Review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) by Tim H — 02 Jul 2013

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN.

My personal rating: 80% (1-100).

"If I was Roger Ebert" rating: 20%.

*Quick explanation of the ratings*.

"My rating" is simply how much I enjoyed the film. High rating means I loved it and recommend to everyone. If it's low, it simply means I loathed it and would never see it again. The other rating is how I rate the film in terms of it being a piece of cinematic art. I evaluate the film in terms of plot, drama, coherence, and direction (as well as a few other little things). If that rating is high, it means it's a great film and should appeal to all. If it's low, then it's a mindless piece of trash that doesn't deserve screen time and won't appeal to a large audience.

A few spoilers ahead!

Introduction.

It's been two years since Michael Bay's 2007 summer blockbuster "Transformers", based off of the famous toyline and cartoon series. The film grossed $708 million worldwide ($319 million domestically), so a sequel was inevitable. The first film was indeed nothing short of an action-packed spectacle featuring amazing visual effects and eye-popping robots transforming into and out of vehicles. Sure, the story wasn't fleshed out so great and the character development lacked but it did what it set out to do: give you an exhilarating, action-packed movie theater experience. So how does the sequel hold up? Let's see: take the first film and multiply the action by a hundred. That's what we have here: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen".

The Story.

Here, the story of Sam Witwicky and the Autobots continues. Sam (Shia LaBeouf is off to college, trying to hold his relationship with Mikaela (Megan Fox) while Optimus Prime and the Autobots are working with a special military unit called NEST trying to wipe out the remaining Decepticons on Earth. Problems arise when Sam discovers a sliver of the All Spark and it embeds strange alien markings in his mind, causing him to see these markings and write them down in these hypnotized episodes. All the while, the Decepticons are searching for something across the Earth and it comes into fruition when they revive their leader, Megatron. All hell breaks loose soon afterwards. We learn that the transformers have been to Earth before, thousands of years ago and many of them stayed and hid from the humans in the forms of vehicles and such. We also meet the real leader of the Decepticons, the Fallen. This is the guy Megatron takes orders from (but wasn't Megatron supposed to be the leader?).

The Fallen was the first to come to Earth and left after the Primes (the top-dog robots) turned against him. We learn that Energon, the life force that give the transformers, well, their life, comes from the suns of different solar systems but they all agreed that they wouldn't take suns from planets that had life. Well, the Fallen didn't like that and tried to activate the machine that takes the sun and the Primes (ancestors of Optimus Prime) took away the key to the machine, the Matrix of Leadership. Now that the All Spark is gone, this machine is the only way to get Energon so that the Decepticons can create more life but luckily, the Primes hid the Matrix by entombing it with their bodies hidden somewhere in Egypt. Here's the big plot point: Those markings in Sam's head are the clues to the Matrix's location and soon, the Decepticons learn it and give Earth an ultimatum: deliver Sam or the earth will be destroyed (either way, that will happen).

That's the story. Quite a bit, huh? Yeah, but it doesn't get told to well. Typical of Michael Bay films, the action over encumbers the story. But really, that's what we're here for, right? Giant robots killing each other? That's where the film succeeds. The "human touch" is apparent but doesn't get the screen time it needs. The humor is all there but it's a lot of potty humor, very juvenile thanks in part to the Twins, two new Autobots that are played to be the black characters (they even have at least one gold tooth and there's a part later when Sam asks them to read the alien markings and they say they can't read! Racist? Politically incorrect? Who knows...). There are many more fight scenes this time around and less shots of the Pentagon and American flags (anyone find the humor in that? Michael Bay joke...). The funniest parts are definitely when Sam's mom eats a special kind of brownie and goes crazy at his college campus or when she cries before Sam moves. Hilarious. Overall, the story itself is great but wasn't told in the right way.

The Production.

On a budget of about $194 million, the film takes extraordinary leaps and bound in terms of action and visual effects. The transformers have never looked better and the special and visual effects are ridiculously amazing and good. I've probably never seen a movie with so much action. I had the fortunate experience of seeing the film in IMAX and like with "The Dark Knight", you have to see it in IMAX. Some scenes were shot with IMAX cameras (a leaf taken out of "The Dark Knight"s book) and it delivers an amazing experience. The forest fight between Optimus Prime and Megatron & Starscream is flat-out amazing and the scenes where we see the robots are in IMAX aspect ratio so it fills the whole screen. I had the perfect seating arrangement and I felt I was there watching the fights. The only problem with the IMAX scenes is that there aren't entire sequences shot in IMAX. You'll notice that during a sequence, the aspect ratio will change back and forth from IMAX to widescreen. Unlike "The Dark Knight" where entire sequences were shot in IMAX. The finale is an amazing showcase of CGI and visual effects and will quench your hunger for both. Just look at Devastor. His scenes are in IMAX and he's huge!

The films takes us from all over America to the Egyptian pyramids. Everything is beautifully shot and everything is beautifully blown up. I've never seen more tanks, jets, helicopters, soldier, and robots get blown up and thrown around before (and that's just in the finale!). The action is so intense. I know, I keep coming back to the action but that's all there is! Optimus Prime is definitely the baddest mother f***er around in this film, especially in the end. My god. He kicks so much ass in this movie!

Composer Steve Jablonsky ( Transformers, Gears of War 2) returns for the score. He delievers an epic score, perfectly fit for the film. It complements the action and emotion so well. If you listen to the album, be sure to check out tracks "Prime", "Infinte White", "Tomb of the Primes", and "I Rise, You Fall". Great tracks. Jablonsky uses more choral work and surreal female solo work. Overall, it's a great action movie score.

Conclusion.

All in all, if you liked the first film, you have to see this one. In terms of action, it's much better than the first. The only thing that holds back this movie is that the story doesn't get fleshed out and the "human touch" is barely there. If you think about it after watching the movie, it's a great story. But it doesn't get told the way it should and lets the action take it's place. Plus, there's too many plot holes! If you want all (mindless) action and no story, look no further. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" will take it's place as one of the best summer blockbusters and probably the best popcorn flick of all time.