Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Sam Witwicky leaves the Autobots behind for a normal life. But when his mind is filled with cryptic symbols, the Decepticons target him and he is dragged back into the Transformers' war.

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers:

Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci

Stars:

Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 15 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shia LaBeouf	...	Sam Witwicky
Megan Fox	...	Mikaela Banes
Josh Duhamel	...	Major Lennox
Tyrese Gibson	...	USAF Chief Master Sergeant Epps
John Turturro	...	Simmons
Ramon Rodriguez	...	Leo Spitz
Kevin Dunn	...	Ron Witwicky
Julie White	...	Judy Witwicky
Isabel Lucas	...	Alice
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Galloway
Matthew Marsden	...	Special Air Service Forces
Andrew Howard	...	Special Air Service Forces
Michael Papajohn	...	Cal
Glenn Morshower	...	General Morshower
John Eric Bentley	...	Aide

Storyline

A youth chooses manhood. The week Sam Witwicky starts college, the Decepticons make trouble in Shanghai. A presidential envoy believes it's because the Autobots are around; he wants them gone. He's wrong: the Decepticons need access to Sam's mind to see some glyphs imprinted there that will lead them to a fragile object that, when inserted in an alien machine hidden in Egypt for centuries, will give them the power to blow out the sun. Sam, his girlfriend Mikaela Banes, and Sam's parents are in danger. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are Sam's principal protectors. If one of them goes down, what becomes of Sam?

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Plot Keywords:

optimus prime character | megatron character | toaster | ratchet character | man wearing a thong | 

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Taglines:

They have returned... to finish what they started.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Paramount Pictures (Global site) [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

24 June 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Transformers 2

Filming Locations:

Tucson International Airport, Tucson, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$108,966,307, 28 June 2009

Gross USA:

$402,111,870

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$836,303,693

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Paramount Pictures, Hasbro

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS Sonics-DDP (IMAX version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ILM animators studied each others' eyes to get an impression of how to express emotion in the robots' optics (eyes). In the previous film, they'd relied on the light from the optics, in this film, they relied on the optics' movement to express emotion.

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Goofs

(at around 11 mins) When Sam is on the cell with Mikaela, telling her about the long distance relationship kit, he reaches for the webcam with his right hand outstretched while holding the cell with his left, but in the close-up it's his left hand picking it up, while holding the cell with his right hand.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Optimus Prime: Earth, birthplace of the human race. A species much like our own, capable of great compassion and great violence. For in our quest to protect the humans, a deeper revelation dawns: our worlds have met before...

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Crazy Credits

There are two scenes in the closing credits: In the first one, Sam gives a farewell kiss to Mikaela and leaves for college. In the second one, Professor Coleman puts Sam down a little before they return to work.

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Alternate Versions

The mainland Chinese release censors all mentions of the name "Shanghai" (where the opening battle takes place). Galloway's line "You guys made a mess at Shanghai" is edited to remove the last two words, while other uses of the city's name are bizarrely overdubbed with something that sounds like "Shanghaish."

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Connections

Referenced in I Hate Everything: the Search for the Worst: Troll 2 (2014)

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Soundtracks

Brick House
Written by William King, Ronald La Pread (as Ronald Lapread), Thomas McClary, Walter Orange, Lionel Richie & Milan Williams
Performed by The Commodores
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Robots Go Botty, Big Time.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is directed by Michael Bay and jointly written by Alex Kurtzman, Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci. It stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox , John Turturro, Ramón Rodríguez, Josh Duhamel & Tyrese Gibson. Ben Seresin is the cinematographer and the music director is Steve Jablonsky.

The Autobots and the US military have formed an alliance called NEST, their singular goal is to rid the World of Decepticons. But now they face their biggest challenge, because heading for Earth is the ultimate destroyer, The Fallen.

Michael Bay has never been the most subtle of film directors, he knows how to have fun, and in the main he knows how to drag his target audience along with him for a slam bang good ride. After the hugely enjoyable Transformers film, and after its subsequent success, he has crafted a sequel that he felt needed a more is more approach, where everything is bigger and louder and nothing pauses for breath. The end result is a dizzying ball of entertainment that's sadly devoid of substance. If ever there was a film to be put forward as OTT then Transformers 2 is a leading candidate. The plot is thin yet unnecessarily made complex by the writers, who you feel are trying to be heard in amongst the eye candy carnage, while Bay even resorts to cheap moments of crudity to get some laughs for his film. His cast are fine, yes Megan Fox seems to only serve as a drawing in weapon for the randy teenagers, but she still works well off of the ever likable LaBeouf, who in turn continues to deliver a good line in action comedy performance. Pity, tho, that in a film that's so big, with everything expanded, that John Turturro doesn't get more screen time. Only he, with his visual comedy at optimum, can make a metal testicle scene seem less crass than really it is.

When all is said and done, all the human actors are playing second fiddle to the Bots/Cons and metal critters. To that end the film is exciting, undeniably so. Sure some of the set-ups riff on other movies that have gone before it, but Bay is the master of Bayhem, there's just too much fun to be had if one is prepared to forgive its shallow center. With a third film on the go and set to be released in 2011, without Megan Fox (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley slipping into the considerably short skirt this time), it's anyone's guess what we will actually get this time. Will Bay pull back a touch and give us a story, with characters given time to breath? Or will it be bigger and noisier than part 2? You hope it's the former, but even if it's the latter, it will be fun for those after a certain level of popcorn explosive cinema. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is like a great ride at the funfair, one you have been on four times in a row. You know you have had a great time, but as your head starts to spin and your stomach feels queasy, you wonder if it was just too much overkill? 6/10