Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - The IMAX Experience Review

Rated PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Sci-Fi Action Violence, Language, Some Crude and Sexual Material, and Brief Drug Material)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 30 Minutes

Cast-

Shia LaBeouf-Sam Witwicky

Megan Fox-Mikaela Banes

Josh Duhamel-Major William Lennox

Tyrese Gibson-Sergeant Robert Epps

Ramon Rodriguez-Leo Spitz

John Turturro-Reggie Simmons

Kevin Dunn-Ron Witwicky

Julie White-Judy Witwicky

Isabel Lucas-Alice

Glenn Morshower-General Morshower

John Benjamin Hickey-Galloway

Rainn Wilson-Professor Colan

Peter Cullen (voice)-Optimus Prime

Hugo Weaving (voice)-Megatron

Tony Todd (voice)-The Fallen

Robert Foxworth (voice)-Ratchet

Jess Harnell (voice)-Ironhide

André Sogliuzzo (voice)-Sideswipe

Grey DeLisle (voice)-Arcee

Tom Kenny-Wheelie/Skids

Reno Wilson-Mudflap

Mark Ryan (voice)-Jetfire

Charlie Adler (voice)-Starscream

Frank Welker (voice)-Soundwave/Devastator/Reedman/Grindor

Calvin Wimmer (voice)-Wheelbot

Michael York (voice)-Prime #1

Kevin Michael Richardson (voice)-Prime #2/Skipjack/Rampage

Robin Atkin Downes (voice)-Prime #3

Directed by Michael Bay

Outside of the forest battle halfway through the film, everything else about "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is total garbage.

We’ve finally arrived at the most anticipated movie of the summer, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” released into conventional theaters and IMAX yesterday. The sequel to the 2007 hit has been outselling “Star Trek” in advanced ticket sales and your favorite reviewer has returned from the multiplex to give you the verdict. Unfortunately, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is a massive disappointment and earns the dubious honor of being the worst summer film I’ve seen so far. The visual effects are still state-of-the-art but they’re no longer any special and while Bay certainly ups the ante in scope, everything else from the story to the characters suffers. The sexual humor extends the camp factor to an almost unbearable limit and by the time the film meanders toward its loud climax, you’d wish it ended forty minutes earlier.

SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW! After a short prologue taking place in 17,000 BC, we return to our main characters two years after the first film, with the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) joining forces with the British and American military to form NEST, an organization devoted to hunting down the remaining Decepticons on Earth. Both Major William Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Sergeant Robert Epps (Tyrese Gibson) are part of this newly formed organization. Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is preparing to go to college and while going through his belongings, he finds a shard of the All-Spark. Upon touching it, his mind is filled with ancient Cybertronian text. He requests his girlfriend, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) to keep the shard for safe keeping and says good-bye to his guardian, Bumblebee. In space, Soundwave, the Decepticons’ intelligence officer, hacks a United States military satellite in an attempt to learn the location of Megatron’s corpse and a shard of the All-Spark in the hopes of resurrecting their leader. The shard happens to be heavily guarded in a NEST bunker and Soundwave sends Ravage to retrieve it. Deep in the Laurentian Abyss, the Constructicons revive Megatron (voice of Hugo Weaving), who flies into space and meet his true master, the Fallen (voice of Tony Todd), one of the original thirteen Transformers who is now looking for a Sun Harvester, a large device that can harvest the energy of a planet’s sun and convert it into energon, the lifeblood of all Transformers. The Autobots now must face their old foes, the Decepticons, in battle once more and protect Sam, whose mind holds the key to the survival of the Transformers and their hidden origins.

First let’s look at the plot of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” Unfortunately, there is none because everything is a damn near incomprehensible mess. Of course, story is never important in these types of films but if that’s true, why did Bay and writers Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman spend two hours and thirty minutes telling it? What made the first film mostly work was that amidst all the mindless robot battles lay a simple coming-of-age tale of a boy buying his first car and taking that first step into adulthood. No such themes are found here and the sequel’s sense of scope begins to work against it as we’re introduced to convenient plot devices such as a large ‘rail gun’ that the U.S. military just happens to have and when Sam discovers the ‘Matrix of Leadership,’ which just happens to have the ability to resurrect a major character. Another problem is that "Revenge of the Fallen" reaches its climax about midway and after that, it comes to a screeching halt as it wanders aimlessly toward the final battle. The sequel tries to cover too much ground by piling on the mythology even when it makes no sense and requires too much suspension of disbelief.

