To expect Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to be anything more than a mindless summer film with tons of explosions, CGI and slow-motion shots dedicated to Megan Fox is to go into this film set up for disappointment. In 2007 Michael Bay showed us what he was capable of with this franchise and as a result I left the theater that year extremely disappointed. I wanted more and I expected more and I got less. This time around I expected less and Bay didn’t fail me as I appropriately prepared myself for what was to come. This doesn’t mean that as a result Revenge of the Fallen was actually good, but it was tolerable and there were moments I actually enjoyed myself.
Most of what was on screen washed over me without any lasting effect. I sat back and watched as Bay once again featured robots taking racial stereotypes to the nth degree and even took a moment to feature two massive wrecking balls as visual representations for exactly what you would think they would be on a 70-foot tall CGI robot. The problem is that this is what I come out of a film like this talking about as opposed to the story being told. As a filmmaker, Bay has proven he can stage action sequences with the best of them, but when it comes to filling in the blanks he is clueless.
In the years following the goings on in the first film, Revenge of the Fallen‘s story dates back to 10,000 B.C. setting up a plot where the Decepticons (the bad guy robots) aim to resurrect an ancient ally known as The Fallen in an attempt to destroy the sun, steal its energy and move on to the next planet. Of course, this just won’t do, but the story gets so convoluted and misshapen from there, to actually describe it would take more paragraphs than its worth. Just suffice to say Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) gets infected with Transformers Symbology Disease and becomes hunted for his thoughts this time as opposed to his eBay trinkets. While this is going on the American military is doubting their alliance with the Autobots (the good guy robots), Megan Fox is trying to find the most supportive (yet revealing) tank top to wear and John Turturro is back as the madcap crazy man with a plan as we move to the desert for a massive battle sequence, only this time there are pyramids! In short, not a whole lot has changed since 2007.
However, inside these similarities with the first film there are some interesting changes. One criticism of the first film was that you couldn’t see the robot-on-robot action, as battles were filmed too close and didn’t reveal enough to make it easy to follow. This time around Bay pulls the camera back and the action is actually quite impressive and is certainly the best part of the whole feature. You will have a hard time discerning which robot is which, but hey look… an explosion! Yeah, that’s how it works here.
Next comes the treatment of the female characters, which begins with an introduction of Megan Fox as Mikaela bent over on a motorcycle with just enough clothes on to keep things covered. Newcomer to the franchise, Isabel Lucas, gets a similar treatment following her introduction as Bay damn near shoves the camera up her skirt. I’m not complaining, the ladies are lovely and God bless them if they can look at this as a way of using their looks to earn a paycheck, but sometimes it astonishes me what women will do and I can’t help but wonder how the scene is first described to them as Bay is setting up the shot.
The one element of the film that is sure to draw critical fire is two robots referred to as The Twins. Both speak in what I can only assume is a perceived impression of modern day street talk while they stumble around as if they are both stoned. On top of this one boldly features a gold tooth while the two appear to be stepping in as the African American representatives in this robot army, replacing the deceased Jazz robot from the first feature. The two argue and fight, calling one another “bitch-ass” and at one point referring to one of the humans as a “pussy.” At times they can be funny, but to say they aren’t a racial caricature that could potentially stir up a load of problems would be an understatement.
Without going any deeper, let’s just say Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is filled with problems. At two-and-a-half-hours its biggest problem is that it is just too damned long. Moments of exposition are announced before they take place and Michael Bay needs to get a group of editors (there were four on this film) willing to stand up to him and say, “No, this scene featuring the robot humping Megan Fox’s leg needs to be cut!” Oh, what, did I forget to mention that part? Yeah, that’s in there too. Dogs humping one another are also in there, but you expected that right?
It’s all nonsense and overblown, but it’s perfect for its PG-13 target audience (Or is it?). I went in expecting nothing more than 150 minutes of mindless noise, bad jokes and breast shots, and that’s exactly what I got. After the first film, to expect anything more than that would be silly, and like I said, I ended up glossing over most of what I saw to the point I actually found a way to enjoy some of it.
The question that remains is whether or not a bad movie is still bad if you expected it to be so and it lives up to those expectations? I think the answer to that is an obvious yes, and as a result Revenge of the Fallen is a bad movie I was able to take some enjoyment out of simply because I sat back and laughed at its absurdity instead of focusing my attention on hating its flaws in logic, limited storytelling and bad attempts at humor. Sure, this means I found enjoyment in a way not intended by the filmmaker, but I am happy to have at least not walked away hating the entire experience. Albeit, an experience I don’t necessarily want to have again.
