Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen...a snapshot review of the movie!


Finally my wife and I caught the movie last Sunday, a mere 4 days after the much-hyped premier showing of the movie. At this point, we were informed that tickets were virtually sold out for the rest of June, some were even saying that it was impossible to get tickets up to the 1st week of July. Luckily we bought ours 1 week before the actual screening. I remembered in 2007, we actually bought the tickets to the 1st movie one-month before the screening! Seemed that it is still THAT bad this time around. Several friends have also voiced out that they would be seeing the movie for a straight-3rd time....hmmm, and some people were complaining that they were unable to get tickets just to catch the movie for the 1st time!


Anyway, I'm sure pretty sure most fans would've watched the movie at this point, so I feel this entry of mine here won't constitute as a SPOILER. Nevertheless, treat it as a spoiler alert as you will from here onwards though i don't reveal much storyline/plot! Heheh....

As hardcore Gen 1 fans, we were obviously excited to watch the sequel to the highly anticipated follow-up to the 1st movie. We are aware that many fans were calling it 'Bay'formers in view of Michael Bay's inaccurate interpretations of the classic 80's cartoon storyline and all. To both me and my wife, this was just another classic example of a movie adaptation gone wrong i.e. in the lines of the LOTR trilogy. But then, you either hate it or love it. I personally feel that we'd be better off leaving the movie version as it is without heavily comparing it to its' book (or in this case its' 80's cartoon series) form. Let's just enjoy the movie shall we?



As the movie unfolds itself bit by bit, I finally understand why most people I know (who constantly refer themselves as 'Gen 1 purists') disliked the movie for some reasons. They dubbed ROTF as being too 'action-packed' and lack that 'build-up' story line that was so evident from the 1st movie. Well, those 'build-up' plot has been cultivated in the 2007 movie, furthermore Bay had clearly mentioned that ROTF would be more action oriented and feature tonnes of robots bashing each other. Need I say more?
The movie is definite 'must-watch' for Gen 1 fans. Those casual fans will enjoy it too. There are no two ways about it...ROTF kicks 'behind'! The fast paced actions were sometime too fast up to the point where you'd swear that you've missed some of the actions. As my wife has dilligently put it, we'd be better off watching the DVD release when it comes out later in the year. That way, we can cover the whole screen without missing any of the actions.

SPOILER alert........

I like the fact that Starscream is now a glimmer of his Gen 1 cartoon self. With his squeaky vocal chords to his cowardice approach...he's more like his 80's counterpart than he was in the 1st movie. I was in the verge of another heartbreak when that certain Peterbilt truck-robot was killed by ol' Megatron....a reminiscence of the 1985 movie when he too, was killed by ol' Megs (back then the heartbreak lasted longer since he was only 'revived' much later!).

The acting done by the human characters were superb to say the least. Continuing where they left off from the 1st movie, the casts did a wonderful job in providing the humour and the lighter side of the movie. I particularly liked the acting done by John Torturro who reprised his role as Agent Simmons from the now defunct Sector 7. Apart from that, we get the usuals from LeBouef, Fox, Duhamel and the rest of the gang.
The Fallen was interestingly portrayed as one mean leader of the Decepticons. Heck, his head was implicitly mentioned as the basis of the Decepticon's insignia. Which makes him the REAL boss behind the evil-doers' show! Step aside Megatron! It's also nice to see that Jetfire (faithful to his Gen 1 counterpart) made that 'switch' from being a Decepticons to an Autobot.....I initially though that he was voiced by Vinnie Jones, but he wasn't...hehehehe!

The new robot characters were cool too. A lot of fans were mightily impressed with Sideswipe and the 'biker-chick robot squad'. But for me, the interesting point was that one of the 'twin' robot duo of Skids and Mudflap, was voiced by Mr Spongebob Squarepants himself, Tom Kenny!


Of course, I was a bit disappointed when Devastator screen time was cut short. One must've expected more from the giant combiner robot. I had this tiny hope back when Devastator was first announced as one of the many robot debutants in ROTF...I'd hope for an equivalent combiner robot from the Autobots, perhaps Superion or another robot of a gigantic mass equivalent like Omega Supreme.....*sigh*....there was never to be in ROTF. Maybe there will be in the 3rd movie...who knows?

Anyway, to cut it all short, this is one heckuva ride of a movie. A definite watch for me again, but I rather wait for the DVD release to fully enjoy the action again. To those who haven't watched...or planning not to watch, I urge you to watch it.

'Nuff said

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