Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the sequel to the 2007 cartoon adaptation Transformers, and continues the adventures of giant transforming robots and their human allies. A few years after the events of the first film, Revenge of the Fallen sees our hero Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) starting his life at college while the remaining Autobots join forces with humans to create an elite military force.
This second Transformers film entices viewers with better special effects and even more insane action sequences, but does it fix the lackluster plot and storytelling of the original?
Let’s see if Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a worthwhile follow-up in this ridiculous yet entertaining franchise.
How to Stream or Download Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
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The Film Review
Taking place two years after the first Transformers, wherein there was a giant battle between towering alien robots in the streets, Earth is in a positive state of recovery. The good-guy Transformers have teamed up with the United States military to create NEST, an elite combat group that hunts down the remaining evil Decepticons around the globe.
Meanwhile, protagonist Sam experiences his first days of college, attempting to maintain a long-distance relationship with Mikaela (Megan Fox) and meeting new friends. Unfortunately, he begins to have odd hallucinations of cryptic symbols after absorbing a shock from a shard of the AllSpark, which draws the attention of the Decepticons.
Before long, Sam finds himself in the middle of another battle between Autobots and Decepticons.
Just like in the previous Transformers film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is utterly packed with over-the-top action scenes. High-budget CGI and explosions have become the signature of the Transformers franchise by now, and Revenge of the Fallen turns those dials up to 11.
The movie can rarely go more than 20 minutes without turning into a massive action sequence, which is, like in the first film, both a positive and a negative. With a runtime over 2 hours long, there’s so much action and chaos that it might get a bit repetitive. That said, director Michael Bay has a knack for keeping the excitement high, with self-indulgent shots and truly ridiculous stunts.
The biggest issues in Revenge of the Fallen tend to be its weak script and thin characters, which is a continuing problem for the Transformers franchise. Sam Witwicky is a bit more likable this time around, and the rest of the human characters seem slightly more believable. Unfortunately, new characters like Sam’s roommate Leo (Ramon Rodriguez) are poorly written and annoying.
Revenge of the Fallen does take a few impressive risks in terms of storytelling, but these moments aren’t enough to fix the mostly underwhelming plot.
The Bottom Line
Overall, Revenge of the Fallen is a decent Transformers sequel that delivers the expected action and story beats. Instead of evolving in any meaningful way, Transformers seems content to stay heavy on action and light on believable storytelling, which is disappointing. The inclusion of a few annoying characters and juvenile humor also weighs things down considerably.
However, the abundance of admittedly cool robot fight scenes and explosion-rich action is still entertaining. While Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen might be downright stupid and completely ridiculous at times, it still works as a popcorn-action flick.
