It has it's issues (show me a movie that doesn't) but it's overall very much watchable and enjoyable
1,024 Reviews
I didn't know people hated this movie
gtenalokes2 October 2020
The sequel of Transformers is improved in direction, cinematography, effects, action, plot, duration, transformers, but is worse in seriousness compared to the 1st one.
Mivas_Greece15 March 2021
Fantasy/action movie. The sequel to Bay's great franchise, Transformers. The 2nd film further enhances the action, the effects, but also the overall budget, since we are transported to the desert and foreign countries. Also, Steve Jablonsky's excellent selection in the music of the film and in the songs the top New Divide from Linkin Park continues. The second film is longer in plot and duration than the first, but Bay's lack of seriousness is also unfortunately reinforced in this film. He also makes reference to another of his great film, Bad Boys 2, through a large poster in the film, while in the first he mentioned the Armageddon. The threat of bigger, and more dangerous transformers, and generally all the elements are improved in this film, only overall it is less serious than the first, especially in dialogues and some characters. Better in action, effects, directing, but inferior in dialogues, so it remains at the levels of the first, perhaps a little below, but for different reasons.
Amps up the action at the cost of almost everything else.
maxglen18 August 2020
I'll start by saying this film has FANTASTIC action sequences, better than the first even. Problem is, everything that made the first film so decent is basically gone here. The story is extremely formulaic and not really gripping in any way. Useless scenes and subplots are sprinkled throughout, especially during the college portions of the film. Shia does a good job as Sam once again but the rest of the original cast are either sidelined or written so badly you don't really care about them anymore. Megan Fox is especially exploited in this film, similar to the first Transformers but much more sleazily. Speaking of sleaze, the edgy humour of the first has carried over but where in that film it was fun, it has been toned up to borderline vulgarity. This film also adds quite a few new characters, some are cool, most are annoying and a handful are blatantly offensive. I'd give this film a 4 but the action really is worth a couple points. It's more of the first film but better, it's just a shame it's in a less consistent package than the first movie. Strong 5 to a light 6 from me.
An alright sequel..
JWick2314 March 2021
Micheal Bay said aight what does the audience need more of. And the audience's wishes were certainly fulfilled in this sequel.
An ok story had lazy writing and a bad atmosphere. The humor is getting a bit overused and felt stale and more immature. Half the college footage was unecessary and the flim could have been a bit shorter. The characters and their development fell of by a mile in this sequel and the new characters were annoying, such as that roommate and the autobot twins. And the romance between Sam and Mikaela was a bit too cheesy and had no depth whatsoever. The visuals and the music were amazing as usual.
Overall a semi-enjoyable film.
Memorable: No Rewatchable: No
An ok story had lazy writing and a bad atmosphere. The humor is getting a bit overused and felt stale and more immature. Half the college footage was unecessary and the flim could have been a bit shorter. The characters and their development fell of by a mile in this sequel and the new characters were annoying, such as that roommate and the autobot twins. And the romance between Sam and Mikaela was a bit too cheesy and had no depth whatsoever. The visuals and the music were amazing as usual.
Overall a semi-enjoyable film.
Memorable: No Rewatchable: No
A good sequel
adamjohns-4257511 April 2021
I personally think that this one is slightly better than the first, because it doesn't have to establish all of the characters. Having said that, the story is a bit lacking and I really had to pay attention to try to understand what was going on at times. There could have been a bit more of the every day Sam to counteract the more apocalyptic elements and give a bit of balance. It all happens very fast.
I also think that there was too much "Comic Relief". We already had The Witwicky's and Simmons and to some degree Sam himself, the addition of The Twins, Jetfire and Leo was fine, but they didn't need to be so comedic too.
At times it is difficult during battle scenes to see who is who and which ones are winning.
It is a good film though and an enjoyable watch for anyone who likes cars and things being blown up.
I also think that there was too much "Comic Relief". We already had The Witwicky's and Simmons and to some degree Sam himself, the addition of The Twins, Jetfire and Leo was fine, but they didn't need to be so comedic too.
At times it is difficult during battle scenes to see who is who and which ones are winning.
It is a good film though and an enjoyable watch for anyone who likes cars and things being blown up.
Very sad, very bad
lolavideola2 July 2009
Most people before me have said this already. This movie stinks. When I heard that Michael Bay was at the helm of the first Transformers movie, I was very worried but then by some fluke of nature he actually managed to pull off a watchable movie, perhaps because he was kept on a tight leash by the studio.
This debacle of a sequel is another story. Bay must have been given full power over this one due to the success of the first. Big mistake. This guy can’t make a decent, realistic and entertaining movie. He makes action/soft porn trash. A good script, story or dialog are just inconvenient afterthoughts for him and it shows. He probably thinks he can distract the audience away from these gaping holes by adding a lot of nonsensical action and unfunny humour.
Sorry Mr. Bay you can’t fool people all the time and the people who grew up with the transformers are absolutely hating this movie. I heard that you didn’t want to make the first movie because you didn’t even like the transformers but you became very keen for the sequel after the first movie made so much money for you. Here’s a tip: lay off the third and let a real director and a real team make that one for us because you have just totally trampled on the transformers legacy.
