Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I thought I'd reviewed the first one already, but on second look, I don't believe I have. So I'll kinda sorta do both here (the cast of characters is largely the same).

For starters, if you're looking purely for raw action, the first edition of Transformers has some good stuff, but the second, Revenge of the Fallen (hereafter RotF), has it in spades. Again, purely looking at the action side of things...that being chase scenes, fights, more fights, cool weapons, things blowing up. The first movie was no slouch in this department so it really is saying something that the second one has more.

Now, if only "more" was a good thing. But alas, it's not always the case. If you cram in more action, something's got to go, and in this case it was the dialog and character building that made the first film better all around.

The plot of RotF, such that it is, isn't too complex and is on par with the first, but the path through it is quite different. In the first, time was taken on...what was it? Oh yeah, acting. People actually had a place in the first film and some character development actually occurred. In RotF, we make our way through the plot via scene after scene of heavy-handed set pieces and battles. It doesn't flow nearly as well.

Plus, in RotF, Michael Bay reminds us that he likely once lived at home in his mother's basement during college, actively not scoring on hot chicks, and now that he's Mr. Big Shot movie directory, he throws in scenes for those around the world living with their own mothers. How, you ask? Well, in moves doing nothing to enhance the film at all, purely for gratuitous affect and to (I would imagine in Mr. Bay's words) "make da bitches do my bidding", we're treated to camera zooms up the backsides of Megan Fox and Isabel Lucas. I'll state for the record that they are quite attractive and the views would be wholly appreciated in a suitable medium...say a frat comedy, swimsuit issue, on the internet, etc. In RotF, well, who knows. A chihuahua humping another smallish dog for maybe a couple seconds, interjected into the middle of a small transformer skirmish? Why!? It wasn't particularly amusing and didn't really belong either. And let's not forget a small RC-sized transformer humping Megan Fox's leg, at length. Also we were treated to the duelling Jar-Jars of the transformer world, a pair of annoying twins. At one point one of them kicks some butt on a MUCH larger transformer, and that was sweet, but otherwise they should've died back on cybertron.

Fortunately we'd heard many an awful review before attending. With rather low expectations, we enjoyed it for the popcorn fare that it was.

For those who haven't seen either of these movies, watch the first one and enjoy the heck out of that, then, dump any expectations of decency, make a big batch of popcorn, grab 2 liters of soda, and kick back for 2 and a half hours of endless raw action with a smattering of plot.

Added note of annoyance #1: This installment also has a fembot. This being a decepticon who looks, acts, and apparently feels like a normal human. Um, perhaps I missed something there, but these transformer robots tend to be highly mechanical and largely consist of metal. Not sure who thought this was a good idea or the best way to muddle through that particular thin plot point.

Added note of annoyance #2: My wife asked me a great question. The all-spark can (among other things) take normal devices and turn them into robots. Why is it that it only seems to produce instantly pissed off robots? (and this follows over from the angry cell phone from Transformers 1) The way those devices all behave initially, it's difficult to believe their kind ever managed to arise to any level of civilization, much less have any of them randomly decide to be nice.