   GDNet at the Movies: Transformers: Meh
  Summer of 2008, it ain't.The summer of 2008 was spectacular, as far as its blockbusters were concerned. Starting with Iron Man, it was a continuous string of thoroughly enjoyable films all the way up to Tropic Thunder. (Well, except for Wanted. Wanted sucked.) The weakest of the bunch was Hancock, which would easily have been the second or third best movie of this summer. This summer, in contrast, has featured a succession of features that I went to the theaters for and left thinking I could have safely skipped them. Wolverine: X-Men Origins. Terminator Salvation. The Hangover was funny, but it was also uneven, and it's best "joke" was a single picture during the credits. (Tyson, the documentary on Mike Tyson, was spectacular, but didn't seem to find large audiences at all. Also, Up was made of Wonderful.) The films of this summer have been so lackluster that I haven't been able to muster the will to review them.Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen doesn't reverse or halt this trend. No, it worsens it. I initially had high hopes for this film given the skepticism with which I had approached its predecessor, so much so that I titled my Transformers review the "Michael Bay Apology Thread." Well, he finally lived down to my expectations. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is aimless, uneven, empty, shallow and barely fun. And we shall discuss why.There be spoilers ahead. If knowing something about a film before you watch it "ruins it" for you, please grow up - but until you do, go away.Too Many CharactersA core decision made with the first Transformers movie was to introduce more humans that the film would essentially revolve around, ostensibly so that audiences would find characters to empathize with. It's a cop out, of course: competent film makers can make audiences empathize with an animated lamp, simply by rendering a comprehensive characterization. But, whatever, the first film was fun. This second film, however, adds even more characters - more sidekicks, more short-lived enemies, more "comic relief"... It all becomes something of a mess, and the film spends too long in its early parts jumping around to keep you up to speed on too many parallel plot threads, with the predictable result that the film is too long and too many characters are too flat.Too Many Side-PlotsDid we really need the asshole National Security Advisor coming down to the base the Autobots operated at, throwing his weight around and leaking confidential information in the most obvious way possible. (Seriously? If two parties are discussing a sensitive subject, even via a "secure" line, would they rehash the complete history of the subject, including all locations and call signs?) Later, he shuts the whole operation down... except they immediately reroute to a location he hasn't approved, and throw him off the plane to boot.Too Many Plot Holes and InconsistenciesEven the throwaway scenes didn't make sense: in one sequence Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBouf) is embarrassed in class, then later his face is broadcast on all networks as the Decepticons demand to know his location, but at the end of the film he returns to class and nobody says anything about this? Really? Nobody in his school watched television or surfed the web while the planet was under attack, or after the threat was contained?And Bumblebee's vocal units still aren't fixed?! Even after he touched the AllSpark?Too Much "ShakyCam™"Much has been made in visual arts/effects trade magazines of Michael Bay insisting there be no mass displacement (for the uninitiated, the Transformers of the comics and cartoons could not only change shape but also their apparent mass; in fact, this edict has been cited as the reason why Optimus Prime was changed into a Peterbilt truck), and on how ever piece of the transformers was accurately modeled and a transformation worked out. So how come every time a transformation occurs, the camera starts swirling all over the place?Further, action scenes degenerated into a vague sensation of "fighting." The camera lurched, stuttered, trembled and swung violently all over the place, as if these giant robots were pummeling your head rather than each other. Look, I'm all for a tasteful use of camera shake added in post to convey the concussive force of a digital explosion effect, but this is ridiculous.Too Much (Bad) FanserviceAfter misusing the name Devastator in the first film, we get a "real" Devastator - a combiner made up of what look to be the Constructicons. We get Jetfire, too - in the G1 cartoon he was named Skyfire, and was the Decepticon who switch allegiance to the Autobots, which he did in this film as well. We get the Matrix of Leadership, though it isn't identified as an Autobot talisman and is the wrong shape, and then it is apparently destroyed...We also get a mention of Energon, but now with a ridiculous origin that sets up a "high stakes" situation for this film but makes no sense in the context of pretty much all prior Transformers media.Too Much StereotypingTwo Autobots, the twins Skidz and Mudflap, are quite minstrel-like. Skidz has buck teeth, one of them gold (with the Autobot insignia on it). They refer to having to "put the hip hop" into what they do, confess to not being able to read, and speak in urban slang with casual profanity.Why?They had some funny lines, but I felt quite uncomfortable in a lot of scenes as their characterization made me cringe.Too Much NarrationThe film starts with a lengthy voiceover by Optimus Prime that violates the "show, don't tell" rule, and it ends on an equally tedious note. Narration is fine if there is some inner aspect of the character that is essential knowledge for the viewer, or in noir and noir-ish features where it establishes the irredeemable past (note that voiceovers in noir films typically are by the protagonist in deep trouble at the end of the narrative and recounting how he came to be in that position). The script is just lazy in parts, doing nothing to strengthen the film.Too Much MovieThe bottom line is, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is about an hour too long, causing it to go from "this is kind of fun" to "when the hell is this damn thing going to end."Verdict: Skip it. Wait till it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray.   
