While I realize I named my blog to be an MMO Discussion, I’ve started to venture into reviewing of video games and movies more in general lately and I decided I’d start here with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Perhaps at some point I’ll start separate blogs and that way I can keep my MMO speculation, movie reviews, and general game reviews separated, but for the moment, I’m just not that organized.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
June 2009
Before I get fully into the latest Michael Bay adventure with the robots in disguise, I’ll preface the entire review by stating that I wasn’t a huge fan of Bay’s 2007 Transformers to begin with. My problems with the first movie mostly revolve around feelings of too much focus on angsty teen romance and out-of-place jokes, particularly from special agent Simmons, played by John Turturro. Mr. Turturro isn’t to blame for my dislike of his part, though. It’s entirely Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s fault, the writers who wrote the screenplay (unless Turturro ad libbed some lines).
Here we are two years later and Mr. Bay is bringing us more than meets the eye again. We’ll start off with a point that will be a complaint for every modern Transformers movie with Bay at the helm: The Transformers are impossible to identify on screen to start with. Only colored characters or specifically named characters will be recognized. Otherwise, the robots bear absolutely no resemblance to their cartoon heritage. This is a bit disappointing for some characters, such as Megatron, who are very important to the series yet blend in so much you can lose track of who you’re seeing in wide shots and action sequences. I think part of this is special affects overload making them excessively complex and complicated where their original designs, even when drawn with intricate detail, were more simplistic. Just ask artist Pat Lee http://www.ntfa.net/store/miscgfx/ScrollPrime.jpg
Revenge of the Fallen improves on the first movie in many ways, but also falls short in some of the same areas as its predecessor. Let’s start with the good. The movie is more action packed and less teen romance. When I go to a theater to see Transformers, I want to see robots turning into cars, fighting each other, and stuff blowing up. You get a lot more of this in this sequel and a lot less uncomfortable awkwardness of a teen boy trying to hook up with a teen girl. The movie starts with a large scale battle between the US Armed forces and their new allies the Autobots against an impressively large Decepticon. I liked the angle of the Autobots, under Optimus’ leadership, having formed a partnership with the humans to fight “the evil forces of the Decepticons” (thanks to Lion for those lyrics).
The plot moves at a steady pace with Sam Whitwicky (Shia LeBouf) going to college and adjusting to the change with meeting his room mates and going to parties. Although it’s not investigated too much, there’s a hint that the writers did want to present the difficulties of the transition as Sam is at a party and thus misses his first Internet web-cam date with his girlfriend, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox). I’m pretty sure if I were dating Megan Fox, I’d be promptly on time for every date, but them I’m also sure I never knew girls that looked like Megan Fox in high school nor in college.
As the Decpticons search for information Sam has unwittingly acquired, he gets pulled into the war between the two robots and we learn more about their history and of a past arrival on Earth. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones would have their hands full neuralizing the number of people witnessing events in the first third of this movie as libraries are blown up, giant robots are rolling down bridges, and a house is destroyed (these events by small Transformers, not like Megatron). We get a large battle in a forest between Optimus Prime and Megatron, Starscream, and a few no-name bad-bots, which is probably my favorite action sequence of the entire film. Prime’s “battle mode” includes a gun that bears resemblance to his cartoon design and the recognizable faceplate draws across his mouth to give him the “true” Optmus Prime appearance. I nerd out a little for his battle mode.
New Autobots premiere in this film as Optimus sent out the call for them to join them on Earth to protect the humans, but we unfortunately don’t meet many of them. Included in the cast are Jolt, Ratchet, Sideswipe, and the sisters Arcee, Moonracer, and Chromie. I can identify the sisters as they appear as motorcycles and are a trio. Outside of that, you wouldn’t really notice who’s who from just watching the film.
This is particularly disappointing because there are so many good characters they could have chosen to give screen time to. Instead, we get the bumbling idiots in the twins Skids and Mudflap (voice acted by Tom Kenny (aka voice of Spongebob Squarepants) and Reno Wilson respectively, according to imdb). The two are portrayed about as spot on as a robot could get to the old racist depiction of black figures in Warner Bros. Cartoons or the blacksploitation films of the 70s. Big ears, buck teeth, a gold tooth for Skids, and the street-jargon slang they constantly spout (such as “bitch-ass”) seem to suggest someone in the project decided to just run as far as they could and see when they were stopped. And nobody did. I don’t normally care for being PC, as many others on the Internet have said when discussing these characters, but even I was caught off guard by them. With the triplet motorcycle sisters and so many other Transformers, why, then, was it necessary to create these two? They are nothing like their cartoon or comic counterparts and bring an element to the flim that is completely unnecessary.
Speaking of unnecessary, the sexual references are blatant, in your face, and completely distracting from what could have been a better movie without them. We start early in the film by seeing one of Sam’s parent’s dogs humping the other (I’m led to believe they’re both male and the chihuahua is just humping). The first time we see it is okay, the father yells at them to stop and comments “you’ll see more of that at college too…” suggesting he has, as he should, fatherly worries about his son out on his own. However, for us to see the dog humping away again later during an action sequence? Unnecessary. Again later, we’ll see Wheelie (a character I started to like) humping Megan Fox’s leg. Granted, there’s many who would love to be in that position, but in the film, it was Unnecessary. Devestator, one of the most bad ass Transformers ever designed (and by my memory the first to combine into a large robot by joining others together), is shown as having a pair of wrecking balls dangling between his legs, which Turturro adds to with the phrase “I’m directly beneath the robot’s scrotum.” Seriously, Mr. Bay, you need your head examined. These aren’t funny, they aren’t sex appeal, they have no place in a Transformers movie.
Tuturro’s role is much more subdued in the film than the first (despite the scrotum line) and comes across as a quirky personality that doesn’t quite get to the point of feeling out of place (like it did in the first movie with the line “Your girlfriend’s a criminal…criminals are HOT”). The slightly odd conspiracy theorist-style ex-special agent actually contributes in this film by helping decipher the meaning of strange markings, figuring out where they need to go, and helping with the discovery of some important plot moving points. If Agent Simmons had been like this in the first movie, I think it would have benefited overall.
All in all, the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a fun summer blockbuster action movie like you’d expect. Ignoring Skids and Mudflap (as best you can), and just rolling your eyes at the frequently unneeded sex references, it’s a fun film to sit through. Like most of its kind, don’t think too hard about it and don’t try to pick apart the logical minutia and you should be able to sit back and enjoy it. I saw it at a local theater I love for their $3.25 matinee prices, but I’d pay a regular theater’s matinee as well. And if you go see it and find yourself starting to consider leaving, just remember the final battle sequence is 40 minutes long and has at least half a dozen shots of Megan Fox in her low low cut shirt with a nicely supportive bra running in slow motion. Mr. Bay, that’s all the sex appeal you need.
Autobots, transform and roll out!