This debacle of a sequel is another story. Bay must have been given full power over this one due to the success of the first. Big mistake. This guy can’t make a decent, realistic and entertaining movie. He makes action/soft porn trash. A good script, story or dialog are just inconvenient afterthoughts for him and it shows. He probably thinks he can distract the audience away from these gaping holes by adding a lot of nonsensical action and unfunny humour.
Sorry Mr. Bay you can’t fool people all the time and the people who grew up with the transformers are absolutely hating this movie. I heard that you didn’t want to make the first movie because you didn’t even like the transformers but you became very keen for the sequel after the first movie made so much money for you. Here’s a tip: lay off the third and let a real director and a real team make that one for us because you have just totally trampled on the transformers legacy.
vfx treat
Bigdreamsjay13 June 2014
transformers main lead is optimus prime and other autobots or whatever robots are there.Fans here to see robot action,epic visual,blast,loud sound effect,visual effects and all in all Micheal bay style.This film bring all together.
Micheal bay is underrated by critics, i don't understand critics at all when i saw reviews of other Oscar nominated movies u will see some say entertaining,masterpiece bla bla bla its all lies last time i saw a Oscar nominated film after see their review i wasted my money and time they are zero entertainment even worst so please see it and judge it your self.
After see all the negative reviews this film is blockbuster worldwide still we wanna see transformer 3 and now transformer 4 it already create hype when it first announced, so lets just agree we love transformer and Micheal bay films please don't follow critics its worth watching 2 hours 30 min just passed by just like that this is called entertainment 10/10
Micheal bay is underrated by critics, i don't understand critics at all when i saw reviews of other Oscar nominated movies u will see some say entertaining,masterpiece bla bla bla its all lies last time i saw a Oscar nominated film after see their review i wasted my money and time they are zero entertainment even worst so please see it and judge it your self.
After see all the negative reviews this film is blockbuster worldwide still we wanna see transformer 3 and now transformer 4 it already create hype when it first announced, so lets just agree we love transformer and Micheal bay films please don't follow critics its worth watching 2 hours 30 min just passed by just like that this is called entertainment 10/10
Decent way to pass the time
briancham19949 August 2020
Yes, this film is incredibly stupid and loud, but that's what you are getting yourself into. It's a purely entertaining popcorn blockbuster with exciting action and not much of a plot. For sure, the jokes are dumb and not much makes sense, but if you just want to pass the time, this film is a good way to do it.
one of the worst
jozerd27 June 2009
No more Michael Bay, no more Shia Labeouef, maybe no more Megan Fox. When you attach your name to a project like this, hopefully fans will not give future projects done by these people record breaking box office feats. I'm embarrassed that I supported the cause.
One of the poorest acting, directional, and written efforts I have seen in a long time in modern cinema.
The scoop: This movie is good for a couple of scenes where the audience might be like 'cool!' due to CGI effects. There is a couple of cheap laughs from some other scenes. If that entertains you, great, there are lots of action movies out there for you. However, if you're reading a review on IMDb, you've likely separated well done movies from poorly done movies, and at least seen a couple in the top 250. To the reader, don't see this.
I left the movies mad. I wonder what other directors think when they see a screening of this film. The story is near non-existent, there are so many plot holes, or unexplained courses of action this movie takes... it really is unbelievable that the script was given an okay by any film studio.
Here's the thing : the target audience is obviously young kids or early teens. I think back to when I was 11 or 12 and I saw Men in Black in the theatres. I was entertained then, it's at least plausible that 12 year olds could be somewhat entertained by this now. However, I am still entertained by 'younger'generation stuff like spongebob, south park, and even beast wars. This didn't do it for me at all.
Similarly to how family guy uses the strategy 'hey people love our interchangeable jokes in early episodes, let's overload our new episodes with the same jokes'.... Michael Bay employs 'hey people love the cgi and megan fox in the first one... let's overload the film with sex overtones, explosions, and fight scenes'... and then at the last minute tried to fit a story around it.
This is the kind of film that makes a person angry that they aren't in Hollywood directing films, because most could do better than this.
One of the poorest acting, directional, and written efforts I have seen in a long time in modern cinema.
The scoop: This movie is good for a couple of scenes where the audience might be like 'cool!' due to CGI effects. There is a couple of cheap laughs from some other scenes. If that entertains you, great, there are lots of action movies out there for you. However, if you're reading a review on IMDb, you've likely separated well done movies from poorly done movies, and at least seen a couple in the top 250. To the reader, don't see this.
I left the movies mad. I wonder what other directors think when they see a screening of this film. The story is near non-existent, there are so many plot holes, or unexplained courses of action this movie takes... it really is unbelievable that the script was given an okay by any film studio.
Here's the thing : the target audience is obviously young kids or early teens. I think back to when I was 11 or 12 and I saw Men in Black in the theatres. I was entertained then, it's at least plausible that 12 year olds could be somewhat entertained by this now. However, I am still entertained by 'younger'generation stuff like spongebob, south park, and even beast wars. This didn't do it for me at all.
Similarly to how family guy uses the strategy 'hey people love our interchangeable jokes in early episodes, let's overload our new episodes with the same jokes'.... Michael Bay employs 'hey people love the cgi and megan fox in the first one... let's overload the film with sex overtones, explosions, and fight scenes'... and then at the last minute tried to fit a story around it.
