Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

In anticipation for the upcoming DVD release (October 19th), I present to my loyal readers, a review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Hopefully it will help you guys decide whether you want to buy, rent, or obtain (in unscrupulous ways) the movie.


TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."

It's as if the first Transformers movie in 2007 wasn't pushing special effects enough, for Revenge of the Fallen adds more robots, more fight scenes, more spectacular settings, and ultimately, more trademark Michael Bay (the director, if you didn't know) explosions. The entire run of its two and a half hour running time threatens to explode your mind with eye candy.

However, plot-wise, the movie keeps it (maybe overly) simple, telling of how a certain baddie is revealed to be actually under the command of an even bigger, ancient baddie who threatens to destroy our beloved Earth. Of course naturally it's up to fearless leader Optimus Prime and his heroic Autobots to stop said baddie's Decepticons and their plans. Things grow more complicated when Shia LaBeouf's character Sam Witwicky is proven to be the key to the Earth's salvation, but he's not especially keen on involving himself in the war all over again.

But wait, some of you ask. What on earth are Transformers? For the uninitiated, they are alien robots who can transform/morph/transfigure themselves into another mode or form (commonly vehicles) which provides them with disguise. So, in the Transformers world, that Chevy Camaro you're driving might actually turn out to be a robot in disguise. There's more to them than meets the eye!


In theory it all works, actually. Yet, effectively, not so much, as poor editing and directing has made the movie far too long and poorly paced. What's worse is that the-powers-that-be thought it would be a good idea to add all sorts of cheap toilet jokes and sexual humor into the mix of the film. By the time of this writing, the movie's infamous twin robots, Mudflap and Skids, have been torn to bits by the media for being potty-mouthed and racist. Besides that, there's a cute little robot who humps Megan Fox's leg. I'm not sure whether that's more offensive or the fact that another giant robot has wrecking balls dangling from between his legs DESPITE THE FACT THAT HIS VEHICLE MODES HAVE NO WRECKING BALLS WHATSOEVER.

Looking back retrospectively, however, one can easily argue that perhaps the movie wasn't quite as bad as it was initially perceived. After all, I did manage to state all that was wrong in the movie in just one paragraph. There are still loads to like, from the beautiful visuals to the cute, if two dimensional characters. Many moments were extremely dramatic and exciting in a geeky sort of way. When Optimus Prime takes on three Decepticons in a forest all on his own to protect Sam, I nearly squealed in excitement. Also, Bay succeeds in making more coherent fight scenes this time, with more drama and desperation. I would say that the opening scene and the aforementioned forest battle were true highlights of the film. Besides, it's bad points have also evolved into camp value, and now friends can easily just sit back and laugh at the many bad lines in the movie as much as with any other B-movie (except this time, it has an A-budget). Why do you think Army of Darkness, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, the Star Wars prequels, and other such movies remain so enjoyable after all these years? However, really though, the movie is fun and enjoyable if only a little mindless in execution.

I'll take you all on!

For fans of the 2007 predecessor, how does Revenge stack up? It's difficult to say, but I would gauge it as about the same. Much has been improved, such as better fight scenes, visuals and coherent directing. Yet, it's now riddled with poorer pacing and crude humor. It depends really, but I enjoyed both. So, in conclusion, I do recommend this movie, it's fun, exciting, and stupid in a good way. Besides, with all of today's societal problems, it's easier to catch a movie like this rather than a heavy drama that will make you even more depressed.


Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen images are owned by DreamWorks LLC., Paramount Pictures and Hasbro. Additionally, these images were taken from TFWiki.net.