Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

28 Jun 2009
Critics rating: 1 star out of 5
Reviewed by Tom Charity, LOVEFiLM

The BBFC is now classifying films with an eye for discrimination and prejudice, as well as the long-established parameters of sex and violence.

The news is both intriguing and welcome, on one level, perplexing and worrying on another.

The new rules seem designed to look at a broader social picture, taking in the context and import behind cinematic representations, rather than just focusing on skin and blood. That seems sensible. But of course prejudice and discrimination is often in the eye of the beholder, and the BBFC may be opening the door to – on the one hand – the PC police, and on the other, endless tabloid barracking.

The first three titles for which certificates have been revised upwards all represent soft targets: Date Movie, Epic Movie and Norbit were rated 12 or 12A and now are classified 15. It’s hard to imagine anyone defending these universally reviled comedies, though I think you could make a case that throwaway comedies shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

Cast details

But what about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen? Rated 12A by the BBFC. Is the 12A classification already a bit harsh (my ten year old wants to watch it) or it too lenient?

The story, such as it is, involves evil robots the Decepticons coming back to Earth to destroy Optimus Prime, their old adversary Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and the planet itself.

It’s questionable just what age-range the movie is shooting for. On the one hand, this is a film based on a line of toys intended for the pre-teens and it’s produced by US manufacturer Hasbro. On the other, the brand was a favourite with kids back in the 80s, so the boys who grew up with them then are now in their late 20s, early 30s, and potentially feeling nostalgic.

If we look to the movie itself for clues, the character of Sam is just entering college, so presumably he is 18 or 19 (La Beouf just turned 23). His girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) isn’t going to college – she’s working in her ex con father’s garage as a mechanic – but she’s the same age (so is Fox).

Does the fact that he’s middle class and brainy and she’s working class and not cerebral mean the movie is sexist? Or does the fact that she is good with motors while he’s a bit of a nerd signal the reverse?

Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel,

Maybe it’s more telling to look at the way director Michael Bay shoots Fox – a model who doesn’t resemble any mechanic I’ve met. She’s first seen from behind, half-prone on top of a motorbike, her derriere stuck up in the air like a Playboy bunny. That proves typical of her appearances in the movie: she’s constantly posed in a sexually suggestive manner, even when she’s running away from missiles and giant robots (invariably in slow motion).

It’s true that she does save Sam from one Decepticon, but this creature – disguised as a fellow student who seduces/near-rapes him – is hardly a compelling argument against charges of sexism. Nor is the character of Sam’s mum, who is repeatedly shown to be over-emotional, irrational, hysterical, embarrassing, or a combination of all four.

Sexism isn’t a crime – not yet – but do we want our 12 year olds sucking down these kind of stereotypes?

And what about race? Much of the movie takes place in the Middle East, in Egypt and Jordan – in fact Bay destroys several ancient landmarks, including one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Yet as far as I recall, there is only speaking part in the movie for an Arabic character, a checkpoint army officer who is initially presented as a potential menace, and then (when his diminutive stature becomes clear) as a figure of fun, easily distracted from his duty because of his love for New York, of all things.

There is a rather odd reference by one of the US military personnel to imminent rescue by “the Jordanians”, here recast as the Seventh Cavalry, which I assume reflects the filmmakers’ gratitude towards the hospitality of the Jordanian authorities and military during the shooting (though the Jordanian helicopter referred to is promptly shot down by a Decepticon).

More troubling than the film's implicit sexism and xenophobia, for me anyway, is Michael Bay's on-going love affair with the US military.

More troubling than the film’s implicit sexism and xenophobia, for me anyway, is Michael Bay’s on-going love affair with the US military. Granted the army’s high tech surveillance and weaponry are outgunned for long stretches of this film by the alien invaders, but all the same, Bay shoots the servicemen like they were GQ models, backlit, in slow motion, striding manfully and with purpose. In contrast, we’re told that President Obama has gone into hiding at the first sign of trouble, and his administration’s state department head immediately shuts down the only unit that might actually help in these circumstances, a secret joint US-Autobot outfit.

It is only by illegally countervening these government orders – and later, ordering an unauthorised missile strike on the Great Pyramid at Giza – that army personnel avert disaster.

In other words, democratic institutions won’t save the planet, we need to put our faith in the US military’s pre-emptive strike capability. That might sound like a lot to read into a mere movie, but bear in mind this was the central argument in John McCain’s Presidential campaign last year. “Revenge of the Fallen” indeed.

I don’t know if any of this makes the new Transformers any more suitable for 15 year olds than 12 year olds. But I do know that this overblown, overlong, and unforgivably boring blockbuster must be the longest toy commercial ever made – and my kids won’t be seeing it any time soon.
 

