Metal swashbuckling against metal with brutal force, with the pitiable (yet some of them sexy) humans squeezed in between, spiced with deep voices sharing wisdom and one- liners. That sums up Michael Bay’s Transformers 2: The Return of the Fallen, pretty well.
The movie starts with Optimus Prime telling us that the Transformers have been on our planet for a very long time. Then Michael puts the action right into our laps, as he introduces a special taskforce, made up with familiar faces from the first movie, NEST. We get to follow NEST as they hunts down a Decepticon in Shanghai, which leaves a message that the fallen will rise again.
After that, action packed intro we get to meet Sam again. Since the first movie, his life has moved on and now he just wants to live a normal life, without any robot fights and world saving duties. His main concern is how his relationship will survive his trip to college, after his father informs him about the temptations that lures there.
While packing for college, Sam finds a piece from “The Allspark” and when he touches it, ancient symbols appear in his head. In college we get to enjoy a scene that gives the slogan, “More Than Meets the Eye”, a new literal meaning, as Sam’s faithfulness is tested. The writer’s should have all credit for that brilliant scene, which are one of the most memorable in the entire movie.
After that the Deceptions hard-handedly brings Sam back to the centre of the robot feud, he gets to know that the information he has in his head also is the key, not only for the survival of the Autobots, but for the entire planet, as well.
Then Michael Bay gives us a supreme fight, between Optimus Prime and his archenemy, Megatron and his companions. The fight is one of those epic ones, which grabs you and presses you down into your seat, leaving you gasp for air.
However, it is about here that the movie starts to stall, mainly because of the dragged out plot, making the movie unnecessary long. One example is the introduction of an endless line of new and often embarrassing robots. This makes the story loose much of its gained momentum and suddenly I find myself looking at my watch. However, there are gems in the wordy bunch of new robots; one that leaves a mark is the unscrupulous Devastator.
The dialog varies a lot, from good, almost great in some scenes, to contemptible in others. In one scene, I was certain that I was watching a Friedberg/Seltzera parody of Star Wars. It was the scene where Megatron meets the Fallen, which got me squirming in my seat, looking everywhere, but the screen.
Shia LaBeouf, reprise his role as Sam, with style. He serves up a solid interpretation of a teenager, about to stumble into adulthood, and at the same time trying to keep sane, in an insane situation.
Megan Fox reprise her role, as Mikaela, as well. However, it is clear that the writers had a hard time figuring out what to do with her character, though. Therefore, Megan Fox has to settle with being filler, dressed as a worrying and faithful girlfriend, with a cool line or two. Nevertheless, watching a sweaty Megan Fox in a tank top, running in the dessert, will leave a vivid mental image, in any brain, though.
Sadly, Jon Voight does not reprise his role as John Keller, the Secretary of Defense, a role that he did remarkably well. This is something that hurts the movie’s credibility a lot. Nevertheless, the writers did their best to fill the gap, with a new character, Galloway, a national security advisor, played by John Benjamin Hickey. However, that fails miserably and ends up in nothing more than pure travesty.
I guess that hardcore fans, you will enjoy, Revenge of the Fallen, as much as the first movie. While the rest of us, thinks that this was just a blunt extension of the first, and that it does not come close to the first movie.
Nevertheless, the Revenge of the Fallen, gives us some supreme action and a few good laughs in its peaks, but stumbles on the baffling plot. Even though, it gets dull after a while, Michael Bay manages to fire it up again, guiding us to the ringside, just in time to watch the compact and action packed climax.
My Rating of Transformers 2:
Box of Horror 