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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen review
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How cute, they're still holding hands
Director Michael Bay, received a beefed up budget for TRANSFORMERS 2 and spends every possible penny. By doing this, Bay gives the audience that much needed summer-blockbuster fix. He also answered the cry of fan-boys, that posted on any Internet message board they could find, to have more robot- action on screen for the sequel. Now the question, of whether TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, lived up to the hype is upon us.
For all intended purposes, the film does live up to the hype. All the critics, both professional and fans, that had minor issues with the first TRANSFORMERS film, will be satisfied this time around. For those, that either hate the first film, or thought that they butchered the Transformers legacy, then this film is not going to change your mind. The sequel does stick to the roots of Transformers lore. Some new autobots and decepticons that are known to fans, do make their debut in this film. Some have the characteristics of past adaptations, that many of us grew up with, but some have a modern day spin to them. That element might not be welcomed, but it doesn't ruin the film as a whole.
The story starts out with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) preparing to go to college. While packing he finds a piece of the all-spark and as soon as he touches it, visions of ancient symbols start to enter his mind. This plagues him in his first few days at school. Meanwhile, the autobots have formed a secret agency with the military to flush out the rest of the decepticons, that are still hiding on Earth. The agency is led by Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel), who helped the autobots defeat Megatron two years earlier. During one of the eradications of the decepticons, Optimus Prime and company learn about an ancient evil, The Fallen, from their history, that may be returning. The autobots start to worry and believe that Earth is going to be dragged into an ancient war, that started long ago. Optimus Prime and the autobots believe Sam is the key to discover what happened in the past on Earth between their two species. Sam wants to live a normal life and be with Mikaela (Megan Fox), but the return of Megatron changes everyone's plans. A global battle ensues with grave results.
The writing team of Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci (Star Trek 2009), and Ehren Kruger, take a piece of history from the Transformers's legend, that was explored in the cartoon run in the mid 1980s. The respect shown in the story should be appreciated by die-hard fans, as the writers don't put their own twist on it. They may pull pieces of the story from different time-frames, but the story is all in Transformers's lore. Let's face it, the Transformers's time-line, did leave room for interpretation. So on that spectrum, the film did a good job. The introduction of new autobots and decepticons is expected, but the producers did take some liberties in that approach. The biggest addition, that was voted on by fans all over, was the decepticon Soundwave. His trademark voice is preserved in this film, but for those wanting to see his purple exterior and tape-deck chest...apologizes are being handed out. The theme of the character's ability is also preserved, but it remains to be seen if this ticks off the die-hards. The producers also brought in Devastator, another popular pick from fans. For the most part, the character's theme is right on, but he does look different. Michael Bay had to take some risks in making TRANSFORMERS. Just be glad he just created some different versions of robots, rather than screw with the story.
The human element in this film was actually a pleasant surprise. All roles were reprised and many were even expanded this time around. Expanding the roles of human actors in a Transformers movie, was and still is a hot topic by fans. Some believe that they shouldn't have any human actors in major roles. However, if one knows the history of Transformers, humans were relevant in the stories. Shia LaBeouf actually improves his acting (for once) as Sam Witwicky, and gives an underrated performance. Megan Fox, brings substance to her character, and is used more than just a pretty face. Actually, she still is a pretty face, but improvements were made by her this time around. Sam's parents, played by Kevin Dunn and Julie White, are given more lines...mainly for comedic purposes, but do an excellent job. John Turturro naturally does a good job, and even manages to bring a little more depth to his character. The film did have a good balance of human interaction and exclusive robot scenes. This may tick people off, because this did contribute to this film being longer than perhaps it should have been.
This entry into the Transformers franchise, may draw comparisons to the second PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN film. The second PIRATES film had a lot of story development going on. The film was a massive production and viewed by some as the worst in the franchise due to it's wordy content. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, does follow that game plan to a certain extent, for this film looks to be a set-up for a third installment. Unlike, PIRATES, this TRANSFORMERS sequel isn't a going for epic story development. The film provides a steady does of action, comedy, and drama. The audience will not feel bored and/or confused. However, the audience may miss some of the lines.
Sound production was a bit off at certain times. It was tough for the audience to understand what robots were saying. This will be noticed during action sequences. Some robot dialogue can't be made out due to all the other elements going off in the background. The viewing I attended was an IMAX theater, so every sound in the scene was picked up. Although, some levels needed to be higher and/or lowered for there were enough times when I missed dialogue from the robots. The cinematography was captured well, and one could tell Michael Bay really put effort in to keeping robots in the scenes as much as possible.
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is being slammed for being a big production disguised as a movie. True, this film won't win any academy awards. The film will win with the casual audience, fans of action films, and fans of TRANSFORMERS. The film plays to cheesy moments at times, but dials in suspense when appropriate. Remember this my fellow critics...this is based off an action-cartoon. A cartoon that tried to have something in it for all audiences. For once we should give a bit of credit for a studio, director, etc., for having some respect for the past material.
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