February 23, 2010: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
I am directly below enemy scrotum.
Seriously, that is a line in this Oscar-nominated (for Sound Mixing) film, and I had to sit through two and a half hours of cartoonish action for that little nugget from John Turturro, as two hooked wrecking balls from a transformed crane dangle on chains between the legs of a giant robot standing above him. Actually, I have to admit that the plot of this film did make some reasonable amount of sense, assuming that I accept the basic premise that sentient robot beings who transform into human-recognizable machines and objects are looking for some magical source of energy and knowledge. Compared with the trajectory of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, the Transformers franchise, now in its second installment, hasn’t sunk anywhere near as low, and I can see how a third entry might actually still be comprehensible.
The story? It turns out that there is a remaining shard of the cube from the first film, conveniently in the home of the earlier human protagonist, so the same cast of characters can return for another adventure. We learn more history of the Autobots and Decepticons on earth, a major character is killed and of course resurrected, forced comic relief abounds as with the above-mentioned scrotal remark and the terrible banter among the younger stars, and there isn’t even the slightest attempt at subtlety in setting up yet another sequel.
The movie was way too long, I still don’t much like the animation of the transformers themselves with all those needlessly spinning parts, and I can’t believe Steven Spielberg puts his name to these movies as an executive producer.
But the sound mixing is awesome.
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