RSS
Home
"Transformers 2: The Revenge of the Fallen" comes to DVD
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Michael Bay has developed a reputation as a filmmaker that appeals to teenage boys who like explosions, special effects and not much in the way of a plot. There has always been an audience for this type of movie, so from a financial standpoint, it's hard to fault him for this. His most recent entry to come to DVD on October 20th, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" looks to appeal to fans of the original and to perhaps widen its audience.
The plot once again follows Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) as he attempts to live life as a normal teenager, this time going off to college. He's still with the out-of-his-league girl Mikaela (Megan Fox) much to the viewing delight of the audience. The problem for Sam is that he finds himself in danger once again from the Decepticons when he discovers the origins of the Transformers.
While the film was critically panned, this did little to dampen its massive success at the box office. The first "Transformers" film reeled in enough longtime fans and new fans to warrant at least two sequels. With the hundreds of millions that "Revenge of the Fallen" earned, it would be a little bit of a surprise if the series doesn't extend beyond a third movie.
What makes this film special to the Lehigh Valley is the fact that a high profile action sequence was filmed in Bethlehem at the abandoned site of Bethlehem Steel. This is an example of Pennsylvania's new tax incentives for filmmakers.
Detractors will point to some narrative deficiencies and an over reliance on appealing to what it thinks the audience will find "cool". Quite a bit was made of the depictions of twin characters Skids and Mudflap as being a bit racially insensitive and just a downright ignorant generalization. That's up to the viewer to decide. This is nothing new to Michael Bay. Take it or leave it. A number of people have also expressed surprise at the amount of foul language present in this PG-13 movie.
Special features of the two disc collector's edition include: featurettes on the making of the film, a day with Michael Bay, feature commentary, 25 years of Transformers, a plethora of information about the franchise, multiple angles of special effects from the movie, deleted scenes and Easter Eggs. As if that wasn't enough, there's also a music video by Linkin Park for the song "New Divide." There's a reason that the movie comes with 2 discs. There are just so many extras.
People who enjoyed the first movie likely already saw this in theaters. They can decide whether or not to buy the DVD. There is no reason to start with this movie if you're new to the franchise, though. No matter what your opinion on the series is, robots and big explosions have a way of selling themselves. This isn't the last we've heard from these 'bots or this wacky director.
Rated PG-13 150 minutes 2009
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
