Transformers was a surprising hit in the summer of 2007. Based on a line of action figures, the CGI-intensive film managed to rake in almost $710 million worth of worldwide box office receipts. Of course, this meant a sequel would be close behind. In the summer of 2009, that sequel hit theaters and outdid its predecessor. Pulling in over $830 million, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was just recently released on DVD. I managed to avoid it in theaters, but felt oddly compelled to view it at home.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen picks up the story of the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons two years after the events of the first movie. The United States government has formed an alliance with the Autobots to provide a unified defense against the remaining Decepticons that still lurk on Earth. With their leader, Megatron, lying dead at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, the last of the Decepticons are hiding until they can strike again.
Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf), the teenager who discovered the Allspark in the first movie, is planning to go off to college and leave his parents and girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) behind. While packing for school, he discovers a shard of the Allspark stuck to the clothes he wore two years ago. This discovery sets in motion a series of events that take director Michael Bay two and a half hours to wrap up.
While the first Transformers movie was action-packed and humorous, Revenge of the Fallen seems to take the same formula and then multiply everything by five. It’s humorous, but it’s also borderline offensive. It’s action-packed, but to the point of overkill. The plot is so contrived that I didn’t even bother trying to figure out the logic. It’s over complicated and seemed capable of turning on a dime simply to feature some new element that would explode or cause destruction.
I’m all for suspending my disbelief in order to enjoy a good science fiction or action movie. If I couldn’t do that, I’d have a heck of a time explaining my love for Godzilla movies. This film, however, not only asks you to suspend your disbelief, it also asks you to suspend your ability to follow anything resembling reality. For example, I want to know how a group of characters goes to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, exits the building, and ends up in Arizona. How do robots that get banged-up, dented, scuffed, and decapitated turn into perfectly operating and fresh-from-the-showroom-floor-looking vehicles? How does Megan Fox look perfectly made-up after running through the desert, dodging gunfire, and narrowly escaping death?
The one thing that Revenge of the Fallen improves on from the original film is the flow of the action sequences. The first film’s robot fight scenes were confusing and hard-to-follow but Revenge of the Fallen‘s are much easier to process visually. That is the only improvement from the original film. The special effects are still phenomenal but grow tiresome after you’ve seen countless transformation sequences in slow motion, punctuated by explosions, smoke, and debris. The original’s borderline adult humor has also been ramped up to include shots of what would appear to be robotic testicles and a robot humping Megan Fox’s leg. There are also two gangsta wannabe Autobots named Skids and Mudflap who manage to spout some of the worst lines in recent memory while simultaneously being insulting to African-Americans.
I think Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the perfect example of a movie made for a generation that multitasks at all times. For those that watch movies while answering text messages, reading email, talking to friends, etc., this film is perfect because there’s no way to get lost if you never pay attention.
1.5 out of 5.0 stars
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