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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Movie details

The battle for Earth has ended but the battle for the universe has just begun. After returning to Cybertron, Starscream assumes command of the Decepticons, and has decided to return to Earth with force. The Autobots believing that peace was possible finds out that Megatron's dead body has been stolen from the US Military by Skorpinox and revives him using his own spark. Now Megatron is back seeking revenge and with Starscream and more Decepticon reinforcements on the way, the Autobots with reinforcements of their own, may have more to deal with then meets the eye.

Director Michael Bay

Stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel

Action Violence

Our review

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is like a cake made entirely out of icing: it's a movie made entirely of explosions and special effects and hot girls and shouting and crude jokes.

Basically, director Michael Bay allows his audience to gorge themselves on cinematic sugar. It's a delicious treat... up to a point.

The first 90 minutes of "Revenge" are so ridiculously awesome that they make 2007's "Transformers" look almost dull in comparison.

For the last two years, humans have worked side-by-side with the Autobots (the good robots) to hunt down the Decepticons (the bad robots). This war is kept hidden from the general population, but an opening battle in Shanghai ravages the city and threatens to blow the secret.

Meanwhile, boy hero Sam (Shia LeBeouf) is off to college, leaving behind his impossibly hot girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) and his beloved "pet" Autobot Bumblebee. Sam has hopes for a normal life, but they're ruined when he's exposed to ancient knowledge that could endanger Earth if it falls into the wrong hands.

A reluctant Sam is dragged back into the war, learning that the spate of recent Decepticon attacks are the work of the Fallen: an ancient robot with a major grudge against lead Autobot Optimus Prime.

The continent-hopping plot is convoluted but ultimately irrelevant, little more than an excuse for a constant stream of eye-popping action sequences that are impressive in scope even if they aren't especially memorable.

But by the end of the film, all that sugar starts to taste sickening. The Autobots and the Decepticons become impossible to tell apart, while the lengthy climactic scene set in the Egyptian desert in the shadow of the Pyramids is so bloated that it's a tedious chore to endure.

It's a shame, because if the film had been at least half an hour shorter it might have been a perfect (albeit very silly) blockbuster - 148 minutes is just way too much. Fingers crossed that by the time the inevitable threequel hits cinemas, Bay will have learned that less is more.

7/10

Samuel Downing