Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - DVD review

Comments

• If you rated all sci-fi creatives against what they aimed to achieve then instead of their real merits then bonkers cult leader L. Ron Hubbard would be the best sci-fi author of all time, and that would be very very wrong. Posted by GK, UK
• I wholeheartedly agree with this. Finally a review which does the movie justice by judging it on what it was trying to achieve. It's not a deep and thought-provoking cinematic experience but it doesn't try to be. As a thrill ride it's great.
  The animation didn't get enough attention, though. Regardless of what one thinks of the movie, the level of thought which went into designing them is clear and astonishing. Effort has been made to emphasize their facial features, to make them relatable characters. The downside in this film is that they put that emphasis almost solely on optimus prime and megatron. It would've been great to see more transformers interacting, having larger roles. Maybe the 3rd one will finally amend this.
  
  While I enjoyed this film, I have to add that there is something, within the context of Bay's filmmaking, which I believe spoils the experience. His movies are usually very fast cut, and there is a pragmatic sense to them; you only see the bare minimum you need to know what's going on. This ruins a lot of the immersion, including the action scenes. Sensations of pacing and space are not there because everything moves so fast. Think, for example, of the second movie, of the quick change of locals by the end, and in both movies rapid change from day to night. Maybe it's part of the surreal sense of the films but even so it breaks the film's atmosphere. The films, in short, lack in details, small details that flesh out the larger world. If Bay worked on that these movies would be truly great.
  Posted by McThreepwood, IL