This is the kind of film that makes a person angry that they aren't in Hollywood directing films, because most could do better than this.
i love this!!!
lylejr19 January 2017
i love transformers lol i would never give any transformer movie a bad rating XD i also cant wait for transformers five the last knight i think i was 5 or 6 when this came out in theaters and the 1st movie when i was like 3 or 4 years old gosh i don't know why this movie is the 2nd most downrated of all 4 of them, following age of extinction i love that movie, i love all 4 movies, this movie has mixture of humor swearing fighting and explosions and stuff but i don't care about explosions i love michael bay. this should be at least a 7 rating or probably even more higher, i love this movie to the fullest but i don't really know if it wouild be legal to give this movie a all the way up to 10 rating
Cinema in full perversion
trento-221 June 2009
Make no mistake, a great number of people will be entertained by this flick and it offers, well, to say the least, a few aircraft carriers full of special effects for your money. Sadly, that's about everything good there is to say about "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". Not only was the huge number of negative reviews for this film justified, but the second cinematic installment in the "Transformers" series is really paradigmatic of everything movies should not be.
It all starts with the sub-par acting of Shia LeBeouf, which, by now at least, no longer comes as a surprise. Megan Fox, who plays the admittedly hot Mikaela Banes, doesn't really help either, as her role seems to be limited to bumping into stuff, falling and subsequently finding herself in ready-made bikini model poses, cleavage wide open. The story, if that is what we can call what little is left when we subtract 140 minutes of explosions from the film, is so blatantly drenched in in-ya-face product placement that even the most bullshit-resistant viewers will find it hard to look away.
Now you might say: "Fair enough, but wasn't the first 'Transformers' just the same?". Well, here's where the real problems of "Revenge of the Fallen" start. While the original "Transformers" had some genuinely original, funny and gripping moments, "Revenge of the Fallen" largely lacks these elements. Most of the transforming and warping sidekicks are simply robotic versions of stale clichés, the humor has taken a turn for the worse and hardly any suspense builds up at all. It is this general lack of originality that makes for the new "Transformers" film to be so much less than good and entertaining popcorn cinema.
150 minutes of random stuff blowing up without any real substance to the plot, cliché upon cliché, bad actor upon bad actor, and every so often a pseudo-moralistic lecture given to the audience by some over-sized pile of talking CGI-rubble - I can do without that kind of wisdom! Even just thinking about how many more people are going to watch this movie rather than one of this summer's real cinematic gems, such as Charlie Kaufman's "Synechdoche, New York", makes me a little sick!
It all starts with the sub-par acting of Shia LeBeouf, which, by now at least, no longer comes as a surprise. Megan Fox, who plays the admittedly hot Mikaela Banes, doesn't really help either, as her role seems to be limited to bumping into stuff, falling and subsequently finding herself in ready-made bikini model poses, cleavage wide open. The story, if that is what we can call what little is left when we subtract 140 minutes of explosions from the film, is so blatantly drenched in in-ya-face product placement that even the most bullshit-resistant viewers will find it hard to look away.
Now you might say: "Fair enough, but wasn't the first 'Transformers' just the same?". Well, here's where the real problems of "Revenge of the Fallen" start. While the original "Transformers" had some genuinely original, funny and gripping moments, "Revenge of the Fallen" largely lacks these elements. Most of the transforming and warping sidekicks are simply robotic versions of stale clichés, the humor has taken a turn for the worse and hardly any suspense builds up at all. It is this general lack of originality that makes for the new "Transformers" film to be so much less than good and entertaining popcorn cinema.
150 minutes of random stuff blowing up without any real substance to the plot, cliché upon cliché, bad actor upon bad actor, and every so often a pseudo-moralistic lecture given to the audience by some over-sized pile of talking CGI-rubble - I can do without that kind of wisdom! Even just thinking about how many more people are going to watch this movie rather than one of this summer's real cinematic gems, such as Charlie Kaufman's "Synechdoche, New York", makes me a little sick!
What I expected
lukalele29 September 2009
I'm amazed at some of the reviews on here. Seriously, what did people expect outta this film? Shakespeare? The English Patient? You go to see this for the ridiculous action, awesome special effects and just to have a good time, which is what I had. Yeah, it did seem to overindulge slightly and was slow in parts. Yeah, the humour's cheesy, sometimes painfully so. No surprise there though, let's remember we're watching a film based on kids' toys, not a Bronte novel. It ain't perfect, but if you expected it to be, I'm glad you're feeling let down. For me, it didn't try to be anything it shouldn't have and what it needed to do right, it did.
Mindless, thoroughly enjoyable fun, just like the first one.
Mindless, thoroughly enjoyable fun, just like the first one.
Transformers
0U5 March 2020
This second installment of the Transformers series wasn't as fantastic as the first one but it was still pretty good. Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, and the rest of the cast did a great job in this movie. The plot to the movie was pretty good and the action scenes were pretty cool. A lot of people didn't like this movie, but I did and I would recommend it.
Just awful
f_mckissack13 August 2009
This film has more of everything from the first movie, such as: insulting racial stereotypes, pointless throw-away dialogue and incomprehensible action sequences.
