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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Grading & Discussion

Grade the movie...


  • Total voters
    176
I saw it last night for the advanced screening, and I have to say - do not watch this film if you love the first one. Honestly, Bay hasn't improved the film in the slightest and this is annoying to say because the first Transformers film is in my top 3 films, but this one doesn't make the cut.

A modest 7/10 for me.
You trash the film and then give it a 7/10?

A bad movie should get 2/10 or3/10.

A 7/10 implies the movie was good.

I did "trash" the film, but as I've said in most of my posts, I did like the movie, just there were so many things that annoyed me about it. But looking over them I still can't deny the underlining fact that it's a Transformers movie, and my love of the first film brings this one up.

I thought the storyline was okay There were some very strange plotholes that I didn't like, like why they were so hung up on saving Megatron when they had The Fallen there lying in wait. It was things like that that annoyed me. My list of things I enjoyed about the movie is dwarfed by the list of the things that annoyed me.

Like for example the Autobots, we never got to really see them, or have a personality.
 
I thought Robau was the All-Spark? When he was stabbed through the chest on the Narada, he laughed, transformed in to the cube, then flew off.

On-topic though, I think the majority of people are disappointed. I've seen so many other threads about other films have 10/20+ pages about it already. We're up to 4 and it's the last day of the weekend.
 
For what it's worth. I posted my review of the movie on the Transformers blog I write for:

http://boltax.blogspot.com/

It'd be cool if people wanted to check it out. To summarise. I enjoyed it, and will no doubt enjoy it many more times over the years, but the plot somehow managed to be both convoluted and pretty stupid and I think it lacked the "wow factor" of the first film, despite having better and more effects.
 
Saw it last night because I was with a mate who's a huge Transformers fan (I'm not, at least not since I was 8.) Now keeping in mind that I really didn't like the first film at all and that I expected the new one to be utter shite, I though the new one was actually a lot better! There was much less painfully thick dialogue (though, there was less dialogue altogether) there was more action and it started almost right from the outset, the plot actually made some semblance of sense and even I appreciated the little nods to the old cartoon. The presence of soundwave, Starscream behaving more or less in character etc.
On the minus side, I could have done without the comedy relief twins and I'd have rather had seen more of Arcee...in fact I'd have been happier of those roles had been switched. The stuff with the family and the dogs, I could really do without, but that's just me and there were plenty of laughs from the audience in the bits that made me cringe.
Oh and I don't know about anyone else but....
I really didn't need to see his giant robotic testicles.
 
I loved it. I'd actually say it was a better summer movie than Star Trek was. I don't know what anyone else was expecting but I was expecting a summer action movie and it'd be a lot like the first, and that's what it was but it was better than the first...
 
I thought Robau was the All-Spark? When he was stabbed through the chest on the Narada, he laughed, transformed in to the cube, then flew off.

On-topic though, I think the majority of people are disappointed. I've seen so many other threads about other films have 10/20+ pages about it already. We're up to 4 and it's the last day of the weekend.

you do know it's not out in the US yet? all the norteamericanos are no doubt avoiding the thread for fear of spoilers.

anyone else notice Devastator's not a true gestalt? Rampage, Long Haul et al are in the town fighting whilst he's in the pit menacing the twins and then climbing the pyramid. so, he's a combined form of 7 modules. which is no doubt done to sell more toys...
 
anyone else notice Devastator's not a true gestalt? Rampage, Long Haul et al are in the town fighting whilst he's in the pit menacing the twins and then climbing the pyramid. so, he's a combined form of 7 modules. which is no doubt done to sell more toys...

Yes that was pretty strange, and a little disappointing now that I think of it. I wasn't that hungup on the Devastator encounter at all really. I think he should have been able to stand upright to show how towering he really was.
 
God damn, Orci and Kurtzman are hacks.

Well to be fair to them this time, they apparently had to rush this story through before the writer's strike last year. Bay just started filming a bunch of random shit til they got back -- which, from the sound of it, is VERY obvious in the final movie.

Yeah they certainly aren't the strongest writers out there, but I just watched Trek again last night, and their dialogue and characterizations are a LOT richer and more sophisticated than people give them credit for.

It's just the plotting and science that they seem to have a problem with. :D
 
So it's amazing then that it was better than Star Trek.