It doesn’t help that the characters aren’t all that engaging and Shia LaBeouf seems to have lost much of the wit and charm he had in the first film. Still, I can say that Sam remains the most fleshed-out character, which is no surprise considering he’s always at the center of everything but it’s hard to care about his mission because there’s just no emotional investment. When he suffers a fatal blast from Megatron that leaves him near-death, we don’t feel any grief because we know Bay will find some way to bring him back or there’s no “Transformers 3.” This film reaffirms the fact that Megan Fox absolutely cannot act. When her character Mikaela first appears, she’s wearing ultra-short, cut-off jeans and leaning suggestively on top of a motorcycle. This led to all the male audience members to start whooping and hollering. Yes, we get it, Fox is really attractive and I don’t dispute that but here, it’s just overdone way too much as we’re constantly reminded of how good-looking she is. During the final battle, there’s debris and dirt flying everywhere but amazingly, Fox’s white jeans remain clean throughout that entire sequence! I certainly would like a pair of these special pants as it would sure save on quarters at the local Laundromat! Both Duhamel and Gibson’s characters are now little more than cardboard cutouts with their macho-man banter, taking part in the action yet adding little to the plot. Sam’s neurotic parents, played by Kevin Dunn and Julie White, continues to steal the show in one of the film’s more humorous bits when White’s character accidentally eats brownies that are filled with weed while visiting Sam’s college campus. John Turturro also reprises his role as Reggie Simmons, who now works in a Brooklyn deli since the U.S. government has disbanded Sector 7. Unfortunately, his character is now more annoying than ever and we’re even treated to a shot of his bare buttocks in a thong. Seriously, Bay, was that even necessary? Joining the cast is Ramon Rodriguez (last seen in “The Taking of Pelham 123”) as conspiracy theorist Leo Spitz but he soon wears out his welcome with his incessant screaming that I wished one of the Decepticons would just step on him.

As for the Transformers themselves, they’re still relegated to supporting characters but the film suffers from what I call “X-Men 3 syndrome” as a gaggle of unknown, uncharacterized robots just suddenly pop up to wail on each other and little else. Outside of Optimus Prime, Megatron and a few others, all the other robots are interchangeable, and they exist only to fight because someone decided that’s all the core audience is interested in. Some of the new Transformers wear out their welcome fast, such as Jetfire (voice of Mark Ryan) with his grumpy old man shtick or Wheelie (voice of Tom Kenny), who ends up latching on to Fox’s leg and humping it. Those are minor gripes compared to Mudflap and Skids, two of the worst racial stereotypes I’ve seen in a film since Jar Jar Binks in “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.” Both of them have gold buck teeth, speak in street slang and get this, they admit that they’re illiterate! This is the twenty first century and its amazing films have to fall back on these offensive caricatures just to provide a cheap laugh. Just when it couldn’t get any worse, Bay fills the entire film with a constant barrage of campy sexual humor that makes “Batman & Robin” look like an Academy Award-winning masterpiece. We have dogs humping each other, Megan Fox landing on people’s crotches, and testicles on Devastator. The audience just ate it up, laughing throughout at the most inane and banal of jokes. The one thing I can positively say is that the special effects and action scenes don’t disappoint but even then they begin to grow tiresome. Bay has refined his technique in making the fights more comprehensible and the highlight would be when Optimus Prime takes on Megatron, Starscream, and Grindor in a thrilling forest battle but when the all-out rumble begins to take place in an Egyptian desert, you’re just too exhausted to even care about the outcome anymore. Roger Ebert says it best, ‘If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination.’

Critics agreed with everything I have mentioned as “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” currently holds the lowest rating of all the high-profile summer releases: 22% on Rotten Tomatoes. I know I hold an unpopular opinion with this film and I’ll probably get bashed for it but that’s something a critic, even an amateur one has to deal with it. So far, the box office gross stands at a record-breaking $60.6 million for a movie opening on a Wednesday, surpassing 2004’s “Spider-Man 2,” which earned $59.8 million that same day. There is no doubt now that the film will open at number one at the box office and the final figure might be upwards of $150 million. Last year, “The Dark Knight” was the highest grossing film of the year and had emotionally resonant characters and an intelligent script that asked interesting questions of what a man would do to save a city, the likes of which is rarely seen in a high-profile summer picture. I can’t help but think of Joshua Starnes' review on ComingSoon, where he wrote that 'the people the film was made for won't notice; they'll like it for what it is. Which, on consideration, is probably the saddest thing of all. As long as you're willing to accept crap, you're not likely to get anything better.' At first, I thought it was too harsh of a statement but after seeing this garbage on the big screen, it’s apt. Nonetheless, it doesn’t matter what I or other critics think, because the film will still make millions of dollars but as you’re watching, keep Starnes' statement in the back of your mind. If “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” has already sunk this low, I can’t imagine how the third film will turn out.

Final Rating: 1.5 out of 5

"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."

