Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is directed by Michael Bay and jointly written by Alex Kurtzman, Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci. It stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox , John Turturro, Ramón Rodríguez, Josh Duhamel & Tyrese Gibson. Ben Seresin is the cinematographer and the music director is Steve Jablonsky.

The Autobots and the US military have formed an alliance called NEST, their singular goal is to rid the World of Decepticons. But now they face their biggest challenge, because heading for Earth is the ultimate destroyer, The Fallen.

Michael Bay has never been the most subtle of film directors, he knows how to have fun, and in the main he knows how to drag his target audience along with him for a slam bang good ride. After the hugely enjoyable Transformers film, and after its subsequent success, he has crafted a sequel that he felt needed a more is more approach, where everything is bigger and louder and nothing pauses for breath. The end result is a dizzying ball of entertainment that's sadly devoid of substance. If ever there was a film to be put forward as OTT then Transformers 2 is a leading candidate. The plot is thin yet unnecessarily made complex by the writers, who you feel are trying to be heard in amongst the eye candy carnage, while Bay even resorts to cheap moments of crudity to get some laughs for his film. His cast are fine, yes Megan Fox seems to only serve as a drawing in weapon for the randy teenagers, but she still works well off of the ever likable LaBeouf, who in turn continues to deliver a good line in action comedy performance. Pity, tho, that in a film that's so big, with everything expanded, that John Turturro doesn't get more screen time. Only he, with his visual comedy at optimum, can make a metal testicle scene seem less crass than really it is.

When all is said and done, all the human actors are playing second fiddle to the Bots/Cons and metal critters. To that end the film is exciting, undeniably so. Sure some of the set-ups riff on other movies that have gone before it, but Bay is the master of Bayhem, there's just too much fun to be had if one is prepared to forgive its shallow center. With a third film on the go and set to be released in 2011, without Megan Fox (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley slipping into the considerably short skirt this time), it's anyone's guess what we will actually get this time. Will Bay pull back a touch and give us a story, with characters given time to breath? Or will it be bigger and noisier than part 2? You hope it's the former, but even if it's the latter, it will be fun for those after a certain level of popcorn explosive cinema. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is like a great ride at the funfair, one you have been on four times in a row. You know you have had a great time, but as your head starts to spin and your stomach feels queasy, you wonder if it was just too much overkill? 6/10