Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review

I couldn't wait to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen from the day I heard it would be playing at the IMAX.  All movies that I have seen at the IMAX have been awesome.  Dark Knight is a great example of that!  So as soon as we had a chance, we went and paid the 11$ or so price to see it at the IMAX.  The short story is - it was good, but not as good as the first.  I mean it was ALMOST as good as the first, but the first had the originality of a new, fresh story to build on whereas this one was not as original.

The story of Transformers 2 follows the first movie, but I don't remember the timing exactly.  Basically, Shia LeBeouf's character is headed off to college, leaving his parents and his girlfriend, Megan Fox, behind.  The "good" transformers are still around, with Shia still having Bumblebee and some of the others working for the Army. (I think it was the army!).  The government is pretty much paying off Shia's family to make sure they keep their mouths shut.  

At the start of the movie, Shia finds a piece of the cube from movie one.  He drops it and it brings to life half of the appliances in his house, turning them into evil transformers.  He hides the cube away and gives it to his girlfriend to hold on to it.  The trouble is, the bad transformers now want this piece as they plan to bring the "fallen" back to life and I guess take over the world.  With Shia trying to move on with his life, will he get involved in this mess once again?  You can probably guess the answer to that one!  Shia, once again, is put in the center of a transformers battle and must help save the world before the bad transformers get what they want.

Shia and Megan were good as usual.  Shia is able to be funny while still appearing smart and savvy.  Megan is there for the guys, as is obvious by the way they dress her from start to finish.  Other characters come in to play in this movie that I really liked.  John Turturro plays an ex-agent who knows a lot of information but no one believes him.  Shia goes to him for help and he really brought some more humor to the film.  Ramon Rodriguez plays Shia's new college roommate who is full of conspiracy theories.  Shia, who is trying to hide what he knows, tries to convince him that all that alien-talk is crazy.  Ramon ends up tagging along through a lot of the movie and it's pretty funny how they make fun of him.

This movie is LOUD.  I know I saw it at the IMAX so it was probably louder for me!  But I just have to warn you that you do not want to go see this movie with a headache.  I had a minor one and because of all the screeching of metal and clanking, the headache got worse quickly.  After awhile I started to wonder why they had to make every move so loud when the transformers were transforming or fighting.

The visuals were wonderful.  The movie really comes to life on the IMAX screen and even the transformes look like they could really exist.  If you see this at the IMAX, you'll see a few scenes that were taped with IMAX cameras.  You can tell when these scenes happen because the movie suddenly takes the whole screen (tall and wide) instead of being widescreen.  Those scenes were so bright and colorul and, even with a headache, I couldn't help but enjoy them!

This movie is NOT for KIDS!  Keep in mind, this movie is rated PG-13 and for good reason.  There is minor swearing, some innuendo, and a guys butt (ewww).  I was SOOO annoyed by the parents that brought their 7 year olds to this.  Besides the fact that the movie is really loud at the IMAX and could hurt their little ears.  I just don't think this movie was meant for them at all.  It really wasn't vulgar, but it just isn't aimed at kids.  The lead characters are college students, acting in college student manners, so it seems aimed at the teen-adult crowd.  If you have kids on the cusp of 13, just judge by how mature you think they are.

Overall: Good movie.  I enjoyed the first slightly better because it was original, but this is still a great one to see.  Enjoy!