Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen

In my opinion Transformers was one of the best comedies of the past few years. It might have been dressed up as an action movie, but its the moments of comedy which linger in the mind even today. So when Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen was inevitably greenlit I was anxious so see if they would maintain their comical tone and light-hearted we-know-this-is-based-on-a-toy-so-lets-just-have-fun attitude to the film.

Thankfully Transformers 2 offers up much of the same in the comedy stakes whilst also throwing a lot more robot carnage at the screen. The story itself it rather ridiculous and utterly redundant once the action begins. A rather insipid opening sets up mankind and tranformers history, implying that they have been on Earth for millenia. Thankfully this is swiftly forgotten by a massive smackdown in China before the story is actually set up.

Shia LeBeouf is back as Sam, as is Megan Fox, whose introduction is gratuituous to say the least. They are joined by Josh Duhamel and John Turturro who reprise their roles as Captain Lennox and Agent Simmons. Unfortunately, despite the 150 minute running time only LeBeouf is given the screen time deserved after such strong performances in the original.

The film itself never feels overlong, but this is mainly because like Bad Boys 2 (Bay's only other sequel) the film is jam-packed with action, the final action scene feels long enough to be a film on its own. Despite all the action, and it is markedly improved from the first film, especially a forest showdown between Optimus Prime and 3 decepticons, where Prime finally gets to kick some arse, the film lacks the heart and character of the first film.

Overall the film has too much going on, there are a massive number of transformers, so many in fact that you never really know who any of them are. Some of the favourites of the original, especially Bumblebee seem to take a back seat, and is only given one good moment. The titled Fallen is an anticlimatic Emperor figure to Megatron's Vader, and never gives you the satisfaction of coming close to achieving the revenge he seeks. In fact its not even clear who or what revenge he is seeking.

Thankfully the film never gets weighed down by its convoluted characters and plot, instead it zips along with its tongue wedged firmly in its cheek although it never manages to be as good as the original, and despite its bumming numbingly overlong running time the film is mindless summer entertainment (a loosely used term) which should appeal, at least to a degree to fans of the original.