Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Rating: 2/5

Starring: Shia Le Beof, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Truturro.

Director: Michael Bay

Year: 2009

I have now returned from my wonderful two weeks in the sun so it is now time to get stuck into my blog and continue reviewing the Transformers series. I have decided to be a little unconventional and review the series in reverse order. On hearing of a sequel after seeing the first film I was really excited at the prospect of the series continuing and expanding the stories of Sam Witwicky and the transformers. As the film began I allowed the Autobots and Decepticons to carry me away into their world. 

The film begins two years after the events of the previous film where Optimus Prime is seen leading NEST, a military organization consisting of human troops and his own team of Autobots. The origin of this operation is aimed at killing the remaining Decepticons on Earth. Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) finds a fragment of the destroyed AllSpark, and upon contact the fragment fills his mind with Cybertronian symbols. Sam gives the AllSpark splinter to his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) for safe keeping as this fragment is dangerous, and leaves her and Bumblebee behind to go off to college. Meanwhile, the Decepticons hack into a US satellite and learn the location of the dead Decepticon leader Megatron and another piece of the AllSpark. The Decepticons retrieve the shard and use it to resurrect Megatron, who flies into space and is reunited with Starscream and his master, The Fallen. The Fallen then  instructs Megatron and Starscream to detain Sam in order to discover the location of the Matrix of Leadership. The Decepticons then attempt to infiltrate Sam's brain in order to retrieve the information contained in his mind and so commences a battle between the Autbots who come to the rescue of Sam and the Decepticons. 

Bearing in mind this is only a brief plot summary, however in watching this film and reading information on the internet, it is clear that there are major problems with this film for my liking and some parts which were highly under used.  First off, and this may be too obvious I was expecting to see more of The Fallen? There is so much talk and hype built up around this character that throughout the film he is somewhat missing. I thought that he would play a much bigger role or at least have a bigger battle scene at the end. Also, I do not buy that Decepticons who can transform into anything electrical etc can take the form of a human (Alice). How do they grow skin and take a human form? I feel bad for belittling this film and really want to like it, however I have so much trouble when Michael Bay does not put any thought into it. 

Good points: Action sequences and effects, Rainn Wilson as Sam's college lecturer, John Truturro's character Agent Simmons (who is always good to see)

Bad points: Too long, not enough use of The Fallen, Decepticons turning into humans, really cheesy slapstick humour and Megan Fox's acting. 

My lowest rating yet I'm afraid! Sorry if it was ugly folks but I can't recommend this movie. Transformers review coming up real soon! Also Twitter anyone? @Screen_Gal - get following!

From here, the fight will be your own...

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon 3/5

I have decided to review a personal favourite of mines - the Transformers series. As this is the latest one I have seen I will start here and work my way back. 

At the mention of a third and possibly final film I was a little anxious at this prospect as I have to admit that I was let down by the second film: Revenge of the Fallen. However, I did leave the cinema with a massive smile on my face knowing that it had succeeded its predecessor in terms of quality and plot. 

The story once again follows Sam Witwicky (played by Shia Le Beof) who after helping to the save world after the last battle is on the quest for his first 'real' job after graduating from college. He also has a new girlfriend Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington-Whitley) and the couple currently resides in Washington D.C. The film opens by telling the story of a ship named The Ark captained by Sentinel Prime, which was said to contain special items which would help the autobots defeat the decepticons. The ship was hit by enemy missiles and crash landed on the moon. In 1961, the crash of the Ark on the moon is detected by NASA and so President Kennedy pushes for NASA to land men on the moon to investigate. We are then transported eight years later when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and the two astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin secretly explore the craft. As the story unfolds it appears that the Decepticons needed Sentinel Prime to activate pillars, which would open a bridge through space and time. The Decepticons stole what they could from The Ark, but left five with the weakened body of Sentinel, planting clues to lead the Autobots to him and revive him, most likely planning to bring an invasion force to Earth! Cue a lot of action and ass kicked from Optimus and his band of merry machines. 

I thought that this film was very well constructed - the effects were first class and I really enjoyed the beginning and the story of the NASA space landing. Some light relief to the story was played by Sam's parents (I always enjoy the comedy that they bring to each film!) I will admit thought that the film could have been cut down a little. I felt myself getting restless in the middle section where not much happened. The battle in Chicago was stunning and kept me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely recommend this film to others, however if you are not already a fan I do not think that these films would appeal. 

Good points: The beginning, the acting from the main and supporting cast and the downtown Chicago battle.

Bad points: There is just one thing that I do not understand. Why does Michael Bay have to add a lot of unnecessary shots of female body parts trying to sex up the film? I understand that this may be considered a 'guys' film but after the Transformers title appears on the screen, the last image that I immediately want to see is a close up of some girl's ass. My other critisism is that it is too long.

I am going on holiday for two whole weeks this Tuesday so I am afraid my friends that I will not be updating until the end of July. I will continue my review of the Transformers review when I return. Thanks to all of you for viewing my blog, it really means a lot. 

I also forgot to mention, don't forget to follow me on twitter: @Screen_Gal

Thanks!