Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Okay, okay! So maybe I was a little peeved in my last post about Ebert’s review of Revenge of the Fallen. But it just goes to show when you expect too much from Hollywood, you will get burned. Now on to my thoughts on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen!

Not an Academy Award Winner

I’ll never forget the description one twitter user used to describe action/thriller films that lacked depth. He referred to them as candy. Sure, they taste really good, but don’t expect any real depth out of them. They say too much of a good thing is bad and with films like Transformers, that is very true which might be the reason why we won’t see the third install of Transformers until 2012.

But another twitter user, @Cybertron_Prime felt that the movie should have done a better job with the plot and script:

… not looking for award winner. Just want a plot I can follow and mature dialogue not written for retarded 13 y/o … – Cybertron_Prime@twitter

I can see his point. Michael Bay has a very specific taste when it comes films he directs. If you look at any of the movies he’s ever directed, you’ll notice the dialogues are often skin-deep. A perfect example of this is Bad Boys 2 with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence (enjoyable, but definitely exhausting considering the shallow dialogue and unintelligent plot).

@Cybertron_Prime was mostly right. The film incurred a lot of brainless slapstick humor mixed together with a twinge of sarcasm and swearing. Although Transformers is a definite far cry from something like *Transporter 3* (by far the most brainless script ever written for a film).

But I will stress again, what more did Michael Bay have to work with that would have given this film the extra depth it needed? Outside of reinventing the original plot found in the old Transformers cartoon of the 1980s, there isn’t much one can do.

The Creamy Center of Legacy Franchises

Every movie has to make a compromise. There are many reasons they’re made. They often are because of budgets, time constraints, poor casting choices, etc, etc. But with movies like the Transformers you have another variable to deal with which are the presence of a legacy franchise. You see this with movies like X-Men, Spiderman and the more recent Star Trek. Transformers unfortunately is not the best of example of how do properly respect the franchise.

Transformers (as a cartoon) was originally scripted and conceived for children. In both installments of the Transformers film, you can see that a lot of compromises were made to keep both children and adults interested in the film. Agreeing with @Cybertron_Prime, there were many aspects of the movie that just didn’t appeal to those in my age group and above.

But for what it’s worth, I think Michael Bay did an okay job of keeping interest in the overall story-line. Then again, I love Transformers and would have been interested anywhere if not for curiosity in seeing a cartoon translated into a live action film.

It’s candy, not a healthy well-balanced meal

While I loved the film, there are a lot of film snobs out there who insist on ruining the cinematic experience for others who may not care as much. Yes, the dialogue and script of transformers isn’t exactly what one would call, artful. But the film is enjoyable and deserves every dime it made ($16m during the midnight showing alone!).

Revenge of the Fallen is a fun film from start to finish and I can’t wait until the 3rd installment (tentatively to be release in 2012). Until then, enjoy all the other summer blockbusters.