Transformers 'on the run'

Transformers:

Revenge of the Fallen

Certification: PG

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan

Fox, Josh Duhamel, John

Turturro, Tyrese Gibson,

Ramon Rodriguez, Hugo

Weaving, Peter Cullen, Kevin

Dunn, Julie White

Director: Michael Bay

Genre: Sci Fi, Action

NO DOUBT, this is the biggest and the most anticipated movie of this summer. The first movie, Transformers, found a massive worldwide audience upon release two years ago, even bringing in new fans that were never part of the 1980s cartoon series. In that sense, the movie achieved success even though it was critically a disaster.

And with that success, producer and director Michael Bay plans to give exactly what the fans want in the second instalment, but on an epic level. How does that translate into the big screen? Bigger robots, bigger explosions, and bigger action sequences.

Two years after events from the first movie, Captain Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Sgt Epps (Tyrese Gibson) now head an elite force called "NEST", which teams up with Autobots to hunt down rogue Decepticons around the globe.

Hoping to revive Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving), the Decepticons are scouring the Earth for any remaining shards from the "Allspark" cube that was destroyed at the end of the first movie.

They didn't have to look far, as Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) happened to be keeping a shard without knowing it. When he accidentally finds it, the shard mysteriously transfers into his brain crucial information pertaining to the whereabouts of an ancient key.

But Sam is on his way to a fresh start at college life, leaving his girlfriend Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) behind. So when the Autobots are on the verge of being exiled by the US government, Sam selfishly refuses to play liaison again, though how one college student can change the mind of the government is never explained.

In the first movie, the plot was so straightforward that the audience was able to fully enjoy the action and visuals without having to divert attention to the plot. Let's face it, nobody would go into a Michael Bay movie expecting a complicated storyline.

However, Revenge of the Fallen has too much going on. It involves too many locations and differing agendas that constantly detracts from the flow of enjoyment through their incoherence.

Scenes jump from action to comedy to melodrama whenever Bay feels like it, without proper build-up or giving enough time to reach a natural conclusion.

By the time the audience is introduced to the "Matrix of Leadership", a machine that destroys stars by harvesting the power of the sun, patience is already being tested by having to keep track on who is going where to chase after what.

To Bay's credit, this is his biggest and most explosive movie to date. A few scenes are highly commendable. From the opening chase sequence in China to a sword-battle in the forest between Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) and three Decepticons, and to the long action sequence in the desert; the seamless CGI is at least a few steps above the first movie.

The only problem with the action scenes is differentiating the Autobots from the Decepticons. Because the sub-cast robots do not have significant roles, it's impossible to tell who is knocking the spare parts out of who until one stands victorious. And Bay's shaky camera movement style only makes things worse.

Although the human actors have more screen time than in the original Transformers, their roles aren't as prominent compared with the robots. In the first movie, LaBeouf managed to constantly remind his audience that he is the main star of the movie, bringing a human touch, so to speak. But his character this time isn't allowed to flourish as before.

Bay's signature move of swirling camera action is more pronounced, but it is hit-and-miss at best. The soundtrack once again is cleverly inserted to emphasise the appropriate scenes, and the script has improved slightly, though tacky lines like, "I rise, you fall" still pop up too often.

Transformers proved that a loud, gimmicky movie can be fun. But with Revenge of the Fallen, Bay just wants to make things as big and loud as he possibly can, ignoring logic and substance for flashy style.

The result: a soulless machine.

Reviewer's Rating: 6 / 10

The Brunei Times