His Take/Her Take: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
Posted June 24, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Worth the price of admission, or a waste of time? Brian McKechnie and Suzanne Ellis offer you their take on the latest movies hitting screens. Read their reviews every week, exclusively on CityNews.ca.
Let Brian and Suzanne know what you think of His Take/Her Take via email at brian.mckechnie@citynews.ca or suzanne.ellis@citynews.ca .
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
Rated PG-13
Cast: Megan Fox, Shia LaBeouf
Directed by: Michael Bay
Official Site IMDb
After Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers, Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take him prisoner.
Brian’s Take
**** out of 5 stars
If you’re not a fan of the cartoon or previous film you probably won’t get much out of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. On the other hand, this is the definition of summer blockbuster and the special effects are sure to wow even the most anti-Hollywood person to some degree. And, really, what’s not to like about alien robots beating each other to a pulp?
It’s the same old song and dance; good guys Autobots versus baddies Decepticons. If you’re expecting story, you’re in the wrong theatre. Michael Bay blows stuff up better than anyone in the business. And unlike other recent effects-heavy films Terminator Salvation or The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 , you do actually care about the characters (mainly the robots) before the bombs and fire.
Shia LaBeouf is Shia LaBeouf. You want to hate him but can’t. He’s likable, funny and deep down is a pretty decent young actor. Megan Fox is a whole other can of worms. She can barely act her way out of a paper bag. But she’s nice to look at and Bay shows us why he cast her from her very first scene (bending over in tight Daisy Dukes). He reminds us again when she’s running and the camera just happens to centre on her chest.
Transformers is about the robots though. Revenge of the Fallen ups the ante from the first film by adding a ton of new characters such as Soundwave, Devastator and Mixmaster. Our heroes Optimus Prime and Bumblebee return; and the angry Megatron and Starscream are back to wreck havoc as well. They all look amazing and the sound from them made my hair stand on end.
As a fan of the toys and cartoon growing up, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen did its job for me. Like I was 10 years old again, I left the theatre with a smile wanting more.
Suzanne’s Take
** out of 5 stars
Who needs a plot when you’ve got battling alien robots, hot babes running in slow motion a la Baywatch, and explosions?
Apparently not Michael Bay, as his Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen has the latter three things in spades but little else. Which may suit fans of the 1980s toys/cartoon series just fine, while the rest of us grimace and twitch throughout the two-and-a-half-hour running time.
I’ll admit that my Transformers knowledge going into the theatre (the full-on IMAX experience, no less) was limited to what my His Take/Her Take colleague Brian (a self-professed Transformers nut) told me while waiting in line. Autobot: good. Decepticon: evil. The Autobots’ leader is Optimus Prime, while the Decepticons’ main baddie is Megatron. Oh, and then there’s Bumblebee, which apparently used to be a VW Beetle, but is now a Chevy Camaro. The times, they are a-changin’.
So with Transformers 101 under my belt I felt ready to embrace these ‘more-than-meets-the-eye robots in disguise’ (I do recall the cartoon theme song). I will say one thing, these mechanical shape-shifters are undeniably cool-looking onscreen, especially when they’re transforming from transport trucks, sports cars, and construction vehicles into their robot other selves. And the battle sequences are jammed with impressive effects, and dazzling sound — what director Bay does best. If you go in expecting and wanting only that, you may just walk away impressed.
As for the human element in the film, which presumably is supposed to reel us in emotionally, it didn’t register. Not a blip. Shia LaBeouf, who still strikes me as sidekick, not hero, material, returns as Sam Witwicky, who unlocks the secret to the Transformers’ ancient past on Earth after coming into contact with Allspark, the robots’ source of energy.
Realizing that Sam now possesses this knowledge, the Decepticons, including a reborn Megatron, conspire to use him and the information he’s holding to ensure their survival and the destruction of mankind. Sam is a somewhat neurotic hero, but he’s too bland to really root for. Meanwhile, his hotter-than-hot girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) exists purely for the teenage boy contingent – and let’s face it, this is likely 90 per cent of the film’s audience – as her screen time mainly consists of pouting and wearing skimpy outfits.
Elevating the proceedings ever so slightly is John Turturro as a former secret agent who helps Sam discover the meaning of the symbols in his head. He’s a welcome addition, and he utters some of the film’s funniest lines, but some of its worst as well, including the action movie mainstay: “Not on my watch!” Please, Coen Brothers, cast Turturro in your next film. I can’t bear to see him wasted in movies like this and the recent Pelham 1 2 3 remake.
Given that the human characters were as devoid of personality as the robots, it was challenging to get even the least bit engaged in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I even found myself nodding off at about the 100-minute-mark, an impressive feat given the apparent explosion-every-two-minutes rule the filmmakers seemed to abide by. There was no reason this film should have been as long as it was, and shaving a good half hour (make that an hour) off might have kept it on the rails.
If visual thrills, and plenty of ’em, are enough for you, the Transformers sequel shouldn’t disappoint — just don’t expect much more than that.