A Little More Than Meets the Eye

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2009)

Those pesky transforming bots are back in Michael Bay's sequel to the successful Transformers. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. This time, the Decepticons are on a mission to kidnap Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBouf) when after a freak accident, Sam discovers the truth about the origins of the Transformers as they plot to find a sacred energy source and use it to destroy Earth;s primary source of energy. It is up to Optimus Prime and the Autobots to once again save the day with a little help from their human friends.
Michael Bay is roundly criticized for the all action fluff he makes and a lot of it is deserved (Pearl Harbor anyone). But, with the Transformers series he has made heavy action laden films that are pretty decent. Teen and pre-teen boys will absolutely go crazy over this sequel. It is loaded with amazing effects and loads of action sequences. Not to mention Megan Fox, who is all sex kitten but at least she knows that is what she is there for. This is not fine art we're dealing with when the producers are Hasbro, so there is a lot of suspension of disbelief with this film. There are an awful lot of plot holes that Mr. Bay seems to be content with letting go. Like, how did Shia get medical attention in the middle of the desert for his broken arm. And, if the whole world is threatened, why is it just the US who takes on the Decepticons? If you can get past these 2 of many examples of plot holes and take the film for the popcorn friendly action flick it is meant to be you will be entertained. Clocking in at 144 minutes, I was surprised at how entertaining it was, with minimal boring moments.
Shia LaBouf is slowly transforming (no pun intended) into a solid actor. He plays the part of Sam truthfully and really lets us believe he is experiencing these extraordinary things that happen to him, with honest responses. It is refreshing to see a young actor not go through the motions in a CGI effects laden film. John Turturro is good as usual. He reprises his role as Agent Simmons and has some genuinely funny moments. However, there is also a major plot hole around him as well. Also, reprising their roles are Sam's parent's. Kevin Dunn who plays Sam's dad does a good job connecting with Shia and in one specific moment, you really believe he is afraid for his son. The same cannot be said for Julie White as Sam's mom, except for a cute sequence on Sam's college campus. Ramon Rodriquez stars as Sam's college roommate Leo, who is a conspiracy nut and a fraidy cat and he plays that up pretty well and he does provide some needed comic relief. All the soldiers do a decent job of being truthful in their circumstance as well. Reprising their voice overs for the main Transformers are Hugo Weaving as evil Megatron and Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime. Both sound good as ever.
The love scenes between Megan and Shia are the only thing that feels strained at times and thankfully there attempt at love scenes are kept to a minimum. Mr. Bay knows what the audience wants and rarely disappoints delivering the goods. There also seemed to be an homage to Gremlins which was silly and the relationship between Megatron and The Fallen oddly resembled the Sith in the Star Wars series. 2 new twin Autobots were introduced which have been getting criticized for being racially tinged as they jive talk and always get into scraps and one confesses to not being able to read. I think they were harmless. At times they fell flat but other times they were funny. All in all Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is action packed decent fun.