Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is big, loud and a blast. I know it gets a bad rap. I had a great time anyway.
Two years after the first movie, Sam Witwicky heads off to college hoping for a normal life with Mikaela. That plan dies fast. The Decepticons are back, and an ancient Transformer called the Fallen wants to finish what he started thousands of years ago.
The action is the main event, and Michael Bay holds nothing back. You get a forest brawl, a chase through Shanghai and a massive showdown in the Egyptian desert. Robots smash into robots, over and over. The effects still hold up, too. These machines feel heavy and real, like you could reach out and knock on the metal.
The humans keep pace. Tyrese Gibson brings tons of energy as Epps, and John Turturro steals every scene as the very strange Agent Simmons. Hugo Weaving gives Megatron a deep, nasty voice that makes him genuinely dangerous.
But Optimus Prime is the heart of it for me. Peter Cullen is back as his voice. When Optimus charges into that forest fight, outnumbered three to one, I got chills. The kid in me and the grown-up me were watching together.
It isn’t perfect. At almost two and a half hours, it runs way too long. The Twins, Mudflap and Skids, are painful. Some of the action turns into a blur of metal that’s hard to follow.
Still, if you loved the first one, this gives you more of everything. Grab the popcorn, turn it up and let the robots do the talking.
See Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on TMDB
