Greetings fellow cinema fans! I apologize for the almost 2 month gap in reviews, but in my defense I have had an incredibly busy 2 months. But of course, I know you didn't navigate the treacherous waters of the internet towards my blog-beacon of brilliance to read my excuses so I'll move on. Summer has officially descended upon us and with it a new wave of big-budget effects film releases. Directed by f--- the-world-I'm-gonna-do-things-my-way director Michael Bay, the first Transformers film was certainly more about style than substance and this bigger and better sequel continues in the same vein. I've always believed that strong acting, storytelling and pacing are essential for any film, but especially for a film so heavily reliant on visual effects. Computer generated effects have a tendency to instantly disconnect audiences from a movie, which makes the acting, story and pacing all the more important to help keep the viewer grounded. Michael Bay it seems does not agree with these principles and prefers to keep his audiences glues to the screen by sheer force of overwhelming and incomprehensible action and intensity. I find myself wondering exactly why Bay was chosen to helm this franchise, being a director who has a fondness for crude, shallow humor and inability to establish strong memorable characters. Despite all the problems I have with Bay and his style of storytelling, I walked away from Transformers 2 happier with the end result than I did after the first film.
For me, Transformers has always been about the robots. Maybe it's juvenile, childish and immature or (heaven forbid) maybe it's engrossing storytelling but either way I'm a fan of the Transformers universe. I love learning about the robot's home world Cybertron, the ancient race of robots that existed before the Autobots and Decepticons, the pseudo-spiritual aspects of the Transformers after-life, the Cybertronian icons like the all-spark, the Matrix of Leadership, protoforms, stasis-lock, all that geeky stuff. That said, one problem I have with both movies is the lack of attention showed to the robots. The first film offends more in this department than the second, but still I don't think I'll ever be able to understand why Michael Bay felt the need to include so many human characters in an already over-stuffed universe of robot characters. I can understand the need to establish Sam, his parents and maybe the Mikaela character but any more than that an you risk forcing out robot characters, the real reason I want to see the movie. But Bay doesn't see the line that I see, and decided to include (alongside Sam, his family and girlfriend) a roommate, hot new girl, former government agent, military general, army buddies, government intruder-guy...the list goes on - not including the dozen or so main Autobot and Decepticon characters, of course. The unfortunate result of jamming in so many characters is that none of them are allowed breathing room, none of them manages to plant an emotional or dramatic foot in the viewers' minds and the robot characters especially feel shallow. Being familiar with the Transformers universe, it really is a shame that Bay doesn't do these characters justice.
Another problem I have with the film is how unlike the show it is in just about every aspect. In the show, Autobots are defensive, only acting when the Decepticons force their hands. Autobots are on earth to protect humans, period. Decepticons are on earth to collect energon, which often means endangering human lives which moves the Autobots into action. In the film, Autobots are proactive in hunting down and violently destroying Decepticons. Indeed it is difficult to determine a real difference between Autobot and Decepticon apart from simple colors. Both races have a brutal, visceral quality to their combat and seemingly enjoy violently dismembering their opponents. This behavior is fitting for Decepticons, but wildly out of place for the Autobots. The brutal fighting is a marvel to behold on a technical level, but as a Transformers fan it feels unnatural to see Autobot characters reveling in the complete destruction of fellow robots, even if they are Decepticons. By far the worst part about the film has to be the inclusion of the "twins," Mudflap and Skids. These characters, designed to look like caricatured apes, speak in a street slang and confess an inability to read. One is given an oversized single gold tooth. These two characters are repeatedly offensive and are a real embarrassment for all involved in the film. Bay should be ashamed of himself for including this kind of stereotypical racist humor.
But despite all the negativity I've spewed out until this point, I did enjoy this sequel more than the original film. The storyline is much more involved in the Transformers universe than the story in the first film, which is a very good thing in my opinion. There are fewer human characters, which helps take some unnecessary weight from the shoulders of the film and frees up more space for robot characters to develop. The story itself is more outlandish which helps it feel more like an adaptation of a cartoon show than the first film, which most people I imagine will see as a negative aspect of the story, but I feel it is more appropriate and fitting for a film based on...a cartoon show. I've heard and read complaints that the story is incomprehensible to those unacquainted with the Transformers world, but I see no problem with that. The Transformers universe is a complicated thing for the uninitiated, but I'm not uninitiated. I understood the story just fine, because I am familiar with the Transformers world. Furthermore, why make a Transformers movie if it's not for Transformers fans? Who, besides Transformers fans really wants to see a Transformers movie? It only makes sense to build the story for a Transformers movie around the Transformers world, and in that regard I do applaud Michael Bay.
Overall, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a step in the right direction for the franchise, but not far enough. I feel that Michael Bay is simply not the right director for Transformers, but I also feel that this movie is as close as he is going to get to delivering it justice on the big screen. I'm sure there will be another film in the coming years, but hopefully it will be coming from a director with a little more good taste and proper feel for pacing. I'm not sure the franchise can handle another movie packed to the brim with nonstop action, explosions and robot parts flying to and fro across the screen. Hopefully, the filmmakers will see the merits of a (robot) character driven story and cut the human fat from the film. At any rate, not a terrible movie but still carrying some fundamental flaws.
6/10
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Directed by Michael Bay
Produced by Steven Spielberg, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Ian Bryce, Tom DeSanto, Don Murphy
Written by Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Ehren Kruger
Starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro
With the voice talents of: Peter Cullen, Hugo Weaving, Mark Ryan, Frank Welker, Jess Harnell, Charlie Adler, Robert Foxworth, Tony Todd, Tom Kenny, Grey DeLisle, Andre Sogliuzzo
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material.
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