Autobots did have less personality this time since they disapeared mid movie. But the decepticons got the personality they didn't have last time.
 
Voted "below average". Michael Bay seems to be under the impression that people give a big shite about the shallow, inconsistent (and at times nonsensical) story, and to that end, fills the film with bullshit exposition that put me to sleep.

The "giant robots beating the shit out of each other" component, which is what I went to see it for (call me superficial) seemed few and far between, but what there was of the action was awesome and spectacular.

I didn't hate it by any means. But I was largely indifferent to 80% of the film. *shrugs* And I think it could have easily been 45mins shorter.

Plus, some of the puerile, almost Beavis & Butthead level of humour was off putting, to the point where I wondered if Kevin Smith was on staff as a dick joke consultant. 25 minutes in, and I'd counted at least 3 cock themed double entendres, and 1 farting robot.

Now, anyone who knows me on here knows that I love a penis joke as much as the next guy (unless the next guy is Kevin Smith), but even I found it distracting. I thought I might have been exaggerating the humour in my head, perhaps reading way too much into the corny dialogue - but those suspicions were put to bed with:

Devastator's massive swinging balls. The visual gag was bad enough, but then Agent Simmons states that he's "standing underneath the robot's scrotum". I kid thee not.

In summary, it was alright. Just alright. As much as I hate the expression, I'll permit myself to use the (horrid) word "meh" on this occasion. That's what it was, a big steaming pile of "meh". The first one is better imho.

A word about the Imax version: don't bother. Seriously. It's not like The Dark Knight where entire scenes, key scenes, were presented fully in the Imax format. We're talking the odd shot here and here. No complete scene used the full Imax frame and it was rather disappointing. If I'd known how much of an afterthought the Imax version was I wouldn't have bothered going to Glasgow to see it.
 
Voted "below average". Michael Bay seems to be under the impression that people give a big shite about the shallow, inconsistent (and at times nonsensical) story, and to that end, fills the film with bullshit exposition that put me to sleep.

The "giant robots beating the shit out of each other" component, which is what I went to see it for (call me superficial) seemed few and far between, but what there was of the action was awesome and spectacular.

I didn't hate it by any means. But I was largely indifferent to 80% of the film. *shrugs* And I think it could have easily been 45mins shorter.

Plus, some of the puerile, almost Beavis & Butthead level of humour was off putting, to the point where I wondered if Kevin Smith was on staff as a dick joke consultant. 25 minutes in, and I'd counted at least 3 cock themed double entendres, and 1 farting robot.

Now, anyone who knows me on here knows that I love a penis joke as much as the next guy (unless the next guy is Kevin Smith), but even I found it distracting. I thought I might have been exaggerating the humour in my head, perhaps reading way too much into the corny dialogue - but those suspicions were put to bed with:

Devastator's massive swinging balls. The visual gag was bad enough, but then Agent Simmons states that he's "standing underneath the robot's scrotum". I kid thee not.

In summary, it was alright. Just alright. As much as I hate the expression, I'll permit myself to use the (horrid) word "meh" on this occasion. That's what it was, a big steaming pile of "meh". The first one is better imho.

A word about the Imax version: don't bother. Seriously. It's not like The Dark Knight where entire scenes, key scenes, were presented fully in the Imax format. We're talking the odd shot here and here. No complete scene used the full Imax frame and it was rather disappointing. If I'd known how much of an afterthought the Imax version was I wouldn't have bothered going to Glasgow to see it.

Eh I enjoyed the humour, seemed like the transformers in general did a lot more this time, even if you didn't get so much focus on them but the action scenes, the movements, the over all feel of the fights seemed much more tailored round giant robots scrapping than the first one.
Maybe when I see it again during the week and I actually focus on what's going on I might see why everyone's so disappointed, but first showing, I loved it.
 
I wouldn't say I was disappointed, as such. Underwhelmed, but hardly surprised.
Do you think it might have been less of a underwhelming experience if you hadn't have gone to the trouble of travelling to Glasgow to see it in IMAX?

That could have been part of it. Going out of your way for IMAx you sort of prepare yourself for something that is, at the very least, a visual treat. Or *more* of a visual treat than you'd get in a normal screen. This just didn't deliver.

But to be honest I don't think my opinion would be that different. It is what it is. I just wished I'd paid £9 to see it, instead of 15 quid (Richie busted me for petrol...)
 
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