Special Effects Like No Other!

Rating: 9/10 (27 November 2011)

The 2009 blockbuster, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the target of a lot of criticism. Many critics believe this movie, directed by Michael Bay, lacked the proper flow and substance of a proper story and overused special effects. They believe special effects don't tell a story, but it was the aesthetics of Transformers 2 that enhanced the narrative. Michael Bay, often known for his "bay-os," introduced almost four times as many robots and used 555 effects shots in this film. Michael Bay's film utilizes the full potential of the medium and impresses audiences with new techniques. The film is technologically superior and casts a great example of a visually acclaimed film. Michael Bay stressed special effects and they were clearly illustrated in the film, which used 140 trillion bytes of ILM's (Industrial Light & Magic) memory—the most of any film ever.
Special effects played a vital role in the film's overall impact. The way in which Michael Bay told the story of Sam was through multiple new inventive techniques. He showcased slow motion, scale models, and emotions in the faces of his sixty robots. Slow motion of his robots kicking, and slamming the Decepticons in the face impacted viewers and put them right in the action. It is difficult to render slow motion with robots that have thousands of mechanical parts. In each frame, the forty animators had to fixate every small part to make the robot seem realistic. Slow motion was used when Optimus Prime defeated Bone Crusher (6:51), when three Decepticons killed Optimus Prime in the forest battle (1:02:00), and when Bumblebee saved Sam in the abandoned factory. Michael Bay was trying to avoid animations that most sci-fi films use to depict ordinary objects. What many consider an overuse of special effects was actually a necessary amount of visual aids to depict robots that seem real in every moment of the adventure.
Many Sci-Fi films like Transformers 2 need to use scale models to depict over-sized creatures. Michael Bay went over the top and used seven different scale models of cars to create the biggest Decepticon, the Destroyer. With the mapped out version of the cars and CGI, he was able to create the 52,000-part creature. This miniature effect was also used when the naval base collapsed. The crew created a smaller version of the product and later shattered it to pieces.
Lastly, the way Michael Bay impacted viewers was through his use of computer-generated imaging. In the sequel to the film, Shawn Kelly and his team's goal was to give the robots emotions and have more close- ups. Most films hide close-ups of generated creatures, but Michael Bay took on the challenge. Most of his scenes were shot in the light, so more detail was added to his transformers. They added blades around the eyes and mouth so emotions could be controlled. The techniques were impressive because now viewers felt a connection with the Autobots. We saw Bumblebee cry when Sam left for college (16:46), and the Transformers mad when they were asked to leave Planet Earth. Close ups and wide shots of the Fallen's face dreading over us gave viewers a disgusted feeling. Overall, the use of CGI helped enhance the whole film.
Explosions, pyrotechnic machines, transformations, graphic maps, and time-lapse photography are many of the effects that make Transformers 2 technologically superior. Michael Bay composed a thriller movie in just two years. It is statistically proved that it would take any viewer 16,000 years to do what they did on our home PCs. CGI helped put most of the sixty characters on screen. The team would take 360- degree pans around the environment they were shooting in, then go back to ILM to place the characters in it. Michael Bay used real backgrounds to make the transformers look realistic and their actual size. Had he used blue screen, viewers would not have been able to see their full bodies. The film is also technologically superior because it makes use of IMAX, the newest effect. Destroyer, the seven-car Decepticon, took 72 hours to render at ILM.
Animations, and CGI are a few of the many special effects that are employed. However, Michael Bay used some effects better than others. His films strongest technological points were its use of CGI and slow motion. Both of these impressive effects created the feeling of arousal and reality. For example, many individuals applauded after a slow to fast motion punch by Optimus Prime in the forest fight. Some techniques, however, could have been employed better. The weakest point of the film was its use of close ups on the CGI Decepticons. The crew fixated many of the Autobots by placing more detail into their faces but, slightly less on the Decepticons. In addition, there were many jump cuts to go to special effects that sometimes made it overwhelming. In one scene you see Sam falling, and in the next he's on his feet with an explosion behind.
Overall, the film was a technological achievement, utilized the full potential of the medium and therefore was a success. The film used many techniques and Michael Bay pushed his team until the best quality was fulfilled. For example, he made four individuals work for three months to create an 8-second frame of the girl Decepticon. Michael Bay made them do the transformation by hand so that viewers can get the sense of her skin peeling apart. In addition, the shattering of the pyramid by the Destroyer in the last sequence of the film took the team seven months to program the behavior of the bricks. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen wasn't a film that was put together easily. Many are surprised it was composed in two years of a budget of $200 million. Due to the technological achievement, eye grasping visuals, and spectacular transformations, I rate the film a 9/10.