I just sat through the movie marathon called Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen. The two and a half hour film that just wouldn’t end.
After being disappointed by the first installment, I vowed to never again spend money on this film franchise. That being said, I caught this film on the plane ride back from Edmonton. This was the only option that wasn’t a romantic comedy. Also, being a huge transformers fan in my younger days, I felt for free I could give it another chance.
I’ll start with the positives of this film– great graphics and CGI effects. The ability to put these monstrous robots on the same screen with people joining in on the fight is a triumph to what can be done in film with modern technology.
Also the casting of Megan Fox as eye candy did keep my attention at times. She was a nice distraction and something to look at when the robot fighting started to get monotonous– about 20 minutes into the movie.
Though nice to look at, Fox was the least believable character in the film. I can believe that there is a race of alien robots-in-disguise looking to set a battlefield on earth. I can believe that the American military can form an alliance with the good guys– the Autobots. I can even believe that these robots, whose relative size to humans is the same as humans are to tiny ants, would care to protect the human race for purely altruistic reasons.
What lost me was the pairing of Hollywood hottie Megan Fox and the nerdy and awkward Shia LaBeouf. Seriously? Robots from space, I get that. Fox and LaBeouf, far too unbelievable. Aside from the mismatched looks, the pair had no onscreen chemistry. The director Michael Bay must have realized sometime in the middle of filming because every ‘affectionate’ moment between the couple was masked with romantic music and clever camera angles (usually being a 360 degree camera movement around the couple as they forced a romantic moment).
Other than that, much like the first film, there was no substance, just an array of fighting robots for 150 minutes. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the occasional blow ‘em up bloodfest like anyone. I’ll pay to see a Rambo or Die Hard sequel where you can shut your brain off and enjoy the carnage. Even those movies know to limit themselves to a 90 to 110 minute film.
There was no blood, just robots. Most of the time I couldn’t even establish what was going on– who was winning– or even why they were fighting. It was just random carnage with robot characters that I had no emotional investment in. It just dragged on and on and on.
There was some comical relief, very little funny. The acting of the nutty former US agent from the first film, John Turturro, was the only character who made me laugh. Much like in the first film, half the jokes were the same. Action going on everywhere, and there is a person or animal that doesn’t notice and couldn’t care less. This was a little funny the first time. By the eighth or ninth time, I was ready to jump up and yell at the screen on the back of the seat in front of me on the plane: “I get it! It’s not funny!”.
The key flaw in this movie is the same flaw in many newer video games– all graphics and no substance.
Nevertheless, the movie did okay in the box office. With merchandising and cross promotion, this film is going to be a financial success. It’s just another example of Hollywood movies that exist to make money not necessarily in the box office, but in the department and toy stores. Hence why there will be a third film in 2011.
I give Transformers 2 a generous one and a half out of five. The extra half is only because i have a soft spot for the franchise as it was a big part of my childhood.
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