Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (**)
Directed by: Michael BayStarring: Shia Lebeouf, Megan Fox, Joshua Duhamel, John Torturro, Isabel Lucas, Rainn Wilson, Tyrese Gibson, Ramon Rodriguez, Hugo Weaving (voice), Frank Weller (voice), Anthony Anderson (voice), Peter Cullen (voice)
Seen: June 23rd and June 27th 2009
** Out of ****
(Italics added after second viewing)
Over the last two or so days reviews for Transformers 2 have been popping up all over the web, and there is a sickly unanimous lambasting of the film going on. I’m afraid that I fail to see the reason for this however, as I enjoyed it immensely, the first time. The second time the film felt like an enormously good looking chore. For those who break it down I ask: What were you expecting, the Easter bunny? It’s a bloody Transformers movie, and anything that’s not action and robots fighting and fantastic visual effects is absolutely irrelevant. If you walk into the cinema expecting anything else than absolute mass-metal mayhem, I say you are a fool. But maybe not if you did expect this AND maybe some semblance of feeling coherent after watching it. I fully appreciate the fact that some people will find the film nowhere near their sphere of interest, just as some big fans of this will never enjoy a great art film like, for example, Volver (with Penelope Cruz).
The film opens with operations of a secret military branch, NEST, hunting Decepticons in China. Autobots Optimus Prime, Arcee, Sideswipe, Jolt, and the twins Skids and Mudflap are assisting Major William Lennox (Duhamel) and his team in defeating Decepticons Demolisher and Sideways (an Audi R8, awesome car). As Prime stands over the defeated Demolisher after the fight, the dying Decepticon’s last words are: “The Fallen shall rise again”, which sets up the rest of the film. Some critics complained about the story making no sense, but I believe these are the select group who went into the cinema wanting to hate the film, and therefore just ignored some plot elements, and I stand by this point, since if you paid attention to what is being said, things do make sense in terms of the reality the Transformers are created in. This is a science fiction fantasy film, and is not supposed to be based in our concept of the real world – have you ever seen a car transform into a robot in real life? No? Then stop complaining if you do not understand it, or watch the film again (or maybe not, since it's not NEARLY as good the second time), this time focusing on the plot development!
Sam Witwicky (Lebeouf) is going to college, and as he is packing up, a splinter of the all-spark, that robot life-giving cube from the first film, falls from his lucky jacket (the one he wore on the day of Megatron’s defeat). Something strange happens to him when he touches the shard, it falls, burns through the floor, and ends up on the kitchen counter, where it gives Transformer-life to various kitchen appliances (of course they all turn out to be small Decepticons). After Bumblebee destroys them, Mikaela (Fox) shows up and tries to coax an “I love you” out of him before he leaves, but they are interrupted by Sam' parents before they can start an argument about it.
At college Sam arrives at his dorm room only to find that his roommate, Leo (Rodriguez), is a conspiracy theorist who also runs a small website, The Real F’n Deal.com. And Sam starts seeing things that was imprinted on his brain by the all-spark splinter, as well as being “approached” by yet another Decepticon, and against his will, he is pulled right back into the fray, and this time the battle is an even bigger one, as earth’s existence comes into play.
Autobots and Decepticons abound in the film, with almost too many of them being thrown around, but that is actually beside the point – remember what I said earlier about absolute mass-metal mayhem? You do get the sense of not getting to know any new robot characters (apart from one, Jetfire, who is probably the most interesting character in the film), and also not seeing enough of those robots presented in the first film (apart from Bumblebee, who kicks some serious ass here). The battles are extreme, and if you are confused it is not entirely your fault, it gets a bit close-up. The humour is light enough to not feel intrusive, and funny enough to not feel forced, as, once again, many critics have claimed (although one or two jokes are a bit stupid). Skids and Mudflap, the “gangsta” twins, are funny and amusing, and not, as people have claimed, overused to the point of ruining the entire film (how is that possible with the approximately six jokes they are involved in over the film’s very long time-span of 150 minutes?). The relationship between Sam and Mikaela grounds the film in humanity, as without that things might have gotten completely too mechanical. The same also goes for Sam’s involvement, which is another detractor from a complete take-over by the robots, although some of it does get a bit ridiculous, as things like destiny and such are mentioned in dream-like states of delerium.
