Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Movie Review

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen takes the battle scenes from the first movie and puts them on steroids. Not only are the battle scenes bigger, more exciting, and easier to follow, they include an variety of robots that haven't been seen before. But what it gains in special effects, it lacks in storytelling. The story ten times more complicated, and because of it I found myself losing interest in the plot, and just wanting to see more robots blow stuff up and kill each other.

Unlike the first film, this one does not dive right into the story and the action. Instead the viewer sits through Sam Witwicky's first college experiences (which include his mom accidentally getting high off "special brownies," encounters with the student body which happens to be full of stereotypical fratguys and supermodels, and his occasional mental breakdown in front of an entire class). There is also a scene including a female robot that is straight out of a horror movie. Director Michael Bay has certainly created his own alternate reality in this movie that is anything but normal; and after the first two hours, you will wish they had just gotten straight to the point.

There is also a major lull in the second act of the movie, where occasional relevant things are glued together with weak comic relief and some bad acting on the part of the female lead, Megan Fox, who I actually cannot complain about because I just like watching her run in slow motion (which she does at least a dozen times). This part also has interactions between Decepticon leader Megatron and his inferior servant Starscream, who has the voice of the typical cliche evil servant. Also, the twin bickering Autobots following Witwicky and the whole crew basically epitomize the offensive ethnic stereotype, and are really just an embarrassment to the entire film.

Okay, I feel like I'm being a downer on this movie, but, personally, I really liked it. I came into the theater expecting a long movie with incredible action and I walked out of the theater satisfied and then some. The editing is much more comprehensible, and some of the scenes shot in IMAX cameras are just breathtaking. It is flawed, but if you ignore the flaws in the movie that I mentioned, it is a great summer action film that I recommend anyone seeing in the theater as long as they use the bathroom three times before. Give it 3 out of 5 stars.

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