earth is a communications specialist called Soundwave, and he successfully hacks himself into a NEST mainframe satellite, eavesdropping and learning the locations of two vital items: the AllSpark shard, and Megatron.

The Decepticons retrieve the shard and use it to resurrect their killed Leader, who converts into Jet form and jettisons to the planet Saturn in our solar system to rendezvous with his Second-in-Command, Starscream, who flew there at the end of TF1, and The Fallen, his master who has been hiding out there since his last visit to Earth. Starscream left Lord Megatron to die, retreated to home base and has been breeding a new army of Decepticons under Fallen's orders, and in Megatron's absence has declared himself Leader, much to Megatron's disapproval. Megatron then confesses to The Fallen that he failed him on Earth - the AllSpark has been destroyed and their race will end without it. This leads us to believe that the events of TF1 were constructed under The Fallen's doing, and he played a behind-the-scenes role up until now. The Fallen explains to his disciple Megatron that the AllSpark was only a vessel, and that its knowledge and power can never be destroyed, only transformed, now absorbed inside the mind of a boy. He also explains that he has hidden for millennia since Primes have remained on Earth, the only beings that can kill him, and now to this day, only one remains. Megatron tells Fallen that Optimus protects the boy. And so the trap is set by The Fallen, Megatron, and Starscream to prepare for The Fallen's return to Earth to take his revenge.

Sam has a mental breakdown in class and breaks down Einstein's Mass-Energy Equivalence Formula, throwing in the Energon source as proof that Einstein was wrong. He also draws Cybertronian symbols all over the Professor's chalkboard and tells Mikaela real fast over the phone that his great, great grandfather saw the same symbols when he found the AllSpark in the Arctic and Megatron zapped him in the beginning of TF1. As the Decepticons locate and capture Sam and take him to Megatron, Sam is prepared to be lobotomized before Optimus and Bumblebee crash the party. Bumblebee transforms back into the camaro to safely get the kids out, and Optimus runs and transforms into the semi on a long stretch of road that leads out of the city.

Megatron pursues, and as soon as they are on the outskirts amidst a forest, Prime transforms back into AutoBot Mode, to engage Megatron. Only Megatron has other plans. As the awesome duel begins between these two giants, Megatron calls his Decepticons into the battle, Grindor and Starscream. Optimus realizes it is a trap and extracts his swords to take them all on.

The rest of the film delves into the Decepticons trying to reacquire Sam and The Fallen returning to Earth for the first time since his first arrival which dates back prehistorically. It seems the Cybertronian hieroglyphics in Sam's mind are a map to the secret tomb containing the Matrix of Leadership which only an ancient Transformer, a Seeker, can read. Seekers have been hiding amongst us all these years since The Fallen's first arrival. The one that they awaken is Jetfire, a Decepticon turned AutoBot, who reads the map and tells Sam where to go, before Fallen, Megatron and the Decepticons find him. Sam attempts to resurrect Optimus Prime in order to defeat The Fallen, while Fallen attempts to reactivate the Sun Harvester and take Earth's sun as his revenge.

There is one other thing I'd like to mention. The Decepticons were all militant-minded, with their own agenda, and I felt that the AutoBots should have been, too. Having two, goofy, illiterately lingo-speaking dumbass robots that picked on each other in such a stupid manner reminded me of a children's Walt Disney, borderline Veggie Tales kid's table material that I felt this film unarguable could have done without, and was the reason it was not as spellbinding as the first. I was taken aback by this pitiful attempt at comic relief. It was really dumb, and when I thought TF1 kind of pushed it when the AutoBots were formally introduced to Sam, and one of them was speaking literate street lingo, this film goes way over those boundaries by these two doofuses that speak a language that no street cred individual would be able to decipher. It's like those cheesy Robin Williams moments when he tries to mimic the teenage language with lines like, "Yo, that's kewl my homie dawg, wuz happenin?" Imagine that, but robots with big ears and messed up teeth (AutoBots have teeth?) saying this stuff throughout the entire movie like it's actually how people talk. Yes. It's THAT cheezy.

