Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Michael Bay follows up his 2007 big-screen adaptation of the Transformers cartoon/toy franchise with the 2009 sequel TRANSFORMERS – REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. The epic battle for supremacy between the Autobots and the Decepticons rages on, and as usual, it’s the humans who are caught in the crossfire.

The Decepticons continue to spearhead a destructive campaign against the earthlings and their Autobot protectors. But the main villain of the piece is The Fallen (voiced by Tony Todd), a centuries-old Giger-esque baddie who emerges from the scrap heap hungry for power. Having lain dormant for so long, his batteries are in serious need of recharging, and the only energy source in the galaxy powerful enough to restore him to his former titanic glory is the Earth’s sun. The Fallen realises that draining the sun of its energy has the added benefit of wiping out the entire human race; something he has been plotting ever since his last attempt at harvesting the sun’s energy was foiled.

Several characters from the first film return, including Sam (Shia LaBeouf), an all-American college freshman who enjoys a vague ‘chosen one’ status among the Autobots, and Mikaela (Megan Fox), his girlfriend, who’s not only beautiful but handy with a wrench. However, the real star of the show is Optimus Prime (voiced by original voice actor Peter Cullen). The legendary head Autobot is given a lot more screen time in this outing, and features prominently in many of the manic action sequences. You don’t even have to be an old-school Transformers fan to pick up on the mythos–he speaks in nothing but searing quips and infinite wisdoms, and can turn into a turbo-charged Mack truck at will. So even if Optimus Prime isn’t your mental template for the warrior-king archetype, he still steals the show, and makes TRANSFORMERS 2 more than just passable. With its eye-popping visual effects and dramatic set pieces, this instalment manages to be an even bigger spectacle than the first, which is saying a lot for a film about giant robots that turn into cars.

June 19, 2009

Michael Bay

Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (screenplay)

Paramount Pictures

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

12A

147 minutes

Shia LaBeouf
Megan Fox
Peter Cullen
Josh Duhamel
Tyrese Gibson
John Turturro
Rainn Wilson
Hugo Weaving
Matthew Marsden
Frank Welker
Kevin Dunn
Kevin Michael Richardson
Michael York
Reno Wilson
Michael Papajohn
Mark Ryan
Julie White
Isabel Lucas
Grey DeLisle
Glenn Morshower
Tony Todd
Ramon Rodriguez