Film: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Produced and Directed by: Michael Bay
Original Score by: Steve Jablonsky
Release Date: 06/24/2009
This was what you might expect from a mid-summer blockbuster. It had good special effects and tried to have a little fun, but that was about it.
If ever there was a movie that felt like a sequel, it was this one. Even with a massive budget of 200 million dollars, it didn't manage to be as entertaining as it's predecessor.
The biggest problem was the writing. Average acting can be made much better by good lines, a quality which this film lacked. Where it's predecessor actually managed to string funny scenes together to provide for continuous fun and laughter, Revenge merely tried to go for the occasional cheap chuckle amounting to the feeling that one was being sucker-punched by the writers. A lot of the dialogue felt very pedestrian and only moved the story along. It didn't do a good job at engaging the viewer. Granted, some of the dialogue was good fun, but the major focus of the movie seemed to be special effects.
The acting didn't help this film either. Perhaps the largest detractor was that Megan Fox's character literally reminded me of a Barbie doll. She was totally plastic and stoic. Maybe it's because of her acting skills, maybe it's because of Michael Bay. Who knows? As for Shia Lebouf, (the main character) he did his typical thing by being kind-of goofy, which isn't too bad and is occasionally funny. He didn't do too bad, and he definitely moved the plot along well. The actors playing his parents did a decent job and the rest of the supporting cast was competent. Most of the performances served to further the plot but didn't go beyond that.
*spoiler alert!* The plot is the largest contributing factor to why it feels like a mediocre sequel. The whole idea behind the plot was that there was some alternate, higher agenda, to why the Deceptions (the bad guys) came to earth in the first place. This involves a higher-up Decepticon boss, an ancient autobot secret that is almost as old as mankind, and a decepticon who somehow was on earth during the events of T1, but never got involved. All of this seems very thown together and force-fit into the Transformers universe. There is never any indication of these things in the first film.
There are a few plot points I could nit-pick but its not worth doing it to this film. I only like to nit-pick at films I would actually consider buying.
Despite a lot of gimmicky comedy, there were a few random comedic moments that had me cracking up. *spoiler alert* One instance was when Sam's (LeBouf) mom accidentally gets high and falls all over people on his college campus. He and his Dad have to calmly get her back to the car. Another instance was when appliances in Sam's house start to turn into mini-transformers, and he and Bumblebee (one of the main Autobots, or, the good guys) have this mini-epic batte in his front yard. It was these little things that improved the overall quality of the film somewhat.
Moving on, the special effects were definitely the movie's high point. Watching colossal robots duke it out on a mass scale was highly enjoyable. After all, isn't that the whole purpose of Transformers anyway? The variety and complexity of the 'bots was matched only by their flawless animation. Their motion felt very real as did the gunfire and hand to hand combat. Perhaps the most eye popping scene was when some new Decepticons came crashing down from space right onto an aircraft carrier. The carrier gets smashed to pieces and goes down in one burning, crumbling spectacle. As compared the its predecessor, Revenge contained effects on a much more massive scale. This film was a great popcorn muncher for that reason (=theater managers thinking $$$)
Transfomers 2 was a mildly entertaing movie, cointaining a few laughs, and epic special effects. While there wasn't much for plot, acting, or writing, the special effects tipped the scales toward the movie getting my positive stamp of approval. If your a special effects afficionado then this film is for you. As I like to aptly quantify the films I see, I give this film a 74%. For reference, a 45% would be an outright bad film such as Walkabout, a 65% would be a bland film like Waterworld, and an 80% would be a pretty decent film like Prince Caspian, and so on.
Basically, Revenge of the Fallen didn't strike me in any particular way. It was a middle of the road, mediocre film that had specatular effects. Go see it if you like effects, but don't expect to care about the characters at all. Speaking to all sentient being of the world, this is George Hastings, signing out.
Produced and Directed by: Michael Bay
Original Score by: Steve Jablonsky
Release Date: 06/24/2009
This was what you might expect from a mid-summer blockbuster. It had good special effects and tried to have a little fun, but that was about it.
If ever there was a movie that felt like a sequel, it was this one. Even with a massive budget of 200 million dollars, it didn't manage to be as entertaining as it's predecessor.
The biggest problem was the writing. Average acting can be made much better by good lines, a quality which this film lacked. Where it's predecessor actually managed to string funny scenes together to provide for continuous fun and laughter, Revenge merely tried to go for the occasional cheap chuckle amounting to the feeling that one was being sucker-punched by the writers. A lot of the dialogue felt very pedestrian and only moved the story along. It didn't do a good job at engaging the viewer. Granted, some of the dialogue was good fun, but the major focus of the movie seemed to be special effects.
The acting didn't help this film either. Perhaps the largest detractor was that Megan Fox's character literally reminded me of a Barbie doll. She was totally plastic and stoic. Maybe it's because of her acting skills, maybe it's because of Michael Bay. Who knows? As for Shia Lebouf, (the main character) he did his typical thing by being kind-of goofy, which isn't too bad and is occasionally funny. He didn't do too bad, and he definitely moved the plot along well. The actors playing his parents did a decent job and the rest of the supporting cast was competent. Most of the performances served to further the plot but didn't go beyond that.
*spoiler alert!* The plot is the largest contributing factor to why it feels like a mediocre sequel. The whole idea behind the plot was that there was some alternate, higher agenda, to why the Deceptions (the bad guys) came to earth in the first place. This involves a higher-up Decepticon boss, an ancient autobot secret that is almost as old as mankind, and a decepticon who somehow was on earth during the events of T1, but never got involved. All of this seems very thown together and force-fit into the Transformers universe. There is never any indication of these things in the first film.
There are a few plot points I could nit-pick but its not worth doing it to this film. I only like to nit-pick at films I would actually consider buying.
Despite a lot of gimmicky comedy, there were a few random comedic moments that had me cracking up. *spoiler alert* One instance was when Sam's (LeBouf) mom accidentally gets high and falls all over people on his college campus. He and his Dad have to calmly get her back to the car. Another instance was when appliances in Sam's house start to turn into mini-transformers, and he and Bumblebee (one of the main Autobots, or, the good guys) have this mini-epic batte in his front yard. It was these little things that improved the overall quality of the film somewhat.
Moving on, the special effects were definitely the movie's high point. Watching colossal robots duke it out on a mass scale was highly enjoyable. After all, isn't that the whole purpose of Transformers anyway? The variety and complexity of the 'bots was matched only by their flawless animation. Their motion felt very real as did the gunfire and hand to hand combat. Perhaps the most eye popping scene was when some new Decepticons came crashing down from space right onto an aircraft carrier. The carrier gets smashed to pieces and goes down in one burning, crumbling spectacle. As compared the its predecessor, Revenge contained effects on a much more massive scale. This film was a great popcorn muncher for that reason (=theater managers thinking $$$)
Transfomers 2 was a mildly entertaing movie, cointaining a few laughs, and epic special effects. While there wasn't much for plot, acting, or writing, the special effects tipped the scales toward the movie getting my positive stamp of approval. If your a special effects afficionado then this film is for you. As I like to aptly quantify the films I see, I give this film a 74%. For reference, a 45% would be an outright bad film such as Walkabout, a 65% would be a bland film like Waterworld, and an 80% would be a pretty decent film like Prince Caspian, and so on.
Basically, Revenge of the Fallen didn't strike me in any particular way. It was a middle of the road, mediocre film that had specatular effects. Go see it if you like effects, but don't expect to care about the characters at all. Speaking to all sentient being of the world, this is George Hastings, signing out.
