“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Review

The vote is in: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has received horrible reviews across the board. It is currently sitting at an outstanding 19% at Rotten Tomatoes and a lovely 6.2 at the Internet Movie Database. For the past one and a half years or so, my opinions on films have been mostly the opposite of the critical consensus. For instance, critics fell in love with Slumdog Millionaire (it recently won 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture) and the new Star Trek. I do not like either of those films for various reasons. Once again I am going against the grain to state that Revenge of the Fallen is a fun, humorous, and engaging film for someone who wants to have a hell of a time at the cinema.

I did not see Transformers until January 2009. The reason I waited so long to see it is because I fell in with the popular opinion that Michael Bay is a horrible director and that he has very few good films. After I gave in to my friends’ insistence that I should see Transformers, I began to anticipate the arrival of Revenge of the Fallen at my local theater. I saw it with a small group of friends and I had an outstanding time.

The basic premise of the film is that the Transformers race is dying out and Energon is needed for them to continue their existence. A device located on Earth has the power to create Energon by harvesting our sun’s energy. Led by The Fallen, an ancient Transformer, the Decepticons return to Earth to find the machine and enable it. Of course they are met with resistance from the Autobots. Many think the plot is stupid, incoherent, lazy, etc. This is a tired argument, but it’s a Michael Bay film. There is precedent that should tell you that Revenge of the Fallen will probably not have an outstanding plot.

There is a substantial amount of humor in the film, which I think makes it more enjoyable. Some of it is toilet humor and there is an average mount of swearing, done mainly by the Decepticon Wheelie and the Autobots Mudflap and Skids, who are also known as The Twins. They are just downright hilarious. There is some controversy surrounding them because they consist of negative stereotypes that are typically associated with African Americans. The Twins speak in Ebonics and according to critics who are completely mistaken, they do not read. That is never stated in the film. The Twins do not read much, which is what came directly out of their mouths. I personally think the Twins are a take on the gangsta culture currently popular in America.

Some parents may want to see this film first before taking their younger children because they may not approve of the swearing and sexual jokes. I honestly do not think a six year old will understand the jokes. The film is rated PG-13 and you should not be taking a six year old to see it anyway.

Many critics complained about the action and how it is boring and drawn out. One critic in particular mentioned the robots using fists and people outrunning explosions and how it was dumb. I for one think the action scenes are excellent and some of Michael Bay’s direction choices make them even more enjoyable. The use of slow motion is somewhat plentiful but I do not think it is overused and on par with the slow motion in 300. There is a combination of fists and weapons during the physical altercations between the Autobots and Decepticons. The fight that takes place in a forest is perhaps the coolest bit of action in the film.

The acting is not outstanding, but overall decent. Megan Fox cannot act if her life depended on it. Shia LeBeouf does a pretty good job but I think Kevin Dunn, who portrays Sam’s father, has the best performance. There is one scene in particular where he is quite convincing as a father.

The film has its share of flaws, like annoying characters, characters behaving like idiots, plot holes, and lazy writing. A lot of the criticisms thrown at the film are valid but they did not stop me from enjoying the film again when I saw it a second time. I do believe that a lot of people ended up hating it because they went in with preconceived notions that the film is complete garbage, a disgrace to cinema, and that if films like this keep being made, truly good films will not be recognized and receive wide release.

See this film. It’s quite a ride.

~ by Jeff T. on October 8, 2009.