Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a bad film. Let’s just go ahead and get that out of the way. The tragedy of this particular bad movie is that it’s already made hundreds of millions of dollars therefore justifying its existence to movie studios and Michael Bay apologists. What’s even more frustrating is that the end to this abomination will be nowhere in sight as long as these kinds of numbers keep getting pulled in.
Rotten Tomatoes, a site known to compile reviews across the board for movies that end up with an overall rating of “fresh” or “rotten”, has an accumulative average for Revenge of the Fallen. Ultimately decided a very rotten tomato, the new Transformers sequel is rated an abysmal 20%.
I’m not one that lives or dies by the critics, but when you consider the other highest grossing films of all time, they sit at comfortably fresh ratings for the most part.
Revenge of the Fallen is big, loud, pretty and stupid. It’s all of those things magnified to an unimaginable level, which wouldn’t be a bad thing at all if it weren’t for the stupid part. Because there are effects sequences that are mind-blowing, coupled with Megan Fox slow-mo running shots with 15 layers of lip gloss that will be sure to bring every 12 year old boy back in the theaters at least 5 more times before the month is over.
Before I go any further let me point out that I am an 80′s kid that grew up with these characters and their lore. Transformers may have been one of the most definitive aspects of my childhood. From taping every season to VHS and collecting so many Transformers that any other toyline was banned by my parents. And I was OK with that.
Staying as objective as I can while stepping out of my own skin, TF: RotF could be a pretty decent summer popcorn movie if an hour was shaved off of the bloated 149 minute running time. If you’re familiar with the first live action movie, Sam’s parents are back with some of the most stomach-turning scenes in recent cinema. Every line of dialogue and “comedic” beat is extraneous and frankly, unfunny. It would seem that humans were introduced in both movies so that the audience could relate to the characters better. But I couldn’t relate to these characters at all, in a comedic or even at a human level. They weren’t even that. They were more caricatures than anything. And it’s not that caricatures are even a bad thing. Poorly written ones are though. It’s like the foundations and concepts of what made Transformers good was introduced to the creative meeting, and grossly misinterpreted and executed with the gajillion dollar budget they were given. But the box office results absolves these sins, right?
No matter how high the box office gross, I can’t, in any reality, justify Mom Witwicky poorly acting a pot brownie high, John Turturro’s hairy ass covering 30% of the screen or Devastator’s clanking balls. Because we need these things in Imax. Ok I’m not devoid of a sense of humor. Far from it. But this simply translates as a slap in the face to a multitude of diehard fans. These are the highest offenders in the movie, which brings us to the Twins: Mudflap and Skids. With literally hundreds of characters to adapt from these two were introduced for specific use of even more cheap comic relief. These characters are bad in Jar Jar Binks levels of proportion. What makes actual Transformers great is that they are known to fans to have individuality and personality. It’s like again, this concept was introduced and then heinously bastardized. While sometimes silly, the old cartoons still retained heart, something these Bay movies soullessly lack.
I wish that this was a case of a sore fanboy that didn’t have his childhood dreams realized. But that’s not the case. What has happened here is the largest scale scenario of all style, no substance in the history of cinema.
Popularity: 4% [?]
July 20th, 2009 at 6:41 am
What? Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a bad film? huh! I have seen this movie for three times already and I still love it as I loved it the first time I saw it!
Thanks and Regards
July 21st, 2009 at 12:04 am
Thanks for the warning. Frankly, I’ve come to the conclusion that almost all sequels are worse than the first movie. Then they try to make up for things on the third movie.
July 27th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
You’re kidding? I have not seen this just yet. Ok, will wait for the release on cable. damn
August 27th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Good information.Thank you for shairng:)
November 27th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
it is a goooooooooooooooood post
thanks for share
February 25th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
I’m glad I didn’t waste my money then! Something told me it wasn’t going to be good… oh yea… common sense!
March 15th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Yeah this movie was pretty bad. I was actually excited to see it when it first came out but I just never got around to it. I ended up renting it a few weeks ago and I didn’t even finish watching it. Definitely a lot worse than the first one…
April 8th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Yeah I agree. Terrible movie lol.
June 14th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
My older brother told me that when he was a kid he used to watch Transformers all the time. And yea like my bro everyone was a diehard fan of TF. & he says in the original show every character would get introduced but not more than the TF robots. The audience would get to know all about them really good. They all had their own names, i dint even know that as Ive watched the movie only. Clearly, the whole movie is about Megan FOX’s looks. Everyone watches TF for Fox. Now as Fox is not gona be workin in TF new sequel, instead they’re gona cast another new face model. Who has never worked in Hollywood ever before. Im 17, if you ask me I and everyone loved Trasformers part1. It was kinda good. The sequel seemed like it was some teen-comedy movie about high school and girls. Robots were putten aside. There were just sudden explosions. The weird thing was that in the sequel that thing that the evil robicons were looking for, the characters of the movie hide it in the middle of Egypt, where there are civilians, instead of hiding it away from the civilized place away in the pirimids.
The movie was cool to me. I enjoyed it like any other teen of my age would. The tanned people, good clothes, pretty people with expressionless faces like models. They’d act like as if they’re just practicin stuff with themselves infront of the mirror. Weird though. I bet Michael Bay has neva watched the original transformers in his life. LOL. He made a big celebrity look-alike (Megan) famous for nothing.
August 31st, 2010 at 1:33 am
Interesting…and I agree pretty much with everything. Keep up the great work…I will definitely be back shortly Bob Perry, Work New York, 65 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007
November 2nd, 2010 at 11:17 am
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November 5th, 2010 at 10:25 am
I used to have a hedgehog years ago and I think I fed her whatever they have at the pet store for guinea pigs. She seemed to like it.
November 13th, 2010 at 3:35 am
Technologies and their development it is good – they create comforts for people. But it is impossible to stand dependency upon them, forgetting about the duties before families and development itself as personalities
January 3rd, 2011 at 6:25 am
Quite a depressing topic when you consider how much a bad movie like Transformers 2 can make. Thanks for posting
January 13th, 2011 at 6:38 am
Yes, you are absolutely right. This movie is really bad. It’s a bad experience.
April 14th, 2011 at 6:20 am
This is really amazing that it’s already made hundreds of millions of dollars therefore justifying its existence to movie studios and Michael Bay apologists. What’s even more frustrating. Really that’s very true.
June 18th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
Facebook, TV commercials, movies, etc.
September 21st, 2011 at 4:30 am
I wonder Transformers is among the lists. I think it’s not bad.
December 18th, 2011 at 6:02 am
I like the information given here.