If you handcuffed eight maladjusted monkeys to type writers you would probably get a better script. And as for the "action," go to your nearest toy store, get the latest line of Transformers action figures, cram them into a blender and switch it on. That's what you'll get in a nutshell. Oh, and people running from explosions in slow motion. John Woo's action films seem to be in fast forward compared to this. Just because it is in slow mo it doesn't make it cool... unless you're Zack Snyder.
It is hard to imagine anyone enjoying this film on any level, even the recently lobotomised. From the previews and hype, Michael Bay appears to be trusting the success of this film on the marketable qualities of Megan Fox's heaving bosom. Yes, gratuitous close ups of her chest abound.
Michael Bay is a contemptible hack. He has single handedly set science fiction back a few years, undoing the good work done by the recent masterful science fiction films, up to and including Alien. Do the world a favour and stop watching this tripe so that we can put an end to Michael Bay's reign of crap!
If you handcuffed eight maladjusted monkeys to type writers you would probably get a better script. And as for the "action," go to your nearest toy store, get the latest line of Transformers action figures, cram them into a blender and switch it on. That's what you'll get in a nutshell. Oh, and people running from explosions in slow motion. John Woo's action films seem to be in fast forward compared to this. Just because it is in slow mo it doesn't make it cool... unless you're Zack Snyder.
It is hard to imagine anyone enjoying this film on any level, even the recently lobotomised. From the previews and hype, Michael Bay appears to be trusting the success of this film on the marketable qualities of Megan Fox's heaving bosom. Yes, gratuitous close ups of her chest abound.
Michael Bay is a contemptible hack. He has single handedly set science fiction back a few years, undoing the good work done by the recent masterful science fiction films, up to and including Alien. Do the world a favour and stop watching this tripe so that we can put an end to Michael Bay's reign of crap!
Not bad...
Thanos_Alfie3 August 2020
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is an Action - Sci-Fi movie and the sequel of "Transformers", in which we watch Sam leaving Autobots and his previous life behind him in order to be another ordinary teenager. Soon he will realize that something strange is happening since his mind is full of cryptic symbols and the Decepticons are after him.
I liked this movie because it had an interesting plot and it was a good continuation of the first movie of Transformers but it was not as good as the first one. The direction which was made for one more time by Michael Bay was good and he had mostly the same style as in the first movie. Finally, I have to say that "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is not a bad sequel but it could be better with some changes and some additional information that could make it more interesting.
I liked this movie because it had an interesting plot and it was a good continuation of the first movie of Transformers but it was not as good as the first one. The direction which was made for one more time by Michael Bay was good and he had mostly the same style as in the first movie. Finally, I have to say that "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is not a bad sequel but it could be better with some changes and some additional information that could make it more interesting.
Drivel. It's shameful that this will be remembered in the Transformers legacy
matchitehew10 July 2009
Well, I enjoyed it as it happened, but after some reflection...I've come to the understanding that this film is very, VERY messy.
A lot of people defending this film are saying the action scenes are spectacular. Sure, they're spectacular...if you like trying to figure out just who's who and what's going on. Most of the time the characters are so obscured by objects/smoke that you can't see the "action" that everyone's raving about. When they're not behind something, the camera's changing every five seconds that you can't focus on the mess before you. The only cool part about these action scenes is the intense way some of the Transformers are disfigured.
The over-all plot, story, and script of this thing comes together in the most ugly way possible. Most people are complaining about it being too all over the place, or that there wasn't one at all. Unfortuneatly, it's hard not to agree on both fronts. There was no flow, no suspense, no build up, no up, no down, just one flat line of point a to point b to point c. The intense battles would have been made more intense had they been preceded by some sort of build up, but they just kind of...happened. The plot in and of itself has the makings of something epic. MULTI-FILM EPIC. The script used to flesh out this story was mediocre AT BEST. It could have been so much more than what it was, it could have spaced apart plot points by delving into the characters (specifically: the transformers). Instead, the film was littered with unnecessary, and often crude jokes.
Heck, this overly cartoony humor was barely present in the first film. Now it's been ramped up to over 9000, and it severely offsets any emotional impact the film might have had. Most of it would have been better suited to something like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, at least there crude humor comes off clever. It's really sad we had to put up with all of that instead of enjoying some actual quality time with our favorite machines.
And, speaking of which, the lack of Transformer character development presents itself yet again. You would think after fans complained about the infrequent amount of Transformer screen time in the first, then things would have been different now. Nope. We still don't know what they're thinking, who they are as living beings, or really anything about them except that they shoot at the opposing force. And why would they just sit around in car mode when they were hidden? They came from a planet where they walked around freely, one would think they'd enjoy being able to just be themselves.
The annoying liberties that were taken here in the name of artistic licensing are nauseating. I understand this is an "adaptation" and that things aren't going to be 100% to the source material. However, completely rewriting a character's personality is like killing off a loved one and replacing them with someone completely different. They also went waaaay to far with appearance, as well. Being a fan of a character from the series isn't' going to matter much here because there's a good chance they've been overhauled beyond recognition. Heck, the only one that barely made the transition from cartoon/comic to this blight of a film is Optimus Prime. No one else even remotely resembles their previous incarnations. From personality to appearance, this piece of work tramples all of the work of those before it...AND the fans they had sought to please.
The film's treatment of characters like Sky/Jetfire is utterly appalling. It's proof that the people involved in this film don't actually give a crap about the characters in their movie. Then again, the lack of character development makes that just as obvious.
