TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
February 4th 2010 20:00
Category: Videos
Based on Hasbro’s Transformers Action Figures
Director: Michael Bay
Story by: Ehren Krueger, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Screenplay by: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Producers: Don Murphy, Tom Desanto, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura & Ian Bryce
Starring: Shia LaBeouf (Sam Witwicky), Megan Fox (Mikaela Banes), Josh Duhamel (Major Lennox), Tyrese Gibson (Master Sergeant Epps), John Turturro (Simmons), Kevin Dunn (Ron Witwicky), Julie White (Judy Witwicky), Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime), Mark Ryan (Jetfire), Reno Wilson (Mudflap), Tony Todd (Fallen), Grey DeLisle (Arcee), Robert Foxworth (Ratchet), Jess Hartnell (Ironhide), Hugo Weaving (Megatron), Charlie Adler (Starscream) & Andre Sogliuzzo (Sideswipe)
Released by: Paramount Home Entertainment
Running Time: 144 minutes Rating: M
You would think that any movie that was based on a series of action figures would be hard pressed to be a successful action blockbuster, its pedigree being more a potential hindrance than an asset. Strangely though Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen manages to shed that particular aspect like a snake shedding its outworn skin and come through like its predecessor as a compelling, action packed, emotive extravaganza. No doubt it helps when you keep the same cast and production team that worked on the original film, that combination resulted in a tight taut feature so it would follow that the chance they could pull off the same feat again was pretty good. And in my own humble opinion that is an assumption that has been more than adequately fulfilled with this work.
So what the heck is Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen all about? Well it all began back in the deeps of space and time, as all things essentially do according to the laws of physics and accepted theories concerning the origin of the known universe. A race of machine entities known as the Transformers emerged on the distant world of Cybertron and like all sentient species they divided and waged war, the clash between the two factions causing the destruction of their planet. The two factions who fought this conflict were the Decepticons and the Autobots, when their homeworld was devastated the two groups scattered throughout known space in order to search for an ancient artefact known the Cube; a relic that could restore life to their world.
This time around though there is more focus on the strand dealing with Sam Witwicky, the young teenage boy from the first flick who was always trying to work an angle in order to get by in the world. Two years down the track Sam is still with his girlfriend Mikaela who works at the local motorbike shop and he is about to go to university in the City of Brotherly Love; Philadelphia. Things are looking up for him, although he is completely unaware that in actual fact things the world over are about to reach a critical stage. Forces are afoot, dark forces who are looking for something, although precisely what that something is is an unknown and dangerous factor. It’s a case of the greatest force in the universe; plot contrivance, being on the side of the bad guys this time around.
And like the proverbial eye of the hurricane Sam is very much at the centre of events, although he has little real idea of his significance in events or the fact that this is the result of a history that is a lot older than anyone has previously suspected. In fact this very movie opens up with a scene very reminiscent of the Quest for Fire. Ancient tribesmen on the plains of North Africa find themselves confronting a vast congress of metallic entities who are anything but friendly, the date being approximately 17000 BC. Naturally the locals are no match for these metallic brutes who at least five times bigger than them, one wonders if these were the prototypes for the numerous giant legends that proliferate human mythology the world over.
There is a saying that those who do not learn from the past only end up repeating its mistakes, anyone who has been a student of history can see that there is some credence to this particular theory. But what happens to someone who is completely unaware of their past? What if there were two groups who had seemingly made contact with each other fairly recently but in reality the contact between both groups was established so much further in the past? It could be said that ignorance can lead to you getting bit on the backside and this is very much the case in this particular tale. The distant past is about to have a major impact on the contemporary era, from the mists of time an ancient menace; the Fallen is about to emerge and naturally he isn’t about spreading good cheer and happiness. Not with a moniker like the Fallen; it’s either for someone incredibly clumsy or in this case irrevocably evil.
And the reasons behind this particular entities emergence from somewhere in the deeps of our solar system is due mainly to the nature of the Transformers themselves. It seems that for them to continue as a species they rely upon a power source called energon, energon being harvested from the destruction of a star. In the past there was one cardinal rule that the Transformers followed when harvesting energon; never to do it in a system that already had life living on one of the worlds in that system. The Fallen felt that such a rule was for wimps and wanted to harvest energon from the Earth’s sun. Not a good thing for humanity, fortunately though the Fallen’s fellow Primes defeated him; but not destroyed him. This is the one thing that spells potential doom for contemporary humanity, the Fallen is still active and thirsting for revenge.
I loved watching this film, although I have to admit I felt some trepidation as sometimes sequels can be so disappointing. Fortunately though Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen lived up to the hype and delivered over two hours worth of excitement, humour, action, pathos and its touching moments where no doubt even the most hardened individual would find a few tears forming. Just goes to show that the franchise is certainly living up to the tag line of being more than meets the eye…
| 18 |
| Vote |
