Exciting Robot Fights; Could Do With Less Michael Bay.

Rating: 7/10 (24 June 2009)

Well, I'm back. For sure, it was better than the first one, but I still can't stand Michael Bay's style. Mainly, his constant comic reliefs bug the hell out of me.
In this review, I vaguely talk about the plot of the movie. It's not in depth at all, but if you don't want to hear anything before you see it, don't read.
There's a bit of duality about my personality that conflicts me on this movie. On the one hand, I'm a techie electrical engineer (in training) who loves robots. Therefore, seeing big robots duke it out on screen is pretty enjoyable. On the other hand, there is the critical, contemplative side of me that enjoys movies with a lot of substance beyond explosions and mayhem. As such, I really enjoyed most of the fight scenes. However, the acting was all pretty much sub-par to par, and you never really get attached to any of the human characters. Optimus was probably the most emotionally convincing character in this movie, and he's completely CG!
One thing that really bugged me was the disposition of the decepticons. The decepticons' story doesn't really fit how they behave. They're searching for something all transformers need, but they're willing to destroy life while trying to get it. Does that make them bad? Sure. However, it seems to me that they wouldn't actively revel in the destruction of that life. To put it in D&D terms (LOL), the decepticons' story should make them neutral-evil, while they act like chaotic-evil.
Michael Bay likes to center his movies around a small group of protagonists against a large number of mostly faceless foes (except for 1 or 2 main bad guys). I think he chose the wrong group to center the movie around. Both transformers movies so far have pretty much revolved around Shia La Boeuf and his unarguably foxy companion Megan Fox (No surprise here that her first appearance on screen is more or less an upskirt shot). But this is Transformers! I don't care that this little dweeb is having girlfriend problems, I want to hear about the autobots and their problems. I'd like to see their characters developed more.
As for the rating, they crammed in about as much "light" profanity as they could, while keeping it PG-13 level. You won't see any body parts flying around (aside from those of nonorganics), despite the explosions they so frequently stand on top of. I would've preferred a darker, more gritty rated R version, but I'm sure that wouldn't be nearly as profitable.
As for the IMAX quality, before the movie was shot, an announcer came on and described the difference between the IMAX and 35mm versions. For most of the movie, the original aspect ratio (16:9 or something) is displayed (just much bigger than a regular theater). However, for certain scenes, the movie was shot with IMAX film, and IMAX viewers get to see some content that was not in the 35mm version. In these scenes, the entire IMAX screen was filled. I tried to notice when this happened, but I only caught 2 scenes. First was when optimus is fighting the decepticons in the woods. Second is the scene that really SUCKED (lots of SUCKING). If you've seen the movie, you should know which one I'm talking about.
As I see it, there are 2 kinds of people in this world. There is the critical minority, which I belong to. Then there is the more receptive general public. 95% of the time, movies are made for the general public. Every now and then, a movie (such as The Dark Knight) comes along that can satisfy both parties. I would say that this movie is not quite one of them. It could have been, had Michael Bay not directed it. (On that note, 100% of Michael Bay's movies are made for the general public) For the TLDRers out there, I give this movie a 7.4/10.
Jason