The character design here is also noticeably different from the previous film. In the last film, all of the machines were quite bulky, a little more humanoid. The new ones here all seemed to be cartoony or very streamlined. The mini transformers all seemed to sport bug eyes, where as the ones last time around did not. Why would this new batch, decepticon and autobot alike, differ so much from the others? It's not like they were all brand new, they'd been around as long as the others. I dunno, different art direction from film to film grates on my nerves, especially when it comes to character design.
And, for the love of sanity, WHY can't they treat women like people? If I wanted to gawk at girls who were just there because they're pretty I would look up questionable material online. I honestly feel sorry for her and any other actress who doesn't actually get a chance to show off any acting talent they might have. I don't have a problem with them showing a girl as being pretty in the film...but if that's all they concentrate on then they can just get right the heck out.
The rest of the talent on hand might as well have been treated the same way. No one was really given an opportunity to actually do much acting, it was all jokes and running.
The movie's fun, but if you have a brain you'd better shut it off or your going to find yourself wanting to bring some pain to the creators of this drivel. And for the love of pete, just because it's an "action" film doesn't mean the film can't have substance. It's possible to have a load of brain-flexing story AND explosions.
A lot of people defending this film are saying the action scenes are spectacular. Sure, they're spectacular...if you like trying to figure out just who's who and what's going on. Most of the time the characters are so obscured by objects/smoke that you can't see the "action" that everyone's raving about. When they're not behind something, the camera's changing every five seconds that you can't focus on the mess before you. The only cool part about these action scenes is the intense way some of the Transformers are disfigured.
The over-all plot, story, and script of this thing comes together in the most ugly way possible. Most people are complaining about it being too all over the place, or that there wasn't one at all. Unfortuneatly, it's hard not to agree on both fronts. There was no flow, no suspense, no build up, no up, no down, just one flat line of point a to point b to point c. The intense battles would have been made more intense had they been preceded by some sort of build up, but they just kind of...happened. The plot in and of itself has the makings of something epic. MULTI-FILM EPIC. The script used to flesh out this story was mediocre AT BEST. It could have been so much more than what it was, it could have spaced apart plot points by delving into the characters (specifically: the transformers). Instead, the film was littered with unnecessary, and often crude jokes.
Heck, this overly cartoony humor was barely present in the first film. Now it's been ramped up to over 9000, and it severely offsets any emotional impact the film might have had. Most of it would have been better suited to something like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, at least there crude humor comes off clever. It's really sad we had to put up with all of that instead of enjoying some actual quality time with our favorite machines.
And, speaking of which, the lack of Transformer character development presents itself yet again. You would think after fans complained about the infrequent amount of Transformer screen time in the first, then things would have been different now. Nope. We still don't know what they're thinking, who they are as living beings, or really anything about them except that they shoot at the opposing force. And why would they just sit around in car mode when they were hidden? They came from a planet where they walked around freely, one would think they'd enjoy being able to just be themselves.
The annoying liberties that were taken here in the name of artistic licensing are nauseating. I understand this is an "adaptation" and that things aren't going to be 100% to the source material. However, completely rewriting a character's personality is like killing off a loved one and replacing them with someone completely different. They also went waaaay to far with appearance, as well. Being a fan of a character from the series isn't' going to matter much here because there's a good chance they've been overhauled beyond recognition. Heck, the only one that barely made the transition from cartoon/comic to this blight of a film is Optimus Prime. No one else even remotely resembles their previous incarnations. From personality to appearance, this piece of work tramples all of the work of those before it...AND the fans they had sought to please.
The film's treatment of characters like Sky/Jetfire is utterly appalling. It's proof that the people involved in this film don't actually give a crap about the characters in their movie. Then again, the lack of character development makes that just as obvious.
The character design here is also noticeably different from the previous film. In the last film, all of the machines were quite bulky, a little more humanoid. The new ones here all seemed to be cartoony or very streamlined. The mini transformers all seemed to sport bug eyes, where as the ones last time around did not. Why would this new batch, decepticon and autobot alike, differ so much from the others? It's not like they were all brand new, they'd been around as long as the others. I dunno, different art direction from film to film grates on my nerves, especially when it comes to character design.
And, for the love of sanity, WHY can't they treat women like people? If I wanted to gawk at girls who were just there because they're pretty I would look up questionable material online. I honestly feel sorry for her and any other actress who doesn't actually get a chance to show off any acting talent they might have. I don't have a problem with them showing a girl as being pretty in the film...but if that's all they concentrate on then they can just get right the heck out.
The rest of the talent on hand might as well have been treated the same way. No one was really given an opportunity to actually do much acting, it was all jokes and running.
The movie's fun, but if you have a brain you'd better shut it off or your going to find yourself wanting to bring some pain to the creators of this drivel. And for the love of pete, just because it's an "action" film doesn't mean the film can't have substance. It's possible to have a load of brain-flexing story AND explosions.
Could have been better, but could have been much worse!
hugh_booth1 July 2009
For the most part, this film is the decent thrill ride that the movie going audience is looking for. As an action moving, it has scenes to astound and thrill any avid fan. As a science fiction movie it stands reasonably well. It doesn't over-explain things and doesn't throw in concepts as central plot points that are blatantly impossible (super novas that threaten entire galaxies, I'm talking about you Star Trek). The movie also does relatively well on a comedic note, and from a standpoint of general plot. Though others have complained about the central importance of Sam's role being unlikely and a retread of the first film, it follows through logically from where the first film left off.
