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Out to own on DVD and Blu-ray 30th November 2009
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The Autobots and their sworn enemies, the Decepticons, use Planet Earth once more as their battleground - well, blow the hell out of Egypt, anyway. Only this time we discover that our metallic alien visitors might share as much of Earth’s history as we do in the opening scenes, reminiscent of an Aborigine documentary. The rest of the full-on, non-stop action sequel is about the ‘body beautiful’ - human or mechanical - and an unashamedly brash demonstration of US military might, in case you weren’t sure of just who has the biggest guns on the planet (and it ain’t the Bots).
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Talking of ‘big guns’, it appears that the once boyish physique of Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky in the first film has taken a hammering in the gym, presumably so LaBeouf doesn’t feel outdone by the others on screen this time. Let’s face it, who didn’t wonder how Witwicky the Geek got the drop-dead Fox that is Megan as Mikaela Banes in T1, giving hope to nerds the world unite? And Foxy is back, fixed-open pout dripping in luscious lipgloss and pert tanned cleavage on full parade, like something out of a petrol-heads 2009 calendar shoot. The rather amusing, gratuitous opening shot of Miky draped over a motorbike in the tightest and tiniest of shorts is an entrance that would have Dukes Of Hazzard’s Jess Simpson going green around the gills - plus most of the female population, in fact. Oh, and the lady now rides a mean two wheels, too, just to send temperatures soaring sky high. Only there’s another cat sent amongst the pigeons, making the moves on Foxy’s man, in the sultry blonde figure of sex-mad college girl Alice, played by movie newcomer and former Home and Away poppet Isabel Lucas (watch this intriguing space), who isn’t all she appears… Catfight on the horizon, lads, and worth paying the ticket price alone.
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Michael Bay’s second film could only have worked if LaBeouf and Fox had returned and continued to do what they do best; college-boy Sam saving the world, suffering from some strange ’system overload’ this time, whilst Foxy Mikaela oozes delicious, loving her man, regardless. Mum and Dad Witwicky (Julie White and Kevin Dunn) are back, too, right in the thick of it, with Mum getting a little hash-crazy on campus, as is our favourite eye-candy in the impressive US Marine forms of Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and Matthew Marsden - with Gibson providing the witty one-liners to diffuse the tensest of moments. John Turturro also returns as ex-Agent Simmons, having an absolute ball sending his character up as the uber-courageous desert fool.
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So, what about the Bots? Hero Optimus Prime and Bumblebee champion once more, with the yellow Camaro earning his ‘big boy stripes’ as he comes of battle age. Back, too, is riled Megatron, resurrected on the seabed by his followers. Just like the recent Terminator 4, there is a whole new range of land, water and air Transformers to drool over - cue T2 robots Christmas marketing campaign. The welcome difference this time around is the special effects are miles better, where robot parts are more clearly defined in the conflict scenes, as apposed to an undefined mishmash of confusing colour flung across frames. There is also more fighting unity between man and machine, as the good guys try to stop the baddies sucking the energy out of our star, whilst trashing the pyramids in the process. There is also the inevitable pong of cheese when Sam has an out-of-body experience with the ‘Bot elders’, and then gets to come back and smooch his girl by the setting sun against the pyramids, but nothing completely out of the ordinary, since painfully enduring Independence Day’s cheddar.
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Episode 2 will be a hit with the initiated, ticking all the boxes for better plot, improved special effects and sex appeal alone. But Transformers newbies may lack some vital background knowledge, if they’ve failed to do their homework. And a word of advice: Those who hated the first film will be best to avoid this one as it’s the same format, only cleverly tweaked and repackaged. But, to be honest, there’s not much to genuinely dislike about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as it delivers big, ballsy blockbuster thrills and fantasy with pounding action that isn’t for the faint-hearted - something the new Terminator is seriously (and embarrassingly) lacking.
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By Lisa Keddie
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Synopsis
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The battle for Earth has ended but the battle for the universe has just begun. After returning to Cybertron, Starscream assumes command of the Decepticons, and has decided to return to Earth with force. The Autobots believing that peace was possible finds out that Megatron’s dead body has been stolen from the US Military by Skorpinox and revives him using his own spark. Now Megatron is back seeking revenge and with Starscream and more Decepticon reinforcements on the way, the Autobots with reinforcements of their own, may have more to deal with then meets the eye.
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Film Facts
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Official site: http://www.transformersmovie.com/intl/uk/
UK Release Date: 30th November
Director: Michael Bay
Writers: Ehren Kruger, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci
Cast: Shia LaBeouf (’Sam Witwicky’), Megan Fox (’Mikaela Banes’), Rainn Wilson (’College Professor’), Josh Duhamel (’Sergeant Lennox’), Tyrese Gibson (’Sergeant Epps’), John Turturro (’Agent Simmons’), Isabel Lucas (’Alice’), Matthew Marsden (’Graham’), Ramon Rodriguez (’Leo’), Kevin Dunn (’Ron Witwicky’), Julie White (’Judy Witwicky’), Peter Cullen (’Optmius Prime’ - voiced), Mark Ryan (’Bumblebee’ - voiced), Hugo Weaving (’Megatron’ - voiced)
Distributor: Paramount Pictures UK
Certificate: 12A
Run-time: TBC
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Video on Real.com
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Trailer:
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World Premiere:
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EXCLUSIVE CLIP:
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CLIP:
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Tokyo Press Conference:
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Bumblebee in Cannes:
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UK Premiere:
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