| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | |
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The story, as far as it can be gleaned above the shrieking of metal and missiles, the shouting of men and machine, and the blaring musical accompaniment, is that 'The Fallen' (the creator of the Decepticons) is sheltering on the moon (or maybe Mars) planning his revenge on the universe for his death millennia ago while his minions on the ground search for allspark fragments and a mystical ancient source of power that Transformers once had on Earth thousands of years ago. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime and his faithful Autobots try to hunt down and kill Decepticons before they can begin their nefarious plan to return this power to 'The Fallen'. The trouble is not even the story, which is a little flabby anyway, but rather how lazily it seems to have been put together. It flits between three tales, the Autobots being rejected as the guardians of Earth, the rise of The Fallen, and Sam (Shia LaBeouf) going off to College. Each kind of has a purpose, but none link up properly. And the story of Sam heading to College is a really pitiful excuse for the insertion of brand endorsement, lame comedy, and scandily clad women (including Megan Fox) prancing around. What's more, fans of the original cartoon should beware the the Matrix of Leadership is used rather flippantly as a kind of magical healing pixie-dust with hallucinogenic qualities. Note to Bay: you do not mess with the Matrix of Leadership. As well as these problems, there are suggestions of a more sinister political undertone emerging from underneath the layers of noisy CGI and crap jokes. The unnecessary opening in which the Autobots are rejected by the American government as the cause of the war, unwanted combatants, and general 'others' is the start. It is continued with successful American incursion of the Middle East and, frankly, ridiculous depictions of Egyptions and Jordanians. The conclusion must be that, somewhere, conscious or unconscious, is an endorsement for American military intervention in the Middle East. But putting this borderline conspiracy-theory aside, the main thing that stands out about Revenge of the Fallen is its poor construction. Relatively good CGI robo-battles (and there are some great ones) are interspersed with unnecessary comedy. Sure, cool little Decepticon-gremlins are just about acceptable, maybe even annoying geek sidekick Leon Spitz (who exists purely for light relief, e.g. shooting himself with a taser) is just about manageable. But some boundaries should just not be crossed. Bumblebee is not Herbie a.k.a THE LOVE BUG, Devastator (a massive Decepticon formed of several Constructicons) should not have balls for one moment of comic relief, and Mudflap and Skids shouldn't be reduced to a weird combination of Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum from Alice in Wonderland and Mike/Marcus from Bad Boys. It had crossed my mind that 'you know what you're getting' with Bayformers. But when I came out I wondered whether that's true. Sure there were overhead shots of aircraft carriers and far too many shaky-camera sequences. But I wanted more mangled metal battles. The loud crashes and bangs of the warfare that supposedly formed a backdrop to this 'epic battle' cashed a cheque that the action could not cover. The trailer sequences promised massive robots emerging impressively before destroying all before them. The film didn't deliver. There might be enough cool or amusing moments for some, but it's not a patch on Star Trek, and even gives Wolverine a run for its money on the lame stakes. Rating: ** Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Ramon Rodriguez, Peter Cullen, Hugo Weaving, Tom Kenny Director: Michael Bay Release date: 19th June 2009 Run time: 147mins Review by Michael Edwards Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen review.
Transformers 2 review |
"I am Michael Bay, AND I WILL SHOUT AT YOU UNTIL YOUR EARS BLEED!" This is the rallying cry of the great director, and it can be heard with real passion in the second Transformers movie, Transformer: Revenge of the Fallen. 