Addendum: Having seen "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" in IMAX, I am here to report that there are only two scenes shot with full IMAX cameras: the forest battle between Optimus Prime and the Decepticons and when Devastator rampages across the Egyptian desert.

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Transformers Blu-Ray Review

Rated PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Sci-Fi Action Violence, Brief Sexual Humor, and Language)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 24 Minutes

Cast-

Shia LaBeouf-Sam Witwicky

Megan Fox-Mikaela Banes

Josh Duhamel-Captain William Lennox

Tyrese Gibson-Sergeant Robert Epps

Rachael Taylor-Maggie Madsen

Anthony Anderson-Glen Whitmann

John Turturro-Agent Reggie Simmons

Jon Voight-Defense Secretary John Keller

Michael O'Neill-Tom Banacheck

Kevin Dunn-Ron Witwicky

Julie White-Judy Witwicky

Amaury Nolasco-ACWO Jorge 'Fig' Figueroa

Zack Ward-First Sergeant Donnelly

Bernie Mac-Bobby Bolivia

Peter Cullen (voice)-Optimus Prime

Hugo Weaving (voice)-Megatron

Mark Ryan (voice)-Bumblebee

Darius McCrary (voice)-Jazz

Robert Foxworth (voice)-Ratchet

Jess Harnell (voice)-Ironhide/Barricade

Jimmie Wood (voice)-Bonecrusher

Reno Wilson (voice)-Frenzy

Charlie Adler (voice)-Starscream

Directed by Michael Bay

This picture is a commentary on the awesomeness of America.

Summer movies have gained a reputation for being heavily driven by special effects whose sole purpose is to make money, regardless of what critics think of said movie. No other film epitomizes this than 2007’s “Transformers,” with the sequel, “Revenge of the Fallen” opening in theaters and IMAX tomorrow. Transformers are actually a series of toys created in 1984 by a Japanese toy company called Takara Tomy. Hasbro originally handled distribution in the United States but eventually, brought the entire toy line after Takara gave them sole ownership of the series and copyrights. Takara retained its right to produce and distribute the toys for the Japanese market. Transformers quickly became popular, leading to the creation of various television shows, video games and a full-length animated film but that popularity began to wane until Michael Bay came along. While Bay’s films have certainly raked in millions at the box office with the exception of 2005’s “The Island,” his rather dubious reputation as a filmmaker invoked fears of ‘butchering’ the franchise among hardcore fans, and the radical redesign of many characters didn’t exactly help matters. Available on Blu-Ray since last year, “Transformers” certainly delivers on the spectacle that borders on sensory overload but the story often feels trite with its disparate subplots and the human characters aren’t that interesting to begin with. At the end of the day, this is either a love-it or hate-it film but for me, “Transformers” is merely just average.

After a short narration from Autobot leader Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) that explains how the war with the Decepticons destroyed their homeworld Cybertron, the film switches to present day Qatar in the Middle East where a U.S. SOCCENT base is tracking an unknown helicopter. The helicopter turns out to be none other than the Decepticon Blackout, who promptly begins to demolish the base in an attempt to hack into the U.S. military network. Captain William Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Sergeant Robert Epps (Tyrese Gibson) lead a group of survivors but Scorponok burrows underground to follow them. Meanwhile, regular kid Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is shopping for his first car with his father when he comes upon a faded yellow Chevy Camaro. Sam promptly buys it in an attempt to woo his school crush, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) but discovers to his horror that the Camaro is actually Autobot Bumblebee, who transmits a homing signal to his fellow compatriots. Led by Optimus Prime, the group reveals that they are looking for the ‘All-Spark’ and are at war with Megatron (voice of Hugo Weaving), leader of the Decepticons. A map to the location of the All-Spark happens to be etched into the glasses of Sam’s great-great grandfather, who discovered a giant ‘ice man’ buried in the Arctic Circle in 1897. Sam agrees to help the Autobots in a race against time with the Decepticons as the United States military prepare for what seems to be a full-scale alien invasion.

