Movie review: “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
BAM ponders if Michael Bay is in league with the Decepticons: Sic him, Optimus Prime!
A version of this review appears in Wednesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman. 2 of 4 stars.
Movie Review: Toys don’t play as well in sequel
Unfortunately, the slogan “more than meets the eye” does not apply to the slam-bang action sequel “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”
Instead, director Michael Bay staunchly adheres to the credo “more is better,” making the follow-up to his 2007 blockbuster bigger, dumber and louder.
The film, like its superior predecessor, does have some escapist entertainment value. But after two and a half hours of robots, explosions, tanks, more robots, missiles, more explosions and still more robots, the fun wears off as repetition and sensory fatigue set in.
A coherent storyline might offset some of the mindless monotony, but it takes the movie an hour to get to that minor detail. Even then, the plot holes are big enough for Ironhide, Devastator or one of the 45 other featured Transformers to rumble through.
Yes, I know these movies are based on the expansive Hasbro toy line and cartoon series about Autobots and Decepticons, warring alien robots who transform into trucks, planes and the like. Yes, I understand the inherent ludicrousness of expecting high cinema from such roots. And yes, I know many fans just want to see big robots bash each other.
But there is something inherently ludicrous about a billionaire playboy fighting evil in a red armor suit or a rabble-rousing Iowa farm boy becoming a starship captain virtually overnight. Still, Jon Favreau and J.J. Abrams turned “Iron Man” and “Star Trek” into first-rate action movies with lucid plots, character development and big box-office results. Why not expect more from the Transformers?
If you haven’t seen the first movie, don’t even bother with the sequel, because Bay covered all the character development he was willing to give two summers ago. Instead, we’re dropped into a quick flashback to 17,000 B.C., where we learn the Transformers actually first visited Earth back in prehistoric times.
We then rejoin now-Maj. Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Tech Sgt. Epps (Tyrese Gibson), who are part of a secret government unit partnering with the Autobots (good robots) to root out the remaining Decepticons (bad robots).
The Decepticons hope to find any remaining shards of the Allspark, the powerful cube that was the object of the first film, to resurrect their leader, Megatron (voice of Hugo Weaving), who has been imprisoned at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean (rather than sensibly melted into a metallic puddle).
Meanwhile, less geeky (and less likeable) hero Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is pursuing a normal life: heading off to college, getting away from his more annoying parents (Kevin Dunn, Julie White) but holding on to his sexy mechanic sweetie Mikaela (Megan Fox).
But Sam has accidentally carried off a piece of the Allspark, and before he can finish his first-day classes, he’s having freaky visions of alien symbols and getting chased by Decepticons. With Mikaela and his irritating roommate Leo (Ramon Rodriguez) tagging along, Sam embarks on a globe-trotting race to save the world from the Decepticon’s planet-destroying plan, which includes elements stolen from “Star Wars,” “The Matrix” and the “Indiana Jones” films.
Some of the fight scenes, particularly one featuring Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) taking on three Decepticons, are engaging, in the rare instances you can tell which robot is which. And the film does have a few bright moments from Rainn Wilson as a rock-star professor and John Turturro as former Agent Simmons.
Of course, in the finest Michael Bay tradition, these two entertaining characters have to be offset by a pair of the most annoying individuals ever produced by a computer. Jive-talking, gold-toothed racial stereotype Autobot twins Mudflap (voice of Reno Wilson) and Skids (voice of Tom Kenny, who has never been this exasperating in any “Spongebob Squarepants” episode, no matter how outlandish) are so grating I found myself rooting for the Decepticons to destroy the whole planet just so I wouldn’t have to see, hear or otherwise experience them anymore. Imagine if the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy had featured Jar Jar Binks and Watoo in virtually every scene, and you’re approaching the level of obnoxiousness Bay has wrought.
But mostly, “Revenge of the Fallen” is as creative and interesting as watching a 7-year-old boy crashing together his overpriced robot toys for 150 minutes.
-BAM
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