Reviews

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  • Critics' reviews of Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen

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  • 3 stars out of

    With this cash-cow sequel to his widely derided, hugely succesful original, Michael Bay comes closer than any director... read more on Time Out

    • Tom Huddleston, 
    • Time Out
  • Most helpful members' reviews (3) of Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen

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  • 126 out of 138 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    got to be good

    fingers crossed this second installment is bigger and better than the first, from the looks of things it will be !!!

      • A customer from POCKLINGTON
  • 34 out of 37 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 0 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen

    cant wait for this....awesome 1st one was very well done

      • homer0601 from Stockton-on-Tees
  • 20 out of 22 people found this review helpful

    * * * This review contains spoilers * * *ShowHide

    Rated - 5 stars

    look cool

      • A customer from Manchester
  • Most recent members' reviews (2) of Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen

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  • 1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    A superb follow-up rollercoaster sequel that expands on the universe introduced in the first.

    A superb follow-up to the 2007 film. While the first was largely a necessary intro, this film is a full-on action adventure, that furthers the depth of the Transformers universe, and includes a lot of character development for the robots as well as the humans. The balance of action, suspense and comedy is perfect, and suitably tied together by a compelling (but certainly not mindblowing!) plot. A total rollercoaster of a film, that uses so many elements of the Transformers toy line and turns them utterly on their head (including fairly obscure forms of Transformers, perfect for film, and taking the alien designs even further) - whilst being a very enjoyable and accessible blockbuster! Bay was born for these films - let's hope he makes another epic installment in due course! And, the joint music efforts of Linkin Park and Jablonski work brilliantly!

      • tunnelweb from Hamilton
  • 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Awesome!

    Do not miss this!

    some claim this to be too long, but its 2 hours 50 minutes of pure robot kick ass action. Superior to the first film and a great sense of humour thrown in. This film aptures large elements of the transformers storyline with familiar faces thrown in. The best thing i liked about thi film is that you get to see more of the culture of the transformers themselves what a great film!!!!

      • justify from Torquay
  • 126 out of 138 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    got to be good

    fingers crossed this second installment is bigger and better than the first, from the looks of things it will be !!!

      • A customer from POCKLINGTON
  • 34 out of 37 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 0 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen

    cant wait for this....awesome 1st one was very well done

      • homer0601 from Stockton-on-Tees
  • 20 out of 22 people found this review helpful

    * * * This review contains spoilers * * *ShowHide

    Rated - 5 stars

    look cool

      • A customer from Manchester
  • 14 out of 16 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 2 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    The first film was light years better.

    I watched the very first showing of this film (19/06/09 at 12.01 am at Leicester freemans park and it is 2hrs 30mins long). I thought this would be just as good as the first film. However, I was in for a nasty surprise. No thanks to the typical american, assenine, puerile idiot michael bay (and equally shia lebouf, who was allowed major influence in the story), this film was peppered with stupidity, immature toilet humour and inconsistent storylines. There was far too much infantile humour which severely handicapped any legitimacy of the plot and sub plot. Furthermore, according to the idiotic t**t michael bay, the creation matrix is used as an ignition key to switch on the 'star harvester' which saps all of the nuclear energy from a star/sun and transform that energy into energon, thus destroying a living planet in the process. WRONG!!!. In the original comic series, the creation matrix never had destructive functions, only life generating abilities. Hence the name 'creation matrix' and NOT 'destruction matrix'. Clearly michael bay and shia lebouf have let their infantile imaginations run amok and have completely rewritten and perverted the original comic stories. They also plagiarised integral components from other films such as as star wars, terminator and even titanic!. Megatron turned out to be an apprentice of the dark side (star wars!!), whose master is one of the original 7 primus autobots. The film is called 'revenge of the fallen' since the dark master betrayed his autobot brethren and was thus banished (star wars again!). There is plagiarism of theological undertones, where Iblis (an angel) was banished from heaven and became satan. The film also plagiarised the terminator cyborgs, since decepticons were able to assume animal and human forms. At the end of the film Optimus Prime gave a speech whilst standing at the stern of a US navy aircraft carrier (reminds me of the scene from Titanic). There was also very little integral performance from the original autobots (Ironhide, Ratchet and Bumblebee). They were used as window dressing. The awesome autobot Sideswipe was sidelined at the expense of the immaturely portrayed twins (mudflap and and skids). Arcee was not one autobot but 3!. In the final fight scene, the six minor autobots were up against 19 decepticons (including megatron and his master), yet the autobots still won!. Prime was killed halfway through the film but was brought back to life by the matrix. Jetfire made a cameo appearance, but was mortally wounded in the final battle, but still donated his life spark to Prime, to bolster his power, so he could take on megatron and his master. Shia lebouf dies but is resurrected (he thinks he is Jesus!). Bad points aside, the film had only 2 assets. First and foremost - Megan Fox was unbelievably sexy (I seriously want to marry her!) and the CGI was fantastic. This film is worth watching just for Megan Fox. However, I do miss the gorgeous blonde analyst from the 1st movie (Maggie Madsen, played by Rachel Taylor). She gave Megan a run for her money. No doubt there will be a 3rd installment in the money making franchise (where quality has clearly gone down the toilet). However, michael bay should be disposed of asap and another writer/director must be allowed to take over and go back to the original comic stories. Bring back all the other original autobots and decepticons (and in their original comic forms as I do not like the new techno spangled robot forms). Overall, michael bay and shia lebouf both deserve to be horse whippped and executed, because they destroyed what could have been a fantastic film (which instead turned out to be a bitter disappointment). Only watch this film if you are looking for mindless action. If you want substance, go see Star Trek, X-men origins and Terminator Salvation (they were far superior, especially Star Trek). Transformers 2 turned out to be a shocking disappointment.

