a formal review. (2009) DreamWorks and Paramount have released “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” which is the second of the Transformers movie franchise. The sequel followed the highly popular “Transformers” released in 2007 and stars Shia LaBeouf who was recently seen in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” as well as “Eagle Eye”. “Transformers 2” also stars the striking and paparazzi favorite - Megan Fox, whose break-out role was in the first film. “Transformers” is based off of a toy line from the mid 1980s made by toy company- Hasbro that resulted in a popular cartoon and huge following. Quick Transformers Lesson: Transformers are alien robots from a planet called Cybertron that has been destroyed by civil war. They can transform into cars, devices, or animals. The good guys are the Autobots led by Optimus Prime. The bad guys are the Decepticons led by Megatron. The first film centered on a core element of the Transformers’ creation and the civil war between the good and the bad robots is brought to Earth. Autobots worked with Sam (LeBeouf), Mikaela (Fox), and the U.S. Armed Forces through Major Lennox played by Josh Duhamel and Sergeant Epps played by Tyrese Gibson to try and fight the Decepticons. The Decepticons were defeated but not eliminated and in “Transformers 2”, the story continues. The Autobots and the U.S. Armed Forces have formed an alliance to eliminate the Decepticons from Earth. Sam is off to his new life in college while leaving girlfriend, Mikaela, at home. Director Michael Bay and the writers did a fantastic job with the first film. The second film, rated PG-13, was disappointing. It lacked in richness of plot with stock, cheap shots. The action had few sparks but lots of boom. I barely saw Josh Duhamel from NBC’s “Las Vegas” and Tyrese Gibson both of whom had a stronger presence in the first film. They definitely underutilized the cast. John Turturro brought life to the screen as a funny yet stable character. Action films are not supposed to be great cinematic pieces but it helps to keep them consistent. “Transformers 2” seems to have a great shell thanks to marketing with little inside which would be acceptable if the first one was like that but it was not and everyone knows it! Unfortunately, the second installation is a long filler at 2.5 hours which looks like it was put together just to get “Transformers 3”. Ultimately, the movie is about the robots. They are as great (well, most of them) as they were in the first movie and that will keep the franchise going because that is what started it in the first place. As a Shia LeBeouf fan, I just hope that #3 is worth it for him and for us. My recommendation: It gets an okay rating mostly because it is a part of the series. It can wait for DVD but most people will see it in theaters. Courtesy of Casey Elle’s BOGGS Scale Bad-Okay-Good-Great-Stellar
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(C) Copyright 2009
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