For a movie that is called “Transformers,” the actual Transformers are relegated to supporting characters that end up doing very little until the final thirty minutes of the film. The main plot is your typical coming-of-age story that we’ve seen thousands of times before but Shia LaBeouf’s charismatic and sincere performance makes it work. It's not particularly deep or emotionally involving and the only time that it comes close to that is when Bumblebee is captured by the government. At times, the film’s fragmented storytelling may frustrate viewers as they wonder how the subplot involving the United States military fits into Sam’s predicament but writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman manage to make it come together into a satisfying whole…for the most part. There are a few lingering plot holes involving the All-Spark, the picture’s MacGuffin, as we are led to believe that whoever possesses it wields unlimited power but this idea is thrown out the window when Sam shoves the cube into Megatron’s chest to destroy him. Of course, a film like “Transformers” seems to follow its own logic and scenes such as Frenzy walking nonchalantly through an airbase with Secret Service crawling around or the Autobots milling about in Sam’s backyard begs the question: shouldn’t someone outside the core cast notice giant anthropomorphic robots running around? I mean, they’re pretty hard to miss! Sure, Bay doesn’t want us to take the film too seriously but in reality, it just comes off as distracting. Also, Lennox trying to hide the All-Spark in 'Mission City' (actually Los Angeles) struck me as poor thinking since they know the Decepticons are coming after it so why would they go to a heavily populated area with civilians? The real reason is to have an epic battle but for all its effort to ground the film in reality, this just borders on the absurd. “Transformers” is certainly Bay’s best film to date as he spends a fair amount of time developing the characters, though some only exist mainly to sprout exposition or provide comedy relief but at the end of the day, it’s just an excuse for giant robots to pummel the metal out of each other.

The acting is somewhat mixed but Shia LaBeouf continues to prove that he has the effective screen presence to carry an entire film. His character Sam is your normal, everyday kid who’s excited about getting his first car because this is his ticket to winning the hot girlfriend. It’s a tried-and-true formula for this type of story but Shia manages to bring a maturity to Sam as the film progresses, thanks to his family motto, ‘No sacrifice, no victory.’ Unfortunately, the rest of the cast aren’t given much to do; Megan Fox serves as the obligatory eye candy and the rest of the supporting cast, which includes Josh Duhamel, Rachael Taylor, and Jon Voight, serve to provide exposition so audiences new to Transformers wouldn’t get lost in the shuffle. However John Turturro is rather memorable as the stereotypical, Area 51-like, government official. Turturro never ceases to amaze me thanks to the wide range of different genre’s he’s been involved in, being able to switch from serious to more comedic roles without any effort.

Of course, the real reason to watch “Transformers” is the robots themselves and thanks to Industrial Light & Magic, you’ll see every little gear move with life-like accuracy as they switch between bot and vehicle modes. As actual characters they don’t fare as well and with the exception of Optimus, all of them are just given a name, what their function is and that’s it. As I mentioned before, the robots end up doing very little, with the Decepticons being shortchanged the most as they just suddenly pop up for the final battle! One thing I can say positively is that the special effects are nothing short of astonishing and it was a letdown that they lost the Academy Award to “The Golden Compass.” The action scenes are very much Michael Bay and has his personal, over-the-top touch. Some of them border on sensory overload as you’ll see so many robots shooting and pummeling each other that it all starts to blur together. One of the primary complaints was that viewers had trouble telling who was fighting whom or what faction they belonged to. It was also disappointing that some of the later battles, like the one between Optimus and Megatron, partially take place off-camera, making it feel like a bit of a gyp.

“Transformers” was at the center of the format war between HD DVD and Blu-Ray and was considered to push HD DVD to victory as it was arguably the best looking high definition transfer at the time. When HD DVD was finally phased out and the film arrived on the superior Blu-Ray format in September 2008, the picture quality went beyond reference material. The opening scenes of the film are absolutely breathtaking as we see every drop of sweat on the soldiers gleaming off their pores but where the Blu-Ray really shines is in revealing all the intricacies of the robots and the hard work that was put into bringing them to life. Shadows are rich and inky and all the primary colors of the Autobots leap off the screen. The battles will leave your mouth hanging open as debris flies everywhere, windows shatter, and spent shell casings scatter all over the ground. Audio quality is likewise flawless, the highpoint being Peter Cullen’s booming and authoritative voice of Optimus Prime. When the music swells, you will get chills, especially during the scene when the Autobots crash-land to Earth. Sound effects are everywhere as buildings crumble while machine gun fire splits the air with the robots throwing each other around like rag dolls in the background, resulting in room-shaking thuds. Special features are plentiful with an audio commentary from Bay and three in-depth features on the making of the film, including a history of the Transformers franchise and the special effects involved. “Transformers” may be average but this Blu-Ray is certainly a must-buy as it is an experience you’ll never forget.

Released on July 3, 2007, “Transformers” received a mixed reception from critics, averaging a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes, citing the lack of believable characters but praised that the ‘effects are staggering and the action is exhilarating.’ Made on a surprisingly low budget of $150 million (compared to the $258 million for “Spider-Man 3”), the film earned an impressive $319 million domestic and $708 million worldwide, so a sequel was already a given. For me, “Transformers” at times borders on being plain dumb or absurd but I agree that it is one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen in a while. The problem is that it never strives to amount to anything more than just robots fighting and that’s a damn shame but what would you expect from a Michael Bay film?

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

"Were we so different? They're a young species. They have much to learn. But I've seen goodness in them. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."

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