When the Hate started coming in... and Rightfully So
The hotly anticipated sequel to the 2007 unexpected (though not really if one were to think about) smash hit goes for bigger and broader in scope. And the expectations of many were so high for the cast and crew to improve on the very fixable mistakes that were made in the first one as well as enhance what was good in the first one. Does it do that? Well...
The Plot
When Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) triggers a map to a new source of power that gets embedded in his mind, he is once again thrusted into the war between the noble Autobots and evil Decepticons. With his girlfriend, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox), and his college roommate, Leo Spitz (Ramon Rodriguez), they must trek across the globe to not only find this source of power before the Decepticons do but also hope that it may save the life of Autobot leader: Optimus Prime.
Analysis
It is actually amazing how much watching a movie on the day of release with a massive audience can make one's perception of a movie very murky. I remember it very clearly that while my group of 14 friends and I showed up really early to our screening we still wound up being stuck in the front row. It got crowded really quick, to the point where some people were willing to sit on the steps. Of course that didn't fly well for the ushers, but some refused to move.
But back to my point. I remember having an incredibly fun movie going experience watching this movie. The crow was laughing and cheering and just full of this overwhelming excitement that was intoxicating. My friends and I were caught up in all this energy that it just made the experience a thousand times more enjoyable.
However when we walked out of the theater and had dinner at the sushi establishment across the street...we never talked about whether or not we liked the movie. Which was weird because that is something we always do after seeing a movie.
It wasn't until I bought the movie on special edition DVD (damn you blu-ray for ruining my chances of having a complete special edition DVD set) that I discovered why we didn't talk about the movie.
But it does show a lot of just how powerful the theater going experience is. Watching this movie alone is not fun. Watching this movie during matinee would not be fun either. Watching it with a crowd of people who loves this movie no matter what? That is truly something magical.
But now that the magic doesn't follow me to home viewing, lets talk about this piece of ****.
Review
There was a lot going on in this movie. And I do mean a lot. First there is LaBeouf's Sam having to deal with college and being away from his girlfriend. Then there's the horny conspiracy theory roommate who serves one purpose in the movie: being the conspiracy theorist. Then of course the villain from the first movie is brought back to life to kill the number one reason why people want to see this movie (Optimus Prime) so that it would really tie in to another plot of the movie. Then there's the globe trotting to get to the climax and the third act of the film. Okay that doesn't sound like a lot is going on, in fact it all goes together quite nicely on paper. The problem is a good idea on paper may not look good on screen.
As I mentioned the plot seems to be about bringing Optimus Prime back to life after getting killed by a revived Megatron. Oh, is that a spoiler? Well with all out honesty the plot of the film is marketed as an ancient Decepticon wants to harvest the sun's energy....because he wants to harvest the sun's energy. The title Revenge of the Fallen suggests that the titular Fallen (the ancient Decepticon voiced by Tony Todd) wants revenge on someone. Though as the opening prologue states: the ones he wants revenge on have been dead for thousands of years. So...there really is no revenge factor. If anyone should be getting revenge it should be Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving) because he was killed in the first movie. The title would've fit perfectly if that was the case because he has indeed fallen and come back to life. But no he does not seek to kill Optimus for revenge, he seeks to kill Optimus because his master The Fallen can only be killed by someone with Prime in their name. So in a sense the character who should get revenge doesn't actually get revenge on the character who would give cause for revenge but instead does things because he was told to do so. Makes sense?
Anyway this film could've gone a lot differently had it been marketed as what it is: we need to bring Optimus Prime back to life. That is the plot of the movie. But the problem is they had to make it so complex yet at the same time so convenient that a world ending device could also be the key to bringing Optimus back to life. So many moving parts for something that should really just be straight forward. Yet that plot gets mixed in with other plots that get dragged out unnecessarily. Especially with the nonexistent presence of this new villain because although he shows off that he is powerful he doesn't really do much to justify his place in the movie. Let alone justify why his name should be in the title.
The acting was just over the top. I'm not going to name names specifically because lets face it everyone was acting over the top in this movie. Even in the emotional scenes it seemed too heightened for what it should be. The one who I was paying attention to was Isabel Lucas who plays the robot disguised as a human named Alice. The reason was mainly due to her being pointed as the next big thing, and a fine actress. Unfortunately the role she was given in this movie was not a really nice display of her acting range. Which is sad because I've seen her in The Pacific and she's great.
And the action of seeing robots fight other robots is completely ruined by not knowing who is fighting who. A lot of new hero robots are introduced, including female robots, and a lot of new villain robots are introduced, but in the end unless one is really paying attention very very very carefully (like me) you would have no idea who is who or who is fighting what. This was a minor problem in the previous one but at least there were multiple times when the fights were clear. In this one the only fight that was clear and well done was the one with Optimus battling Megatron and two other Decepticons at the same time. Other than that one part, all the other action in the movie is terrible. And this is suppose to be coming from action auteur, Michael Bay.
I should probably talk about those two idiot robots in the movie but I'm not going to waste internet space for that.
Final Thoughts
I wish I can relive that movie theater experience of seeing this movie with a crowd of blind excited fans because the movie I remembered seeing on the big screen was not the same one I saw when I watched it at home alone. And after seeing the third one that's when it dawned on me that seeing a Transformers movie with a crowd of Transformer movie fans is the best way to see the movie. You will get lost in the energy and feel like it is the greatest movie ever! But sadly it is not.
SCORE: 4/10 - A movie to enjoy only at a midnight screening with hardcore fans of the series
For a review of the previous film, CLICK HERE
For a review of the next film, CLICK HERE
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