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is a sufficient follow up to the first film, and I believe that if you are a fan of the first, you could enjoy this one. It is a big dumb shiny blockbuster, and if it feels like a kick in the nuts, that's because it is, and even though it is a very well executed and extremely overproduced kick in the nuts, the end result is still the same; you're walking funny. I enjoyed it the first time, a hell of a lot, and the second time I still enjoyed the visual tour de force, even though the rest fell flat, heavily. But after being so very dissapointed with the film following the second viewing, I was once again excited about it when I saw the trailer for it a day later. Strange, isn't it?
The film opens with operations of a secret military branch, NEST, hunting Decepticons in China. Autobots Optimus Prime, Arcee, Sideswipe, Jolt, and the twins Skids and Mudflap are assisting Major William Lennox (Duhamel) and his team in defeating Decepticons Demolisher and Sideways (an Audi R8, awesome car). As Prime stands over the defeated Demolisher after the fight, the dying Decepticon’s last words are: “The Fallen shall rise again”, which sets up the rest of the film. Some critics complained about the story making no sense, but I believe these are the select group who went into the cinema wanting to hate the film, and therefore just ignored some plot elements, and I stand by this point, since if you paid attention to what is being said, things do make sense in terms of the reality the Transformers are created in. This is a science fiction fantasy film, and is not supposed to be based in our concept of the real world – have you ever seen a car transform into a robot in real life? No? Then stop complaining if you do not understand it, or watch the film again (or maybe not, since it's not NEARLY as good the second time), this time focusing on the plot development!
Sam Witwicky (Lebeouf) is going to college, and as he is packing up, a splinter of the all-spark, that robot life-giving cube from the first film, falls from his lucky jacket (the one he wore on the day of Megatron’s defeat). Something strange happens to him when he touches the shard, it falls, burns through the floor, and ends up on the kitchen counter, where it gives Transformer-life to various kitchen appliances (of course they all turn out to be small Decepticons). After Bumblebee destroys them, Mikaela (Fox) shows up and tries to coax an “I love you” out of him before he leaves, but they are interrupted by Sam' parents before they can start an argument about it.
At college Sam arrives at his dorm room only to find that his roommate, Leo (Rodriguez), is a conspiracy theorist who also runs a small website, The Real F’n Deal.com. And Sam starts seeing things that was imprinted on his brain by the all-spark splinter, as well as being “approached” by yet another Decepticon, and against his will, he is pulled right back into the fray, and this time the battle is an even bigger one, as earth’s existence comes into play.
Autobots and Decepticons abound in the film, with almost too many of them being thrown around, but that is actually beside the point – remember what I said earlier about absolute mass-metal mayhem? You do get the sense of not getting to know any new robot characters (apart from one, Jetfire, who is probably the most interesting character in the film), and also not seeing enough of those robots presented in the first film (apart from Bumblebee, who kicks some serious ass here). The battles are extreme, and if you are confused it is not entirely your fault, it gets a bit close-up. The humour is light enough to not feel intrusive, and funny enough to not feel forced, as, once again, many critics have claimed (although one or two jokes are a bit stupid). Skids and Mudflap, the “gangsta” twins, are funny and amusing, and not, as people have claimed, overused to the point of ruining the entire film (how is that possible with the approximately six jokes they are involved in over the film’s very long time-span of 150 minutes?). The relationship between Sam and Mikaela grounds the film in humanity, as without that things might have gotten completely too mechanical. The same also goes for Sam’s involvement, which is another detractor from a complete take-over by the robots, although some of it does get a bit ridiculous, as things like destiny and such are mentioned in dream-like states of delerium.
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is a sufficient follow up to the first film, and I believe that if you are a fan of the first, you could enjoy this one. It is a big dumb shiny blockbuster, and if it feels like a kick in the nuts, that's because it is, and even though it is a very well executed and extremely overproduced kick in the nuts, the end result is still the same; you're walking funny. I enjoyed it the first time, a hell of a lot, and the second time I still enjoyed the visual tour de force, even though the rest fell flat, heavily. But after being so very dissapointed with the film following the second viewing, I was once again excited about it when I saw the trailer for it a day later. Strange, isn't it?
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