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Jun 24, 2009 Web Exclusive By Chris Tinkham

When filmmakers turn to the work of, say, H.G. Wells or Daphne du Maurier as source material, it doesn’t guarantee that their stories will produce exciting, compelling films, but when your inspiration is Hasbro, are you really giving yourself a chance? A sequel to the 2007 blockbuster Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen offers nothing that we haven’t seen already. An alien invasion where global landmarks are in jeopardy of being destroyed? Check. A hero who’s on the lam because the television media has pegged him as an international threat? Check. Decoded coordinates to a desert location that houses the key to the Earth’s safety from destruction? Check. Theories that link the Egyptian pyramids with aliens? Check. Scenes where good guys die but are revived? Check. How about dialogue such as: “You have much to learn, my disciple.” Or “The boy will not escape us. We have him in our sites.” At the very least, unlike in Star Trek, the cliché where characters dangle by their fingers over a ledge/cliff remains untouched here.

Shia LaBeouf is fine as Sam, a panicky, reluctant hero who can scream like the best damsels in distress. Megan Fox, whose Mikaela character dolls herself up for afternoons of work in a mechanic’s garage, looks like she’s been dipped into a tub of lip gloss. If director Michael Bay had the guts to allow sultry Australian newcomer Isabel Lucas to share scenes with Fox, Lucas might have stolen them. Instead we get Ramon Rodriguez as Leo, a supposed IT guru who’s really just a tag-along for the protagonists to yell at and mock. The transformers are cool, as are the effects, but the destruction gets old fast; a climactic battle in Egypt extends the film way past any remaining point of interest. At about two-and-a-half hours in length, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a popcorn movie with a layer of nacho cheese on top.

Author rating: 4/10