Transform!
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the long-awaited sequel, was a major box office hit, making over $100,000,000 in its opening week alone. It combines fast-paced robot action scenes, with just as great comedy relief, resulting in an enjoyable experience. The story, characters, and special effects each contribute to make this movie what it is.
Even though the movie was a great hit, the plot is quite unoriginal and cliché. The Autobots, the “good-guys,” are patrolling the Earth, eliminating the remnants of the Decepticons, of better known as the “bad-guys.” Meanwhile, Sam is trying to live a normal life with going to college and adjusting to college life, when he gets swept back up into the conflict when everyone finds out that he holds the key to firing this world destroying machine that helps the Decepticons, but is also bad for everyone else. This then throws the storyline into the typical “save the world” scenario. The story is unoriginal, following the typical conflict between good and bad, resulting in the good prevailing in a last-ditch effort as they were fighting a losing battle. Sure, it incorporated new environments, but it follows in the footsteps of Star Wars just a bit too closely. Thus, the other aspects of the movie have to make up for the clichéd plot.
Each character, particularly the robots, has his/her own personality, making them believable and relatable. Some of them you will remember from the previous movie, but a few are quite new. Optimus Prime, the grand leader of the Autobots, fits his role perfectly. Standing erect with confidence in his red and blue, he inspires his followers, both with his countenance, as well as his voice. Voiced by Peter Cullen, he sounds just like any leader you could imagine. Bumble Bee, the beloved yellow Charger, shows his emotions and feelings through his body language and the various sounds he makes. One particular scene is when Sam Witwicky tells him about going to college, where Bee busts out in song about his excitement, and Sam tells him that he can’t go, and Bee’s enthusiasm dies as suddenly as it started, resulting in Bee humorously “breaking down in tears.” He ends up using his windshield wipers to clean up his tears, which was made up of windshield wash. The Twins, or better known as “the hillbilly brothers,” provide some of the best comedy relief in the movie, with their ridiculous actions, to their hilarious remarks of some of the other characters.
As for the human characters, each actor portrays their role wonderfully. Shia LeBouf plays the role of the main character, Sam Witwicky, who is experiencing the move to college life. Throughout the movie, Shia portrays Sam as an unconfident boy slowly growing into manhood, becoming the “unlikely hero” of the human race. Many people can relate to Sam, though without being the “hero of the human race” bit, but many people know what its like to be unconfident and moving to a new environment, such as a college. Throughout the movie, Sam proves his bravery time and time again and his willingness to stand in the face of danger. When confronted with the challenge to get “Key” to Optimus, he didn’t back down, but he faced it head on, even though it almost got him killed. Mikaela Banes, played by Megan Fox, is the Witwicky’s uncertain girlfriend and his companion as he goes through his “save the world” scenario. She’s his backup no matter what’s going on, even though they often end up in dangerous situations. Leo Spitz, played by Ramon Rodriguez, acts as the comedy relief in the movie. With his girlish screaming and ridiculous mistakes, he provides the humor in the movie, resulting in theaters bursting with laughter. Kevin Dunn and Julie White play the roles of Sam’s parents, acting just like any parent would, often “saying too much”, such as Sam’s mom during the college scene, where she blurted out embarrassing information about him to the world.
The special effects of Transformers 2 plays biggest role in the movie, and to the appeal of the viewers, ranging from the CGI-characters to the explosions in the various action scenes. Each one of the robotic characters is created through Computer Generated Imagery. The vast amount of detail they put into each Transformer is almost overwhelming to the eye. The opening scene of Iron Hide going through his transformation is detailed enough to make any robot-guru cry out of pure ecstasy. That scene draws the viewers in, inspiring them with awe and showing them individual gears and parts as they shift into place to form the rugged robot version of “Rambo.” The CGI effects carry through to the action scenes that take place almost-constantly throughout the movie. Each scene blurs past, but the detail still remains. Even when you look at the biggest transformer in the movie, you can still see the small individual parts that make it up, even though it sometimes look like a junk pile of parts.
Through the combination of characters, special effects, and even with the clichéd plot, this movie is a great hit with audiences everywhere. The story was solid enough, though it could have been better. The characters were all unique, using both body language and dialogue to express themselves in a believable and relatable way. The special effects were utilized to a great extent, creating detailed characters and fast-paced action scenes. On the whole, this movie is a grade higher than its predecessor, and it shows the world that robot movies are not dead.