Though the film is a lot of fun, it does have its flaws. Unfortunately the humor descends to the low brow a little too often. Also the Autobot twins that Michael Bay apparently loved so much were frightfully annoying. They did also lean towards offensive cultural stereotypes a little heavily. It is unfortunate because a couple of their funnier lines could have been delivered just as well by completely different characters. In fact they might have been funnier coming from a more straight laced Autobot. The use of the twins in pure Jar Jar Binks fashion (though not quite as irritating) was unfortunate given how many underused robots there were. The comment about Sam's roommate's bravery could have been unexpectedly hilarious coming out of Arcee.
Most of the other glitches in the film were relatively minor and not worth mentioning, though the writers could use a geography lesson. If you enjoy action films and don't need a deeper artistic message, Revenge of the Fallen is well worth the watch.
Though the film is a lot of fun, it does have its flaws. Unfortunately the humor descends to the low brow a little too often. Also the Autobot twins that Michael Bay apparently loved so much were frightfully annoying. They did also lean towards offensive cultural stereotypes a little heavily. It is unfortunate because a couple of their funnier lines could have been delivered just as well by completely different characters. In fact they might have been funnier coming from a more straight laced Autobot. The use of the twins in pure Jar Jar Binks fashion (though not quite as irritating) was unfortunate given how many underused robots there were. The comment about Sam's roommate's bravery could have been unexpectedly hilarious coming out of Arcee.
Most of the other glitches in the film were relatively minor and not worth mentioning, though the writers could use a geography lesson. If you enjoy action films and don't need a deeper artistic message, Revenge of the Fallen is well worth the watch.
An ambitious, over-indulgent attempt at making the ultimate brainless summer film
tchockythegreat27 June 2009
When discussing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, one must disregard discussing issues typically inherent to most quality films, such as plot development, character development, and acting ability, because these aspects of film-making are clearly irrelevant to director Michael Bay, especially after considering that this movie is his latest entry in a lengthy resume of largely brainless blockbuster films. Rather, one must discuss what this movie is, and it is Bay's attempt at making the brainless summer movie to end all brainless summer movies.
Looking back on classic summer popcorn movies such as Independence Day, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc., one will notice that most of these films tend to have one of a number of common denominators that draw the masses to them; loud and expensive special effects, a healthy dollop of action-adventure, an escapist premise, and at least one source of T & A. Some are critically acclaimed, most are critically panned for whatever predictable reasons that pompous critics who write for alleged high-brow publications typically come up with. But the bottom line is, these common denominators compose a formula for box-office success, one that moviegoers eagerly turn to time and time again. Based on his directing credits and based on how successful his movies have been, it's clear that Bay knows how to work this formula backward and forward.
With Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Bay is not merely trying to top his first effort in the series from two years ago: he's trying to top every mindless popcorn flick ever made. This might initially sound like I'm overstating his ambition, but if one thinks about the movie for more than the five seconds that Bay expects your attention span to be, one realizes that this is the case.
Bay's ambition must be commended. He knows that people don't go to see a movie about giant killer robots, or even a summer blockbuster period, for the interesting characters, or even a plot line that makes sense. So with this movie, he has masterfully attempted to eliminate all pretensions to the above, because his knows that those things are mostly irrelevant to bolstering a popcorn movie's bottom line. Indeed, after seeing this movie, all I could recall about the story was something about the bad robots needing to blow up the sun for some reason, and all I could remember about the characters was Shia LeBeouf's character running around screaming, John Tuturro's character making unfunny wisecrack after unfunny wisecrack, and Megan Fox's character looking unbelievably hot even while dirty and running for her life in the desert.
Logically, this movie should be the best summer popcorn movie ever made. It's 2 1/2 hours of pulse-pounding relentless escapist fantasy. The special effects are amazing. The action is intense. There are enough shots of Megan Fox looking sexy to fill a few issues of Maxim magazine. It has everything a film fan should supposedly want from a summer popcorn movie, and it's all cranked up to 11.
So why ISN'T it the best summer popcorn movie ever made?
The answer to this question is a painful, age-old cliché. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is unabashed cinematic junk food in its purest form. Cinematic junk food can be tasty, but as the cliché goes, too much of it can be tiring, and will eventually give movie-goers a bellyache from over-indulging. But this isn't even merely cinematic junk food: it's the cinematic equivalent of drinking five extra-large energy drinks in one sitting: it'll get you going initially, and you'll be excited and maybe even a little entertained for awhile. But after the rush is over, you'll realize just how unhealthy for you it is to gorge yourself on something so shamelessly devoid of substance...or you'll become addicted to it and crave it even more.
Considering just how much money this movie is likely going to make, it's safe to say that Michael Bay has addicted enough people to this franchise that he could likely get away with Transformers 3 being nothing but a slide-show of giant robots, explosions and sexy shots of Megan Fox. Don't tell me people wouldn't pay money to watch it, because people are basically paying money to watch it now.
