Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material.
150 Minutes

Directed By: Michael Bay
Written By: Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci
Staring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Roman Rodriguez, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, and Isabel Lucas

What you are about to see is top secret. Do not tell my mother. -Agent Simmons

Review

How can I say this…………….I was actually disappointed in the action?

You got it.  Too much talking, too little exploding.  When the exploding happened it seemed like it was overcompensating for all the dull and stagnant moments that carried on and on and on developing the mythology behind the story.  Who needs a huge story?  This is a movie about alien robots.  Why can’t they just fight over power converters or whether they are Mac or PC users?  That’s what was so enjoyable about the first one.  It was a simplistic enjoyable popcorn flick.

Not only does Megatron get brought back but apparently he’s a subsidiary to a big bad daddy of an ancient race of Decepticons, where we also become privy to the fact  that the bots aren’t BORN as Decepticons or Autobots but they have a choice………….what?  Ok, moving on.  Apparently this Master Decepticon is “The Fallen” and he’s been busy with a plan for centuries to take his revenge on Earth and steal it’s sun.  All that’s standing between him and his goal is Optimus Prime and Sam Whitwhicky and one hundred trillion small obstacles that get in the way of both the Autobots and the Decepticons.  So we are reminded that this is a Michael Bay film in each scene there is at least one form of explosion.

Now, it’s not that I didn’t like or enjoy the movie, but the bones I had to pick were not ones I was anticipating, so I was taken by surprise.  The most negative aspect of the film was it’s length.  It really carried on for too long.  There are two main action sequences in the film and by the time you get to them you don’t want them to carry on and on because you are hoping there is an end somewhere in the future.  It was incredibly disappointing that the pacing was so off.  One thing Bay does well is keeps an intense pace burrowing threw his films that ultimately keeps the audience connected.  Here he mistook mini-explosions as somehow compensation for the dragging out of the plot.

Number fiiiiiiiive, I mean Megatron is aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!  Megatron gets resurrected and tells Starscream he’s the master and commander of the bad guy universe but then in the same breath he turns around and shows his worship of HIS master?  I had to roll my eyes.  We expect some dumb, but not that dumb.  The twins gave me kind of a Jar Jar feel.  Their presence just wasn’t a natural addition into the story as they were thrown in for the specific choice of “comic relief.”  But they weren’t usually funnyand their jokes came off stilted, though Ironhide and Bumblee compensated for it.  Bringing LaBeouf back was a great choice.  He was charming and tangible once again, though the surprise of John Turturro’s  return was a high point in the character moments.

What was the deal with the T-1000 chick?  Honestly, such a pathetic rip off of Terminator and Species is not something to cheer about.  It wasn’t remotely funny nor was it cool.  I know this is a mini-spoiler but my six year old saw the movie with me and asked why the girl was walking like a robot.  I’m a fan of fembots , but at least be moderately original in your concept instead of giving your audience such an obvious display of what a lack of creativity and imagination you have.

Good moments involved the actual Transformers themselves.  Bumblebee wasn’t quite center stage this time, though his part was still the most enjoyable.  We really got to see Optimus Prime as a character rather than an illusive warrior that shows up for the last scene to throw down against Megatron .  He was pretty much the nucleus of the story, and that was exciting.  Any scene that showed Megan Fox all FOXY was a bonus for me.  She excelled at looking hot and running from explosions, though the little leg humping Decepticon was taking it a bit far.  Bringing back the ancient Transformer was definitely a high point.  There a was an excellent utilizing of the different Transformers and without question there was some of the most amazing CGI I have ever seen.  The fluid interaction of the characters with the real people was flawless.  It was the thing Bay definitely got most right about the movie.  Of course there were special moments he tossed in there for fans and probably his own sense of humor like The Bad Boys II poster in Sam’s dorm room.  It had me in hysterics.  I was relieved to see cities like Shanghai and Paris get beat up instead of New York again, and that was a welcome indulgence.  There really was a lot to enjoy about Transformers 2.

While some of the movie was on the mark, a huge part of Revenge Of The Fallen gave an overall feel of beating a dead horse.  The jokes from the first were forced in this version and the story itself was overworked and over-explained.  It’s no wonder Bay said he’s not up for another because he threw everything including the kitchen sink into this movie.  It was obvious he blew everything up in this movie knowing it was going to be his last time.  After that what is left?  The special effects are without question going to floor you.  The two main battle scenes are exemplary andis where Bay succeeds throughout.  I liked this movie for what it was, but I have to give the edge to the first film.  Definitely not the best of the summer, but a worthwhile adventure to the theater.

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