ACTING

Shia LaBeouf is an amazing actor with quite the acting range. In every movie I've seen him excel at persuading the audience that he is a different character than the last film we've seen him in. That is important for the new generation of actors to encompass. I give him props for returning to the character of Sam Witwicky with grace. When I read this past year (on MovieWeb, no doubt!) that Shia had badly wrecked his vehicle and stopped production of the movie by injuring his hand, and that they threw that into the film as a plot point, I looked for it when I watched it. But I couldn't find it. It must have been there, but I was too busy overlooking the dumb stuff while trying to enjoy the better stuff to actually remember to find that. Back to the acting. Shia was great, 'nuff said!

Megan Fox. Returning to her role as Sam's girl Mikaela, Bay and the production crew required Fox to put on a little over ten pounds in just under three weeks for the movie after stepping off the set of "Jennifer's Body." I hardly noticed a difference. Mikaela is fine as hell in this flick just like the last go around, but this time, it does seem a little forced. Like how they tried to emulate the scene with her leaning over the Bumblebee car in TF1 with a scene in TF2 of her laying over a street bike as the camera pans over her well-fit body. Not to say that is a downfall or drawback of any kind, however, remember I am a guy. But rather to say that it is noticeably forced. Instead of trying to create a whole 'nother mood, tone, or what-have-you, they instead went with the tried-and-true simulation scenes. Whatever the reason, she still adds the eye candy that was prominent in TF1, and most likely will return for TF3. After all, this franchise made her a superstar. If only her acting skills were as refined as her...well, some of her other features.

Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro, and Kevin Dunn and Julie White all reprise their roles from the first film and give equally exceptional performances. The newcomers did okay, but it's the reprisals that are the real treat here, as well as the entire robot roster.

I'm not going to go into detail or every character, but I do feel that the AutoBots and Decepticons need their respected dues in the Acting section. And I wanted to just address a few of my favorites.

- AutoBots -

Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime. He still transforms from a blue Peterbilt semi with red flame decals. Originally, a cameo was written for Cullen, but it was not included in the final cut of the film. Optimus is pretty cool in this flick, taking on 3 Decepticons at once, ripping off Starscream's arm and slaughtering Grindor in the process. Not to mention becoming an Omega Supreme lookalike in the end.

Mark Ryan as Bumblebee became my ultimate favorite in this flick. In TF1, he was more of a protector of sorts and only fought when he was cornered, forced to, or required to do so by joining the rest of the team, which wasn't often. Although I see Ironhide as Prime's second, I see Bee as his third or most trusted. And this film showed me what he was capable of. The mask came down in the scene with Rampage and the panther, and proved that Bumblebee is a hardened badass fighter, and deserves his just credit.

Jess Harnell as Ironhide, who didn't have a huge role as in TF1 but deserves mention nonetheless. He's still awesome with all his weapons systems.

Robert Foxworth as Ratchet, the AutoBot medic Hummer H2.

André Sogliuzzo voices Sideswipe, the Stingray that, when transformed into AutoBot Mode, moves around on wheels for feet. It's almost a rehash of Bonecrusher from TF1 (think: the freeway chase scene).

Grey DeLisle has always been a favorite voice actress of mine, and here she voices Arcee, a pink DuCati 848 with two other bikes that roll around with holographic women riding them to fool the public. As if citizens were blind to 20-story tall Transformers destroying their cities. Case in point: Shanghai.

Last but not least, The Dynasty of Primes. These are the ancestors of Optimus and Megatron who once ruled Cybertron, The Fallen among them, until he turned rogue to destroy stars with life-bearing planets that was forbidden by the Primes. Michael York, Kevin Michael Richardson and Robin Atkin Downes all voice The Dynasty of Primes, respectively.

