My no-spoiler review of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". Enjoy!
I love the Transformers. Optimus Prime, Megatron, Ironhide, Cliffjumper, Unicron, Bumbelee, Devastator, Ratchet, Scorpinok, Soundwave, all of 'em. So as you can tell, I was anticipating "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". I wanted to see it so much that it may have been more awaited than the first for me. Now with that being said, after all of the screaming and cheering, I settled down and had an actual analysis of the movie in general. There's a lot of things this movie can be called. Action-packed, insane, immature, interesting, inconsistent, and so on. But the word that came to my mind first was 'fun'.
So the movie's plot is simple when looked at from afar: The Autobots are destroying what's left of the Decepticons, Sam goes to college, and the nefarious Megatron returns from the dead. But now there's something new: Unknown to us first time around, Megatron is not the true master of the Decepticons. Instead he is the apprentice of the very first bad bot, named the Fallen. Turns out the Fallen has already been to our planet, and is ready to come back. So as evil descends Earth, Sam Witwicky must fulfill the prophecy and lead Optimus Prime to his ultimate destiny.
Since I'm starting with the good, I decided to just put it out there: "Revenge Of The Fallen" is far superior to the first film. First off, the action scenes aren't anywhere near as random and hard to follow. And now instead of just lasers and throwing, we see the Transformers soak their hands in each other's oil. This movie easily has the best battle sequences we'll see all year. Second, the plot is very strong, believe it or not. The whole movie goes at a strong, but still fast, pace. The Transformers are no longer secondary characters either, but have just as many scenes as Sam. Luckily, these moments are great. The Megatron/Starscream dynamic is fleshed out immensely, we really get a sense of how bad the villains are, and, of course, the army backs away for the real heroes to shine.
The one character that breaks through the most is none other than kick-ass-and-take-names Autobot leader Optimus Prime. One of my big complaints about the first movie was how Optimus felt watered down. But now with Bay officially a Transformers geek, he nails the character perfectly. For all of the bashing the critics have done, Optimus will still be remembered as one of the movie hero greats. Every scene he is in is nothing short of perfect, and we really get feeling for his heroic behavior. This is the classic Prime who was willing to face an army of Decepticons in order to save people. And I'll also just say, without spoiling anything, that his battle with his arch foes in the forest is exactly what you wanted him to do in the first film. In short, Optimus Prime is an animal, the robotic Rambo, and, best of all, the only thing saving our sorry asses from the baddies. Some complain about the final battle, but I found it to be amazing. It was to show exactly how unbelievably powerful Optimus got. We saw what the Fallen could do, so it's only fitting to show the hero's win so grandly after losing for most of the movie.
Megatron was also ten times better than before, and much like the Megs we used to know and love. Ruthless, violent, and not taking shit from anyone(read on before you say anything), this is all I wanted to see from him.
Starscream is back as well, more cowardly than ever. However, he makes small backhanded compliments that hint that in the next movie, he'll be ready to do what he can to be on top.
Some other robots who stick out are Skid and Mudflap, two made-for-the-movie Transformers(names not pending) who are mixes between rednecks and homeboys. Either way, they are a lot of fun to watch in their antics. The best part is how effective they are as well. Ironhide, Ratchet, and crew are back with good guys, though the screen time they have lacks. Bumblebee is alright, but I never found him that great compared to the others. Still, he was cool. Soundwave makes a short(but significant) appearance, and while he doesn't look much like the classic Soundwave(nor sounds like him), he has a very similar vibe. Jetfire was always a Transformer I found gleaming with potential, but he seemed nothing more than gimmicky. In "Revenge of the Fallen", however, the character felt solid and alive with personality. The changes done to his character were all for the best, in my own humble opinion.
The score is excellent, fitting perfectly with the picture in general. All of the other music worked well, even Linkin Park(unlike last time).
Now time for the bad. My biggest issue with the movie is the same as last time: The cheap humor. There are moments of the movie where Bay tries to be funny, but it becomes more humiliating than laugh inducing. Just like the first one, there's crude humor jokes(the Devastator one being quite possibly one of my least favorite scenes in cinema history). Whenever these scenes appear, the movie pauses long enough for you to face palm yourself. Skids and Mudflap were examples of the only humor that worked.
A big issue with the jokes is that they don't decide whether to be kiddish of mature. For example, there's a cute scene where Wheelie is trying to get an Allspark fragment. It's funny and entertaining, up until he starts swearing. The moment he did that, I was taken out of the movie for a second. Why was that necessary? What was the point of being crude? It seems that Wheelie has many moments like that in the movie, including humping Mikaela(played by Megan Fox)'s leg. It was those parts that overall hurt the movie.
Speaking of bad comedy, I hated Leo Spitz. Yes, that is indeed the character's name. For those who haven't seen the movie, Leo is Sam's college roommate and sidekick, only there for even more cheap laughs. He's goofy, horny, and an eccentric conspiracist. Unfortunately, he is far more irritating that he is funny. In fact, I was angry during the film due to his presence. The only satisfaction I felt was whenever Skids and Mudflap ragged on him. Seymour Simmons(played by John Tuturro) was all they needed for the comedic role, but Bay loves to go past all points of reason as always.
This only applies to one scene, but I went mad during a moment with Mikaela and Sam, because the damn camera wouldn't stopp twirling! Nothing long lasting but I could have done without the migraine.
While I didn't mind it, the Pretender subplot was completely expendable, only there to create an awkward moment between Sam and Mikaela. To be fair, the action sequence afterwords is entertaining. The Pretender is a Decepticon who transforms into a gorgeous woman in hopes of capturing Sam. This leads to the obvious "Mikaela thinks Sam's cheating on her" moment, only to be resolved in seconds.
And finally, there are many inconsistencies with the Decepticons here. As interesting as the Fallen is, having someone outrank Megatron defeats the purpose of the character. It was a minor annoyance, but it was still annoying. As well, Devastator was far too random and easily defeated, in my opinion. I expected a far more incredible battle. I mean, he's DEVASTATOR. His whole existence is to be tougher than everyone else. So why wasn't he? And that goes for any time the Decepticons had issues with the army.
So by the end of the movie, I liked it a lot. I found the whole story to be action packed, well made, and just as lovable as ever. Despite the movie's faults(which can be ignored, although it would be best if there was a way to delete them from the flick), I deem this the most fun romp of the year. However, 'best' would not be the right word.
I give this movie a solid A. To sum it all up, it's a positively amazing action movie, and I can't wait to own it on DVD. Also makes it easier to fast forward through the jokes.