#586. Cinema : The fallen shall rise again
THANKFULLY, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen lived up to expectations. For months now, this sequel to the 2007 original has been the subject of media hype.This time, it’s more of the same except the ride is wilder, faster and wonderfully entertaining. Frankly, I had difficulty identifying which end of the fast-moving Autobots was its head and which was its rear. That’s only a minor visual inconvenience because the sens-surround speakers which pounded the heart and ears for a greater part of 144 minutes more than made up for an exhilarating experience involving good and evil robots battling it out on earth.
Yes, the plot is indeed a little light-weight. So what if ideas have been liberally borrowed from films like Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, Species and Star Trek? The totally incredible plot and fantastic supersonic sequences did the trick.
The main players of Transformers (2007) are back at their Star Trooper best. They are Sam Witwicky (Shia Lebeouf), Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox), Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Major Sergeant Epps (Tyrese Gibson).
The story picks up two years after Autobots fought and won their battle with the Decepticons. Sam still has his guardian robot Bumblebee in his garage and the rest of the Autobots are working with a highly classified government team called Nest.
The Nest mission is to seek out Decepticons that are hiding in various parts of the globe and destroy them. However, Megatron is revived from his deathbed at the bottom of the ocean and embarks on a trail of vengeance and destruction.
Things move pretty fast then on, that is just two minutes into the film. Then it sort of flies out in a tangent and boggles the human mind with its sci-fi magic with lots of help from the Industrial Light and Magic experts.
Corny one-liners are in abundance as the action scenes roll out relentlessly. There’s nothing like a staccato series of easy laughter in the cinema to liven up the atmosphere.
Transformers II, in all fairness, must not be compared with Terminator Salvation because the latter was not meant to be funny and belonged to the noir genre.
Optimus Prime and Megatron with all their deadly accomplices are rendered with human-like qualities that make them almost endearing in parts.
Sam (Shia Labeouf) is very likeable on screen as the slightly geeky boy teetering on adulthood. He’s about to embark on an academic adventure in college when he literally hears a higher calling.
Mikaela, as most men would vouch, is the “star attraction” of this show. With her stunning looks and a body to match, most college students who watch this film can be forgiven for forgetting quickly the entire plot. Not that they care anyway.
Honestly, I don’t know what or why Mikaela is working in a motor shop but I swear I will take a close look at all curvy bikes from now on.
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen will best be appreciated in the cinema. And if you are not strapped for cash, a second visit is recommended because the action scenes will outrun your visual perception.
This film is a well engineered and an unadulterated piece of entertainment. With its PG-13 rating, children won’t be in any immediate danger of losing their moral values or having their sense of reality distorted.
Source : Sunday People - New Straits Times {NST] 28/06/09
Review by PHILIP LIM