- Decepticons -

The Fallen is voiced by Tony Todd. He is one of the original Dynasty of Primes, and Megatron's commander. He corrupted Megatron into forming the Decepticons, and their symbol is inspired by and based upon The Fallen's face. He has been hiding on a Saturn moon along with Starscream, after being trapped in another dimension since 17,000 BCE, when he attempted to destroy the sun with a star-destroying machine ship called the Sun Harvester, in order to capture its energy source as an Energon for the AllSpark. He cannot return to Earth until the last Prime is dead.

Hugo Weaving as Megatron. Killed in the last movie, the Decepticons are able to successfully attempt to resurrect him when an AllSpark remnant shard is found by Sam Witwicky, and its location intercepted by Soundwave. Megatron comes back more powerful, as the thing that killed him is what makes him more badass this time around: the AllSpark disintegrated within his chest. Some would say he is in Galvatron form here, but the filmmakers decided to not give him this name for fear of confusing the audience. Nevertheless, he can transform into multiple objects: a Cybertronian Tank, a jet as seen in the last flick, and his Decepticon Mode, which looks more beefed up. Megatron is the only one who can triple-transform.

Charlie Adler as Starscream. Starscream is an air commander who transforms into a Raptor jet. He flew into space at the end of TF1, and returns this time bearing Cybertronian symbols on his body and commanding a new Decepticon army. He is almost exactly like the Generation-1 cartoons here, trying to take over Decepticon Leadership in Megatron's absence, while confessing loyalty in his presence.

Frank Welker is Soundwave. A highly sophisticated communications interceptor, Soundwave hacks into a US satellite early on, and is the key to the Decepticons finding Megatron deep in the abyss and the last shard of The AllSpark. He also jams communications in the battle that takes place in Egypt in the Third Act.

Calvin Wimmer as Demolishor, the large-wheeled Constructicon seen in the trailers that tears the bridge apart, and has Optimus Prime swinging from his head.

Frank Welker also provided the vocals for Devastator, the large robot that is formed like Voltron by several Constructicons forming together to form one massive Constructicon. He is seen eating the desert sand in the trailers. And I thought he ate those annoying twins which would have been sweet were it true.

Rampage. I don't know who plays this one but he is seen being attacked by Bumblebee in the climax and getting his @$$ handed to him.

Scorponok. Back from TF1, Scorponok was hiding out in the desert after getiing his tail blown apart in the last flick. He must have repaired it somehow, but he is awesome in this one.

DIRECTING

Michael Bay. Just the name haunts established filmmakers' dreams of accomplishing an epic movie. And Bay does it here with his spectacular images, camera angles, and overall scope of vision. It is the main reason why TF1 was such a monumental film, and though this sequel had the formula to continue that tradition, a few stepping stones had sank below the surface making this installment to the series just short of that feat, although I feel that fell more on the shoulders of the writers. However it did feel like a continuation of TF1 and the middle part of a long story, so for that, Bay gets a thumbs up. He did that right, after all. I love the fact how you are left hanging for the third part to the story at the end of the film.

VISUALS

The special effects were a visual delight to behold. Gawking at the new magnificent machines, I found myself once again in pure amazement from Bay and Spielberg's creations. The studio that they hired for the work on TF2 was absolutely brilliant, along with help from ILM. I can't say much else here, except the animation for some of the AutoBots were kind of cheesy, and that was definitely unneeded.

OVERALL

This film fails at measuring up to its predecessor. TF1 blew this flick away, and if wasn't for the corny one-liners ("Punk-ass Decepticon" - was that really needed?) and cheezeball Veggie Tale twins (sorry excuse for attempted comedy), this film would have been a contender for Movie of The Year. Sadly, some of us left the theaters feeling cheated of a deserving sequel.

The film succeeds as an overall mesh-up when combined with the first flick, as it unarguably feels like a sub-plot in a much larger story. The "Part 2" or middle of an overall 3-part movie, split into three separate films. I say this because I know full well that there will be a third installment, as announced in June. I'm just hoping that Bay and Spielberg take cue from this time around and make TF3 as epic as the first. The Special Edition DVD should be cool.