A sequel was a must but it was just a step too far

Rating: 8/10 (23 August 2009)

This was probably my most anticipated film of the summer season so expectations were definitely high. The first film was mind blowing action and launch the opportunity for an incredible series of films. I think in part legendary action director and producer Michael Bay has a very specific recipe for action that seems to always work so in his mind the ultimate sequel would simply be more of everything that made the first installment incredible and that doesn't necessarily make for the perfect follow up. Plus I think the first Transformers was so stunning because for the first time ever you were seeing the legendary toy/cartoon characters in larger than life reality but now the novelty of that has worn off. Transformers 2 is still great, loads of fun, some incredible battles, familiar characters and a welcome sequel but indeed does not surpass or really even touch the original film. The biggest probably with the film, and I've heard this voiced by other critics, is that there are just SO MANY robots. Most of the time you have no idea who is who rather than keeping to the core group. The only Transformer I could pinpoint at any one time was Optimus Prime, even Megatron blended with some of the others.
Hollywood It guy Shia LaBeouf returns to his heroic role as Sam Witwicky. I had thought that maybe the movie creators would give LaBeouf a little more character than the first time around but they basically keep him at the same level as the first one. Still he fits the film very well and he is as good as he was in the original and that is okay for the role. Megan Fox returns again and her role is even less than it was in the first film. I have no doubt that Fox's purpose in this film was to drive red blooded males crazy and she does that with ease but her character is mostly quite vapid. The decent chemistry between her and LaBeouf is barely there any more and she has to share her sexy status with another female this time around. Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson also return in a slightly larger role. Both of them are great and I wish they had more screen time as the heroes of the film. John Turturro turned in a very quirky love/hate character in the first film but his return in this installment felt forced and was part of the unnecessary over done comedy that plagued this installment. Isabel Lucas gives Fox a run for her money both for Witwicky's affections and sex symbol for the film. Lucas gets a great bad-ass role and is a killer to the bone making for a great foe to the team.
Michael Bay's success comes from the over the top action that leaves you on the edge of your seat, explosions, battles, and the perfect mix of serious adrenaline and witty sharp sarcastic comedy. Unfortunately the overwhelming slapstick comedy is kind of overbearing in Revenge of the Fallen. Sam's parents who return from the first one are cute and funny but they are way overused unlike the first film. The mother played by Julie White is bordering on obnoxious and then they actually make her get drunk...ugh. One of the most stunning things to see in this film is the creation of the incredible Devastator. Unfortunately he goes down pretty quick but it is something to see. Also the addition of a higher up to Megatron could have been left out. In the first film Megatron was like a Transformer god and after being resurrected again in this film it almost feels like he is barely a threat as Optimus Prime rips through him like nothing. With a film like this there will ALWAYS be complaints and I am not trying to downplay it because it absolutely is worth seeing and there are some really terrific scenes but it overloads the things that made this film series incredible. Hopefully for the third part they will make a few changes to make the end of this trilogy truly mind blowing. 8.5/10