Spectacular, but too long

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2009)

Before the film's release, Michael Bay promised the Tranformers sequel would be bigger than the first, and he's delivered on that promise: 'Revenge of the Fallen' has more action, more Tranformers and lot (lot) more explosions. Unfortunately, it's also too long, at 2 1/2 hours. While there are are the usual cringeworthy "comedy" scenes (like Sam's mother "accidently" buying hash cookies and running around Sam's campus stoned) and some bad dialogue, the length is the main problem. Sure, a 2 1/2 duration worked for a complex film like 'The Dark Knight', but it doesn't work for ROTF. While the transforming, multiple explosions and robot battles are cool in the first half hour, they start to wear thin after two hours, especially as it can be hard to tell the Autobots and Decepticons apart during some battle scenes.
The majority of the cast reprise their roles from the first movie, including Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime. Aside from Optimus, the most sympathetic Transformer is Bumbleebee; while he can't talk, he expresses his emotion through body language and his stereo. The relationship between Sam (Shia LeBeof)and Bumblebee is sweet and funny, and more believable than the main human romance between Sam and Mikaela (Megan Fox).
That's not to say ROTF is a bad movie. It's exactly what it claims to be: a big, spectacular action/popcorn blockbuster, with more emphasis on blowing things up than an intricate plot. It's the kind of movie you could lose yourself in for two hours, a pure fantasy experience, but a long one.