Quote:The GuardianBay has a great love of flashy effects, stroboscopic editing and loud crashes; he famously calls his cinematic technique "fucking the frame". That phrase might be brutal, but it's accurate. And there's no doubt about it: he really has given the frame a right old seeing-to this time. Bay has turned up at the frame's flat with some unguent massage oils, scented candles and a hundredweight of Viagra. It isn't long before the headboard of the frame's bed is crashing repeatedly against the wall, while the frame gazes up at the ceiling ... and I think the frame is faking it.;  The major problem with the movie imho is that it's just way too long.  You mentioned the side plots.  What did half of them even do?  Nothing.  It's like a video game that comes out that has incomplete quests which are unfinished.  First, you have the National Security Advisor.  "Transformers are bad, I want the Autobots to leave the planet, Why am I in Egypt?"  If the Autobots left Earth and the Decepticons took over, that's one thing.  But the Autobots never left, thus, his entire presense in the movie was entirely pointless.Then you have the pointless leaving for college.  Fine, Sam goes to college.  And fine, you have the paranoid roommate (you want him as comic relief, fine, but get rid of the other 15 minutes of him at the college.  Completely pointless).  But did you really need to see the control center?  Did Sam really need to freakout and talk about how Einstein was wrong?  And let's not even get into the All Spark shard which created 30 Decepticons (Why always Decepticons?  I thought it created life, not transferred life.  And how do Blenders which suddenly transform have immediate access to ammunition?)  The entire first 45 minutes of the film could have been reduced to 10 minutes, and it probably would have been a much better film.  But, at least we know Transformers can transform into hot college girls.My last complaint actually has to do with the audience I was in when I watched it.  From the mainly teenage audience who didn't know anything about the Transformers (Optimus Prime dies in this?  *GASP*), to the girl and her boyfriend next to me who weren't even watching the movie and just talking to each other, talking on the phone, and texting, to half the audience being female and being more interested in the Twilight trailer than the movie.At least Michael Bay isn't directing the next one (at least that's what he states, and hopefully it's true).   ;  I loved it and thought it was great and don't see any of your points to be true.except the character introductions. i joked right in front of the movie "i hope they don't bring a jarjarbinks car". hello twins anyone? :)else, there weren't much new characters to see. the guy from the school, some new villains (now that is obvious, not?:)), that's mostly it about important new characters in the movie. that's, uhm, 1?it had about 3 moments where i thought "wtf?" in a bad way, but more "wtf? wow!" in good ways.but, to everone it's own.i loved the orange smoke :)   ;Quote:Original post by NytegardFirst, you have the National Security Advisor.  "Transformers are bad, I want the Autobots to leave the planet, Why am I in Egypt?"  If the Autobots left Earth and the Decepticons took over, that's one thing.  But the Autobots never left, thus, his entire presense in the movie was entirely pointless.no, he took away the autobots rights to fight the bad boys so the badboys had more freedom afterwards to grow stronger. it was an important part.Quote:Then you have the pointless leaving for college.  Fine, Sam goes to college.  And fine, you have the paranoid roommate (you want him as comic relief, fine, but get rid of the other 15 minutes of him at the college.  Completely pointless).  But did you really need to see the control center?  Did Sam really need to freakout and talk about how Einstein was wrong?  And let's not even get into the All Spark shard which created 30 Decepticons (Why always Decepticons?  I thought it created life, not transferred life.  And how do Blenders which suddenly transform have immediate access to ammunition?)  The entire first 45 minutes of the film could have been reduced to 10 minutes, and it probably would have been a much better film.  But, at least we know Transformers can transform into hot college girls.no, i thought it was all fun and interesting and put up questions answered later in the movie. and mom on drugs was fun :) reminds me on anyone? ... :)Quote:My last complaint actually has to do with the audience I was in when I watched it.  From the mainly teenage audience who didn't know anything about the Transformers (Optimus Prime dies in this?  *GASP*), to the girl and her boyfriend next to me who weren't even watching the movie and just talking to each other, talking on the phone, and texting, to half the audience being female and being more interested in the Twilight trailer than the movie.i was in the press preview. the audience was terrible and terribly distracting. i tried to not concentrate on that but sometimes failed. one time, optimus prime made a jump-roll while shooting. and some guy directly behind me cried "yeah, do it!! YOU RULE!! YEAAAAH YEAHHH" and i was like "wtf? like no one ever made a jumproll while shooting ever before.. espencially not optimus prime about 5 minutes ago, and in the last movie as well!! ..."very distracting audience.Quote:At least Michael Bay isn't directing the next one (at least that's what he states, and hopefully it's true).that's one thing that interests me. after seing close to anything possible in that movie, after going out i thought "now, what's left for 3?" i'm interested.   ;  I definitely agree with ShakyCam criticism. The amount of motion in the fight scenes make close ups a silly thing to do, but it's like 90% close ups and indiscernable scrap heaps moving around, which kind of look like things fighting. I think this movie just doesn't work with 25 frames per second, you really need something higher to get the full experience of the transforms. And I kind of don't like transforming just to transform- there was a bit of that in the opening scenes (there was too much action for my liking in the opening scenes- it was kind of boring to be honest).Overall I thought the movie was alright. I have to disagree with your comments about the quality of last summers movies vs. this summers movies though.[Edited by - GMuser on June 26, 2009 4:55:13 AM];  I've seen much worse shakycam. I think one of the ideas is to show a bit the robots like we would see them. They're HUGE. you would not really see such a fight but only "oh crap run away they're omg now they're here, now they're there".for me, it was acceptable, and i hate shakycam. it gave a bit of the impression of us humans not being in control of what goes on.what i really like about the movie is the picture quality. i think it has a really beautiful movie and picture quality, a joy to watch.   ;  Oluseyi: I have to completely disagree about The Hangover. I thought it was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. If you consider Alan, Phil, and Stu to be a Freudian decomposition of Doug (his Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively), then I think the movie takes on a much more symbolic bent about inner demons struggling with settling down. But most importantly about that message is that it's only just there, it doesn't beat you over the head with it, and there is plenty of slapstick to keep you occupied along the way.I guess I saw something of my friends and myself in the movie, too.Oh, and I nominate this film for Best Performance by a Heather Graham in a Movie Evar.   ;Quote:Original post by NytegardAnd let's not even get into the All Spark shard which created 30 Decepticons (Why always Decepticons?  I thought it created life, not transferred life.  And how do Blenders which suddenly transform have immediate access to ammunition?)This happened in the previous movie as well. There's no clear explanation for why it creates Decepticons by default. As for why they have access to ammunition, though, that is easily explained: the Transformers synthesize their own weapons based on the Energon in their bodies. Ever notice how they don't carry guns in this movie series (unlike the comics and cartoons), but instead morph their arms into cannons?Quote:The entire first 45 minutes of the film could have been reduced to 10 minutes, and it probably would have been a much better film.  But, at least we know Transformers can transform into hot college girls.Pretenders are actually a part of the Transformers mythos, though Decepticons traditionally transformed into hideous animalistic organic forms.Quote:Original post by capn_midnightOluseyi: I have to completely disagree about The Hangover. I thought it was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. If you consider Alan, Phil, and Stu to be a Freudian decomposition of Doug (his Id, Ego, and Superego, respectively), then I think the movie takes on a much more symbolic bent about inner demons struggling with settling down. But most importantly about that message is that it's only just there, it doesn't beat you over the head with it, and there is plenty of slapstick to keep you occupied along the way.The problem with that analysis is that Doug isn't repressed. Yes, he's absent from the whole film, so we can spend time gazing upon the madness of Alan, the cuckolding of Phil and the clueless vacuousness that is Stu, but the photos at the end (as well as the security camera footage from Mike Tyson's house) reveal a willing, active participant in the proceedings thoroughly enjoying himself.Sorry, but I don't buy it.Quote:Oh, and I nominate this film for Best Performance by a Heather Graham in a Movie Evar.LOL. When I saw her name, the first thing I said was, "She still has a career?!" She seemed to disappear after Boogie Nights.Quote:Original post by davepermenno, he took away the autobots rights to fight the bad boys so the badboys had more freedom afterwards to grow stronger. it was an important part.No, not really. He shut NEST down after Optimus was killed - at which point Megatron had been revived - but before anything about what the Decepticons wanted was known. He shut them down before the Decepticons made their demand for Sam's whereabouts, largely in response to the Decepticon pretender causing all that damage at Sam's school, and he had soldiers pointing guns at them. It was a useless addition that only served to set up the "comeuppance" scene in the jump bay of the carrier.Quote:no, i thought [Sam going to college] was all fun and interesting and put up questions answered later in the movie.Questions like what?   ;  he just shut down NEST after the japanese intro happening. because they didin't "hide" well. not that you can hide well if you're 20m large or bigger.. :)that's when the "removing autobots initiative" started. then, prime died, and then they started moving away.this was going on in parallel and didn't had directly to do with each other much. but it gave the autobots a chance to go to egypt after they wheren't allowed to do anything. they got a free flight.   