Looking back on classic summer popcorn movies such as Independence Day, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc., one will notice that most of these films tend to have one of a number of common denominators that draw the masses to them; loud and expensive special effects, a healthy dollop of action-adventure, an escapist premise, and at least one source of T & A. Some are critically acclaimed, most are critically panned for whatever predictable reasons that pompous critics who write for alleged high-brow publications typically come up with. But the bottom line is, these common denominators compose a formula for box-office success, one that moviegoers eagerly turn to time and time again. Based on his directing credits and based on how successful his movies have been, it's clear that Bay knows how to work this formula backward and forward.
With Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Bay is not merely trying to top his first effort in the series from two years ago: he's trying to top every mindless popcorn flick ever made. This might initially sound like I'm overstating his ambition, but if one thinks about the movie for more than the five seconds that Bay expects your attention span to be, one realizes that this is the case.
Bay's ambition must be commended. He knows that people don't go to see a movie about giant killer robots, or even a summer blockbuster period, for the interesting characters, or even a plot line that makes sense. So with this movie, he has masterfully attempted to eliminate all pretensions to the above, because his knows that those things are mostly irrelevant to bolstering a popcorn movie's bottom line. Indeed, after seeing this movie, all I could recall about the story was something about the bad robots needing to blow up the sun for some reason, and all I could remember about the characters was Shia LeBeouf's character running around screaming, John Tuturro's character making unfunny wisecrack after unfunny wisecrack, and Megan Fox's character looking unbelievably hot even while dirty and running for her life in the desert.
Logically, this movie should be the best summer popcorn movie ever made. It's 2 1/2 hours of pulse-pounding relentless escapist fantasy. The special effects are amazing. The action is intense. There are enough shots of Megan Fox looking sexy to fill a few issues of Maxim magazine. It has everything a film fan should supposedly want from a summer popcorn movie, and it's all cranked up to 11.
So why ISN'T it the best summer popcorn movie ever made?
The answer to this question is a painful, age-old cliché. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is unabashed cinematic junk food in its purest form. Cinematic junk food can be tasty, but as the cliché goes, too much of it can be tiring, and will eventually give movie-goers a bellyache from over-indulging. But this isn't even merely cinematic junk food: it's the cinematic equivalent of drinking five extra-large energy drinks in one sitting: it'll get you going initially, and you'll be excited and maybe even a little entertained for awhile. But after the rush is over, you'll realize just how unhealthy for you it is to gorge yourself on something so shamelessly devoid of substance...or you'll become addicted to it and crave it even more.
Considering just how much money this movie is likely going to make, it's safe to say that Michael Bay has addicted enough people to this franchise that he could likely get away with Transformers 3 being nothing but a slide-show of giant robots, explosions and sexy shots of Megan Fox. Don't tell me people wouldn't pay money to watch it, because people are basically paying money to watch it now.
Not as Fresh as the Original,but Still an Enjoyable Sequel,
lesleyharris305 November 2013
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a good movie with a pretty good storyline and an average cast.Its definitely not as enjoyable as the first Transformers and it goes on too long,also an awful lot of the movie is very long action sequences,that go on for so long that after a while you don't even know whats going on.Shia Labeouf is just as good as the first,but Megan Fox is probably worse,I didn't like her in the first and I didn't like her in this,she is very attractive that is clearly the only reason she makes it in such big movies,because she can not act.Like the first my favourite actors are definitely the voice actors,they do a very impressive job voicing these strong characters,and the addition of the small auto it's was very humorous and added as a good comic relief.Fans of the first Transformers will be disappointed,but Revenge of the Fallen is still a good sequel.
After leaving Bumblebee and the other Autobots for college,Sam (Shia Labeouf) starts experiencing weird symbols in his head that result in the return of the Decepticons.
After leaving Bumblebee and the other Autobots for college,Sam (Shia Labeouf) starts experiencing weird symbols in his head that result in the return of the Decepticons.
Transformers is a saga
beebopz9 August 2018
Some aspects could have done with much more work, but it is not that bad
TheLittleSongbird10 March 2011
I quite liked the first Transformers and this film. Neither of the Transformers films are masterpieces, but neither are terrible movies either in my opinion. And yes, this is coming from a fan of the 1984 series and 1986 movie. Transformers 2:Revenge of the Fallen is not the best of the year, but it is a long way from the worst either(not like The Ugly Truth or Dragonball Evolution). And is it the worst movie of all time as I have seen in some reviews and various message boards? For me, not even close.
Does this mean it is completely flawless? No. The characters are rather shallow(the twins especially, they are offensive too), the story is formulaic with some of the scenes with the humans on the dull side, the Autobots get nowhere near enough screen-time and some of the script is weak going overboard with some lowbrow and immature humour. In regards to the latter though, it does have a few humorous and exciting parts so it wasn't quite as glaring as the characters and story problems and to be fair to those two problems the original suffered from the same problems exactly.
But when it comes to the visual spectacle and effects, I can't fault this movie at all, the whole film does look amazing and the effects are in my view some of the best of the year. And the action sequences are very thrilling, there isn't too much and it makes up for the not-so-involving exposition with the human characters. The soundtrack is also fantastic, and the sound is very impressive in its authenticity. The acting is an improvement, Shia LaBoeuf is likable enough and while she is far from a great actress Megan Fox has improved as well. John Tuturo and Kevin Dunn are great too, but my favourite characters are Megatron and especially Optimus Prime voiced wonderfully by Hugo Weaving and Peter Cullen. Another improvement is Michael Bay's direction, I can find it murky and unfocused but it was serviceable here.
