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Oh, “Transformers.” It's like you never left.
No, really. That was a quick turn-around time. A mere two years after
the original film, the bazillion-dollar toy franchise is back with the
new film, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”
The plot is kind of a vehicle (pun sort of intended) for the trademark
Michael Bay action, but here goes: When Sam (Shia LeBeouf) killed
Megatron with the Allspark in the first movie, two shards were left
behind. One is locked up in a military vault. The other was stuck on
Sam's jacket, which he apparently never washed since the incident.
Anywho, the Decepticons find out about these pieces and start hunting
them down. They revive Megatron (Hugo Weaving) and they work to help
his master – The Fallen – in his evil scheme.
The heroic Autobots have spent the last two years kicking Decepticon
butt around the world but are starting to fall victim to bureaucracy
as the White House starts to wonder if having the Autobots on Earth is
a threat to the planet's security. Surprisingly, Barack Obama doesn't
take too kindly to Optimus Prime.
Meanwhile, Sam is off to an unnamed East Coast school (Generic
University, I suppose) while he and Mikaela (Megan Fox) attempt a
long-distance relationship. But he's quickly thrust back into the
saddle of saving the world when he starts seeing crazy pictures and
symbols in his mind. We learn more about the long past with the
Autobots, Decepticons and Earth.
Most of the cast from the first film returns. I was especially pleased
to see John Turturro return as Agent Simmons, the disgraced former
leader of Section 7, now working in his mother's deli.
Also, look out for some fun cameos by Rainn Wilson and Peter Cullen.
Yes, nerds, THE Peter Cullen.
The original 2007 film was your standard romance meets techie
conspiracy thriller meets sci-fi action movie starring two attractive
teens, military people, clueless parents and, oh yeah, a giant robot
or three. Bay recognized the problem there and compensates with lots
of delicious robot-on-robot action.
For those out there unfamiliar with Bay's style, look up a Verizon
FiOS ad he did not long ago. In it, he talks about how he demands
everything to be awesome. “Awesome barbecue,” he says, pressing a
button to make it blow up. Then, “Awesome pool,” he says, commanding
another squib. That's basically “Revenge of the Fallen” right there.
You have awesome houses, awesome cars, awesome tanks and awesome
landmarks falling victim to the Decepticon's awesome weaponry.
Awesome.
That said, the action scenes look amazing. The opening fight, shot and
set in Shanghai, sets the bar for the rest of the film. Word is that
several of the sequences were shot in IMAX. If you can see it in IMAX
(Protip: It's showing at the Maryland Science Center), do it.
In fact, the entire film has a real international flavor to it.
Besides Shanghai, there are parts of the film set in France, Egypt,
Jordan, the Atlantic Ocean and, of course, space. The film's $200
million budget is seen all over the screen, somehow managing to top
the first film in sheer production value.
But like the first film, "Revenge of the Fallen" fails miserably when
it tries to be something a "Transformers" film can't be, shouldn't be
and never does well. It is not a romance. It is not a slapstick
comedy. It's giant alien robots beating the snot out of each other. So
when the film tries to do romance, as in the first film, it ends up
being childish and awkward. The biggest thing going on between Sam and
Mikaela in “Revenge” is his reluctance to use the "L" word about their
relationship. Really, come on. In the next film, will we find out she
has cooties?
The film also makes the mistake of focusing too much on the human
plight. While it's not as bad as the first film in that respect, only
a handful of Autobots really get anything significant to do. Some only
get a few minutes of screen time. One Autobot, in particular, spends
much of the film lying around. And I will say no more about that.
The film really starts to drag towards the end of its 150 minute
running time. So much of the film feels so wordy that they could cut
out a few of the more embarrassing and cliched scenes of the movie and
still have a decent film.
Overall, I can't really say you shouldn't see “Revenge of the Fallen.”
Because what I say won't stop anyone from making it the
highest-grossing movie of the summer. It's a visual treat and a
high-octane action movie, but be forewarned that the plot is mostly
irrelevant. If you're into explosion porn, however, this is your kind
of show.
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