Revenge of the Fallen Review

Filled with explosions, amazing, mouth-dropping special effects Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is everything a summer blockbuster should be. In the sequel to the 2007 action-packed hit, the stealth war between the Autobots and Decepticons rages on, but now the bad guys have raised the stakes with an ancient doomsday machine that can save their mechanical race, but at the cost of human Armageddon.

A brief pre-credit opening takes us back to prehistoric times, tracing the Transformers’ history on Earth back to the year 17,000 B.C. It’s here where we meet the true leader of the Decepticons – The Fallen, a Transformer equivalent to Lucifer. Meanwhile, spanning to present day, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) sets off to college, leaving behind sleek, yellow Camaro Bumblebee and his sexy girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox). All the while, Optimus Prime and his Autobot warriors have forged an alliance with America’s military and continue to wage war against chaos-rendering Decepticons. Massive destruction begins right away with car chases, flying concrete and burning, twisted metal. What's going on? Who cares? Downtown Shanghai is going up in flames!

"Revenge of the Fallen" entertains when things are being smashed, squished, ripped apart and blown into tiny pieces. The Transformers' animations and the chaos of their combat are intense and spectacular. Sam finds himself, once again in the middle of this robot civil war, but this time, he's really the center of attention, having accidentally absorbed some lost secrets that the Decepticons desperately need. The battles between giant robots are astoundingly detailed, and cleverly set in places like forests and deserts, this adds to the realism. But, once again, the real star of the show is Optimus Prime, voiced by original cartoon voice actor Peter Cullen. The legendary head Autobot is given a lot more screen time in this movie, and he is featured prominently in many of the manic action sequences, some of which make use of the Transformers’ stature for a cool Godzilla-type effect and some involve giant robots fist-fighting. Either way, Prime leads the audiences to momentous, hyper-fueled applause.

Not to be a downer, but Michael Bay's sense of humor remains childish – robots cry, pass gas and flash reproductive organs that shouldn’t exist on a metallic beast. If you thought Sam’s parents were annoying in the first film (which I did a little bit), wait until you see Sam's mom ingest marijuana-laced brownies on Sam’s college campus. That scene added no value and in my opinion it should have been cut altogether. The worst additions to the film have to be The Twins – obnoxious, pint-sized Transformers named Mudflap and Skids, who stereotypically speak like hip-hop “gangsta” rappers. I was hoping the Twins would have been a little cooler. Now the best addition would have to be, hands down, Devastator. Seven construction vehicles merge to form this robot - he's massive. His sole purpose is to destroy anything and everything that gets in his way. He. Was. Awesome!

All in all I fully enjoyed this movie. It was everything I expected it to be. Your eyes will definitely be glued to the screen for 2 and a ½ hours. There were times when I found my mouth wide open in awe – it’s that spectacular. This is truly a must see IMAX movie - 3 scenes consume the full screen. I strongly recommend seeing it there. The real magic isn't in the plot, but rather in the amazing special effects, battles scenes, cars, robots and hotties. If plot is what you're after, what are you doing at a Michael Bay movie?

RATING: C+

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