Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Movie Review

This Transformers Falls Short of the Mark

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a disappointment to this film viewer. Audiences waited so long for the first film to be made and the success was huge. Filmmakers wanted to capitalize on that and did so by rushing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen into theaters before they really had a story to tell.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - On the Plus Side

All the original cast members are back - Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and his parents (Kevin Dunn and Judy White), Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox), Agent Simmons (John Turturro) and Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Master Sergeant Epps (Tyrese Gibson), maintaining the series' continuity.

There is plenty of action from start to finish. Explosions, chases, and Transformers duking it out with Decepticons fill the screen for most of its' 150-minute running time.

Most of the comedy is decent, including a few bits provided by Sam's new college roommate, Leo Spitz (Ramon Rodriguez). An early scene of kitchen appliances running amok in the Witwicky home is entertaining.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - On the Down Side

The movie has a PG-13 rating "for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material." How is this appropriate for the kids who play with the toys and want to see this film?

In the early minutes of the film, we are treated to not one, but two scenes of the Witwicky's dogs, well, being naughty dogs. Thirteen-year-olds may find this funny but by the second time around it is just plain tasteless. It is done to set up a later scene in which a small Decepticon, enamored of Mikaela, goes to town on her leg in a similar manner, while everyone in the scene stands by watching. Funny, huh?

Since when can a Decepticon or Transformer take human form? A college coed has the hots for Sam and comes on to him in an overly aggressive manner. It soon becomes obvious she has been sent to destroy Sam but when her true nature is revealed, I found myself wondering if I had stepped into the theater showing Terminator instead of Transformers.