By Malice Intended

While filmmaking is largely a technical exercise, it is not an exact science.  Very often a movie can be much more, or much less than the sum of its parts.  A “good” movie isn’t always an entertaining one, and a “bad” movie can be entertaining in spite of its “badness”.  Perceived quality doesn’t always dictate entertainment value.  Some of the most entertaining films ever made are the ones that don’t adhere to the “rules”.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is more epic in scope than its predecessor, but no more substantial.  Since the events of the first film, the U.S. and British military have formed an uneasy alliance with the Autobots.  The two factions pool their efforts to conduct a series of attacks against the Decepticons.  An American National Security Advisor grows suspicious of the Autobots and believes their presence on earth puts the planet at risk.  He requests that the Autobots leave earth, hoping that The Decepticons follow suit.

Sam Witwicky (Shia Labeouf) is about to start his first semester in college.  While in the process of packing, he becomes hypnotized by a shard from the AllSpark cube.  The AllSpark implants a bit of vital information in Sam’s brain. Sam begins to see and write down bits of Cybertronian code at inopportune times.  The writings reveal the location of an ancient energy source that was placed on earth centuries ago.  This makes Sam a target of Megatron (acting under the orders of “The Fallen”) and his band of Decepticons.  Optimus Prime and the Autobots race to protect Sam and prevent The Decepticons from retrieving this powerful new energy source. 

The plot is nonsensical, illogical and episodic.  The weapon/device in question, as well as the identity and purpose of “The Fallen” both tie into the main theme of the “Transformers” saga:  the relentless pursuit of energy. Themes and story aside, the appeal of “Transformers” has always revolved around a central gimmick:  Giant fighting robots that transform into various machines and vehicles.  Director Michael Bay understands this to a fault.

Michael Bay’s approach to filmmaking is the embodiment of style over substance.  This makes him a perfect fit for a gimmick-driven property like Transformers.  In Revenge of the Fallen, his instincts serve him too well. Excessive length and extraneous character moments bring the film to a screeching halt when it should be moving at a steady clip.   The film is overstuffed with humor.  When it works, it works well.  When it doesn’t, it is groan inducing. 

The film features blatant racial caricatures and stereotypes.  Revenge of the Fallen features Mudflap and Skids, twin Autobots that speak in a countrified dialect peppered with Ebonics and urban slang.  It doesn’t come off as particularly mean spirited or malicious, but it is definitely in questionable taste.  It’s hard to tell if it is meant as a parody of African-Americans or a parody of African-American stereotypes. 

The quality of the action sequences also varies.  Some work fine, while others are too long.  The extended melee in the woods between Optimus Prime and a group of Decepticons is the single best action sequence in either “Transformers” film.  We are treated to wide shots that don’t obscure the action, and fighting that has a sense of order.  One wishes that this balance could have been maintained throughout the film, but the smaller skirmishes repeat the same mistakes of the original:  tight shots that make it hard to distinguish one Transformer from another.  This flaw is compounded by character designs that are way too busy and repetitive. 

Also worth mentioning is the final confrontation in the desert, which contains a great superhero moment where Optimus merges with the aging Jetfire to become a mammoth hybrid of the two.  This consists of a series of shots that could be the cover of a Transformers comic, or appear on the packaging of the toys themselves.  It goes a long way in explaining the appeal of the property.

The performances are standard for this type of fare.  Shia Labeouf is likable, but the role doesn’t give him much to do as the character of Sam is limited.  The same goes for Meagan Fox as Sam’s girlfriend who functions solely as eye candy. 

It’s nearly impossible to recommend Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to anyone but the faithful.  It provides everything you could hope for in a Transformers movie.  Though it perpetuates many of the first film’s problems it manages to fix others. It existed as a line of toys before anything else.  Toys delight and mesmerize children.  Return functions as a toy commercial for kids of all ages.  It is willing to discard logic in order to achieve this purpose.  While it isn’t a “good” movie in a traditional sense, it appeases its target audience and does what it sets out to do.  One can hardly fault it for that.

out of 5

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