Exactly.

Perhaps that is by design. This is, after all, a Michael Bay film, the unaccountably successful director whose films have established him as a maestro of mayhem who is utterly tone deaf when it comes to human-scaled emotions or actions.

The second Transformers movie is long and loud and, in terms of story, simultaneously stupefyingly simple and crushingly complicated. On the one hand, it’s more of the same: the good Autobots versus the Decepticons with the future of the Earth and humanity hanging in the balance. Shia LaBeouf is back as Sam, the young man who has been involuntarily drafted as the good bots’ human helper. On the other hand, there’s endless military-industrial intrigue as Optimus Prime and his merry band of bots have an uneasy alliance with the American government to police against any Deception incursions. And then there’s the complete nonsense about a hidden sun-swallowing machine, a lost key called “the matrix of leadership,” an ancient race of “Primes” and the original Decepticon.

Consider Transformers an extreme summer movie; it’s not exactly all action and special effects, but it should be, because the action and effects are spectacular. During its best sequences, it’s like watching the most expensive and elaborate fireworks display ever. But the storytelling and relationship stuff is all but unendurable. Just as theaters hand out special glasses for 3-D movies this summer, they should distribute ear buds and iPods for every screening of Transformers so that viewers can tune out the dialogue and crank up their own soundtrack.

The action-chase-battle sequences of Transformers are cutting-edge and undeniably powerful; only Star Trek has delivered anything this summer that can match what’s here. From the opening chase-and-battle set in Shanghai to a tour-de-force finale that seems to blow up every ancient edifice in Egypt (there’s a hilarious shot of one of the robots standing next to the battle-scarred face of the Sphinx), Bay proves he can deliver on the whoosh-and-wow factor. Best-in-show honors go to one of the Transformers in this movie, the giant Devastator who lumbers up one of the great pyramids and starts eating it.

As for the human cast, it’s not coincidental that the best moments are delivered by those with the fewest lines. John Turturro offers a sharply daffy performance as the crazy-like-a-fox conspiracist, and Rainn Wilson turns in a hilarious cameo as a megalomaniacal professor. LaBeouf is less convincing than his robot co-stars and, really, is out-acted by Bumblebee, his Camaro-bot partner.

Also, though the filmmakers try their best to explain its sudden appearance, the cast that’s suddenly being sported on LaBeouf’s hand is a bit of spell-breaker, a reminder of the actor’s off-screen travails during production. His love interest, Megan Fox, fares better as she transforms every scene she’s in into an action-packed Victoria’s Secret ad. Highly recommended for the special effects and simple storyline.

credits: DallasNews | Yahoo! Movies Singapore

Official Movie Poster

Singapore Date: 24th June 2009 Language: English Running Time: 150 mins Rating: PG Genre: Action Tagline: Revenge is coming. Starring: Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox, Shia LaBeouf, Isabel Lucas Directed by: Michael Bay Company: DreamWorks SKG Singapore Distributor: United International Pictures iZone Rating: 8/10 Official Website : Transformers : Revenge of The Fallen

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