Gear Heads Unite!

Sequel has Morphing Mechanical Robot Aliens Going turbo!

By
Morgan P Salvo
  

I can’t really recall any other huge budgeted movie based on action figures. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen again showcases the nuts and bolts of machines (mainly cars and airplanes) morphing themselves into humongous metallic beasts. What were once just toys for kids and flimsy animated cartoons have turned into big-boy-toys in the hands of multi-millionaires Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg. And with the funds to deliver high tech goods, they go all gear-head-turbo with this newest Transformers installment.
Beginning with a pseudo tribute of 2001: A Space Odyssey, our Transformers history lesson tells us that they have been on the planet since 17,000 BC. It quickly zooms ahead to a big convoluted fight scene between the Autobots, lead by Monster Truck Optimus Prime, against the evil Decepticons, in which either side can change into behemoth gear grinding monstrosities.
Fallen is basically the same plot as the original, only two years later. Sam (Shia LaBeouf) is leaving home for college after saving the human race from the invading Decepticons in the last episode. But as he starts his new life at school, maintaining a long distance relationship with his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox), problems arise. He has troubling visions causing episodes of eye-rolling, mumbling and scribbling of alien hieroglyphics. This leads him once again to assist the Autobots in the war against the remaining Decepticons who have been hiding out on Earth. Together with a handful of people, including Mikaela and Robo-warrior Agent Simmons (John Turturro), they seize the opportunity to save the planet with the help of the military elite squad called NEST. They must uncover the secret history of the Transformers and thwart an ancient Decepticon named "The Fallen"(a metallic spiny alien beast) before the evil-doers can burn out the sun, thus destroying all humans and rule the galaxy… I guess. That part wasn’t too clear, but hey plots aside, it’s all about watching these demolition derby gargoyles battle it out. Interspersed amidst the action are wit, charm, and clever dialogue. The engaging characters (from the humans to the metallic) keep their demented problems on their sleeves. The straight forward acting maintains a theme of cracking wise. Lebeouf plays it up as an insane genius smart-ass hero/kid. Fox is all pouty lips in Daisy Dukes, wisecracking her way through the dialogue. Turturro supplies comic relief by being a goofy wise guy and Sam’s parents (Kevin Dunn/Julie White) are in a constant competition to outdo each other with their bickering banter. With the exception of a jokester twin car team, the Transformers are the only ones that take themselves seriously.
Unfortunately a lot of CGI work went into this, only to be blurred by spinning camera angles and director Michael Bay’s insistence on cutting scenes too quickly. He is clearly the master of over-long movies (Armageddon, The Rock) connecting multiple montages of short scenes. Obviously there’s a great deal of fun to be had here: really cool looking Transformers, huge thundering sounds, and grand scale explosions. But everything’s so busy that it’s difficult to discern what’s happening on the screen. When it gets all heavy near the end with a big shootout in Egypt resembling the Iraq war with colorful robots clamoring around, there’s just too much to look at, including a gratuitous King Kong tribute (an alien robot fights off a plane from the top of a pyramid.).

As debilitating, exhilarating or excruciating this may be, with huge unrestrained CGI technological showboating, Transformers still retains a feeling of playing with action figures. There’s only so much corny, sappy, heroic good vs. hovering evil, sacrifice, destiny, war, love, fake history, action and witty dialogue that can fit in a movie that strains your seating time of 2 1/2 hours. But watching the detail that goes into a morphed monster truck or incredible sand-eating, gear-grinding whirlpool machine is a sight to behold. Among the loads of soulless spectacle it seems Fallen’s heart is in the right place.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro
Director: Michael Bay
2 stars