Overall, an okay movie that gets some not-entirely deserved but understandable flack. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Does this mean it is completely flawless? No. The characters are rather shallow(the twins especially, they are offensive too), the story is formulaic with some of the scenes with the humans on the dull side, the Autobots get nowhere near enough screen-time and some of the script is weak going overboard with some lowbrow and immature humour. In regards to the latter though, it does have a few humorous and exciting parts so it wasn't quite as glaring as the characters and story problems and to be fair to those two problems the original suffered from the same problems exactly.
But when it comes to the visual spectacle and effects, I can't fault this movie at all, the whole film does look amazing and the effects are in my view some of the best of the year. And the action sequences are very thrilling, there isn't too much and it makes up for the not-so-involving exposition with the human characters. The soundtrack is also fantastic, and the sound is very impressive in its authenticity. The acting is an improvement, Shia LaBoeuf is likable enough and while she is far from a great actress Megan Fox has improved as well. John Tuturo and Kevin Dunn are great too, but my favourite characters are Megatron and especially Optimus Prime voiced wonderfully by Hugo Weaving and Peter Cullen. Another improvement is Michael Bay's direction, I can find it murky and unfocused but it was serviceable here.
Overall, an okay movie that gets some not-entirely deserved but understandable flack. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Awesome just Awesome
ghost-zombie23 February 2017
This is the best movie I have ever seen the story is awesome the action is awesome Sideswipe is the most gangster transformer I have ever seen the movie is just the and it does not deserve all those bad reviews because that is just racist.I can watch this movie and once it has ended I just replay the whole movie again.
Fun movie
moviemaker-705-47789718 April 2020
It's my least favorite of the franchise but I still had fun with it. One really intense fight sequences i really liked. The other fights we're ok. Wish there was a lot more in the movie. Watch it for yourself. Don't buy the hate for this franchise.
A complete hackjob.
stefan-haglund24 June 2009
CGI and sound all are top-notch, it's truly amazing what they can do today. It is horribly apparent, however, that the guys behind this think so too, and wants to make that abundantly clear by shoving 2h of it down your throat, non-stop. And the initial amazement turns into boredom and annoyance.
There is a laugh here and there, but other than that, what else makes up the movie is so extremely poorly done, there really isn't much movie here at all. It's like they started out creating action sequence after another with little or no respect to a story or plot, and then superglued it together with some subpar plot-fluff and poor acting. The movie is a near-complete hackjob.
In all sincerity, with respect to the much disliked director Uwe Boll's quarrel with Michael Bay, I actually believe that if Uwe were given the same resources truly WASTED on this movie, he would produce something similar or even better.
I also saw Steven Spielberg's name there somewhere. Which is just sad, given the man's earlier work.
Personally, I will not waste any more money on these kind of movies ever again.
There is a laugh here and there, but other than that, what else makes up the movie is so extremely poorly done, there really isn't much movie here at all. It's like they started out creating action sequence after another with little or no respect to a story or plot, and then superglued it together with some subpar plot-fluff and poor acting. The movie is a near-complete hackjob.
In all sincerity, with respect to the much disliked director Uwe Boll's quarrel with Michael Bay, I actually believe that if Uwe were given the same resources truly WASTED on this movie, he would produce something similar or even better.
I also saw Steven Spielberg's name there somewhere. Which is just sad, given the man's earlier work.
Personally, I will not waste any more money on these kind of movies ever again.
expensive looking empty hearted twaddle.
druspatau23 June 2009
i have to admit i was not a big fan of the first transformers movie. It lacked any discernible plot and was too long. Shia lebouef is never leading man material and meagan fox looks good until she opens her mouth and attempts to act.
The new transformers movie is much more of the same. Its much too long and has the same problems as the first one. Its hard to distinguish between the good and bad robots in the big fight scenes. The script, such as it is, is padded with clichés and hilarious comic robots provide supposed light relief.
I know revenge of the fallen is not meant to be some great cinematic masterpiece but its a blockbuster done badly. I like big dumb films. they can be terrific entertainment. Star trek is the best film of the summer so far. Big, bold and funny. The laughs in the fallen are lame and the major set pieces lose their impact due to the inflated running time.
I sat in the cinema depressed. Meagan fox eased the depression slightly but if all a summer blockbuster has to recommend is a pouty pneumatic brunette its a sad state of affairs. 4/10
The new transformers movie is much more of the same. Its much too long and has the same problems as the first one. Its hard to distinguish between the good and bad robots in the big fight scenes. The script, such as it is, is padded with clichés and hilarious comic robots provide supposed light relief.
I know revenge of the fallen is not meant to be some great cinematic masterpiece but its a blockbuster done badly. I like big dumb films. they can be terrific entertainment. Star trek is the best film of the summer so far. Big, bold and funny. The laughs in the fallen are lame and the major set pieces lose their impact due to the inflated running time.
I sat in the cinema depressed. Meagan fox eased the depression slightly but if all a summer blockbuster has to recommend is a pouty pneumatic brunette its a sad state of affairs. 4/10
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