      • Suhail Ahmad from Leicester, England.
  • 10 out of 10 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    FOR THOSE WHO HATED THE FIRST FILM, KEEP AWAY!

    Transformers was always going to split the viewers opinion, it is loved and loathed in equel measure. The critics who hated it, complained that it was based on a toy, and had underwritten characters, and a paper thin plot!

    All I can say to them critics is well observed, but they are seriously missing the point. Transformers knows it's limitations and never tries to be anything other than a summer popcorn blockbuster, and this is what makes the films work, as they are briliant eye scorching entertainment. Master of destruction Director Michael Bay makes this sequel bigger, alot bigger, bigger budget, bigger and better effects, More fighting robots, grand scale set pieces, longer running time, hell even the title is bigger. It's as if he has said ' lets do a sequel but make it BIGGER!' the plot is again not the main feature in the film, but serves to tie in the action.It's all about spectacle and this movie delivers, the action and effects are jaw dropping, so you must see it on the biggest screen possible, all the original characters are back, as Shia LaBeouf and the stunning Megan Fox try to have a long range relationship, until the evil Deceptorcons come calling. Also the film is just as funny as the first, as Shia's on screen parents steel every scene, the best bit is his mother getting stoned. The film does have a few minor niggles, as the plot although slim in the first place is a mess, and just like the first film, the movie is thirty minutes too long, but whan the sheer scale of the action kicks in, it's easy to forget these minor quibbles.Michael Bay proves yet again, although he is loathed by most snoppy serious critics, he knows exactly what the vast majority of the audience wants to see. In a world that is tearing it's self apart, with stories of the economic crisis, corrupt politions,and the on going war in Afghanistan, Transformers 2 is the perfect movie to forget all the worries of the world. Just go in, switch your brain off, and lap up every eye scorching silly moment. Just remember to pick your jaw off the cinema floor when you leave!

    • MAVERICK
      • MAVERICK from Knottingley
  • 9 out of 9 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 0 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    TRANSFORMERS 2

    IT SOUNDS EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST ONE WE WILL HAVE TO WAIT C'MON BRING IT ON

    • bluefox
      • bluefox from Newcastle upon Tyne
  • 9 out of 9 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 2 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    cich chhuhchh chhuhhch cch chhhch

    I love Transformers, and i quite like the first film, i'd give it 4 stars.

    I hate to be a killjoy but this new film is pretty poor. Prime and ‘bee are barely in it and there is little to compare to their respective fights against Bonecrusher and Barricade in the first film. Although Prime does take on multiple ‘cons in a cool brawl.

    Instead of Optimus and Bumble Bee are twin wise-crackin’, buck-tooth, jar jar binks bots who transform into an icecream van – true!

    More weird American Pie Humour from Shea’s mum as well, if you thought her ‘Sam’s special alone time’ routine was out of place in the first film wait till you see her on a college campus!

    Having said all that there is plenty of Megan Fox Baywatch running and what other film has giant robo-trucks from your childhood slapping each other around?

    Knowing what i know now, i’d still see it. Because i’m an idiot.

  • 9 out of 12 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    You just know its going to be brilliant

    I am taking the day off specifically to go see this film!!

      • A customer from London
  • 7 out of 7 people found this review helpful

    * * * This review contains spoilers * * *ShowHide

    Rated - 0 stars

    Transformers 2

      • A customer from Stratford-upon-Avon
  • 7 out of 8 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 0 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    transformers 2

    i hope this film will be good

    judging from the adds i think it will be

      • rico97 from London
  • Critics' reviews

  • 3 stars out of

    With this cash-cow sequel to his widely derided, hugely succesful original, Michael Bay comes closer than any director... read more on Time Out

    • Tom Huddleston, 
    • Time Out