Transformers: Review of the Fallen
by Geoff Faigal (47drift)June 24, 2009

Before you get to reading this, there is one thing I ought to let you know.
I am an enormous fan of Transformers.
The first movie? It’s an instant classic. It’s full of campy dialogue and wacky plotholes, and even features songs by plenty of awesome artists. There’s one of the most shocking moments in cartoon history, and the introduction of new characters was fast and enjoyable. Rodimus Prime? Awesome. Matrix of leadership and Energon cubes? Epic.
Yeah, that’s right. I’m not talking about the 2007 movie. I’m talking about the 1986 movie.
You see, there was a definite charm about the classic 80’s Transformers. Sure, it was cheesy. Sure, the plot was ridiculous. And sure, Optimus Prime didn’t have to state his name that many times. But even so, it was classic. It was childhood. To put it bluntly, had it been an epic explosion filled actionfest, it just wouldn’t have been as memorable.
About a year and a half before the first of the modern Transformers movies, I had heard the news that the series was coming back for more. I was excited. Mostly, I was excited because I had followed the movie’s blog updates as well as the official forums, and for the most part, it looked as though, despite some irritating vehicle changes, it would hold true to the classic 80’s show.
It really didn’t.
But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was like a new Transformers for a new generation of youth. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I, as well as the midnight showing theatre crowd I was with, cheered at the line from the original movie, as well as every time Optimus Prime spoke (the same voice, Peter Cullen from the 80’s show, was used). In a sense, it was fun for everyone. New and old alike.
There is still an issue with that, though. Sure, it was catered to an audience of all kinds, but true hardcore classic Transformers fans missed a lot of what made the classic so good. For one, Bumblebee was changed from being a Volkswagen Beetle to being a Camaro. A Camaro? Really? There’s not even a pun in that! Starscream wasn’t nearly as wacky as he was in the show, and barely had any dialogue at all, leaving for no witty Megatron arguments. Optimus Prime wasn’t even a flatfront truck anymore. But probably worst of all, there’s really not much of a war going on between the Autobots and Decepticons. It’s mostly just “Robots are on earth. Let’s take a whole movie to get used to them.” Well, we’re used to them. And we miss the good old days.
Enter Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.
Essentially, my initial thought when the credits began to roll was that Michael Bay probably said, “You know what? There are a lot of classic fans complaining. I think it’s about time we give them what they want.” And bam. Here it is.
I’ve said to quite a few people now that there’s a distinct difference between the two modern movies. That difference is simply this: The first movie was “Michael Bay presents: Transformers the Movie.” This new one? Well, it’s something more along the lines of “Transformers the Movie.” The first movie was filled with over the top explosions and lots of yelling and slow motion. It felt like watching generic action movie and, no matter how much I loved it, did not live up to the old movie. This second movie takes as many elements as possible from the ‘86 movie and makes them nice, flashy, and live action for us. In 2009. How stellar.
Energon? It’s there. Matrix of Leadership? It’s there too. Constructicons? You got ‘em. Starscream being awesome again? Sure thing. The most unexpected tragic downfall of all time? Oh yes.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is basically “Transformers: Fanservice.” Every aspect of the movie held true to fans of the classic. A convoluted plot was present as ever, focusing strongly on the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. The lines spoken by several Transformers were campy and awesome, and helped make the robots seem far more human, much like their cartoon counterparts. Sure, it still had a lot of explosions and ridiculously unnecessary Megan Fox camera angles, but everything is overshadowed by the rest of the movie. For a change, you view the Transformers as the main characters instead of just Sam Witwicky. And that’s just what the series needed.
For a change, I’m not going to do a brief summary in a movie review, but instead will say this: If you’ve seen the 1986 Transformers the Movie, this one is for you. Grew up with it? It’s for you. Perfect. End of line. Rollout.
An initial thought of mine was, “Boy, critics are going to hate this just because it’s so much like the good old show and not enough like the flashy special effects party that was the first one.” I haven’t read any other reviews yet, but I can safely say this: The 2007 Transformers movie was one of the best of the modern action movies. And Revenge of the Fallen is fifty times better. The real issue at hand is that people will likely watch this because they hopped along the bandwagon. Basically, they saw the first and thought “Man that was excellent. I’ve never seen the show before, but that was great, so the sequel must be stellar, too!” Because of that, the classic feel might cause several to be upset that it wasn’t much like the first. Those people are stupid.
Anyway, all the standards of today’s movies are present, so don’t worry. We get some excellent music, wicked special effects, a plot worth paying attention to, fantastic dialogue, and fast-paced fights. The difference between this and others, though? This is Transformers. And it feels like it from start to finish.
In conclusion, I’m sure you can tell I really liked this movie. It was such a treat to see, and I’d love to see it again and again, just like I did with the ‘86 movie. Transformers fans, this one is for you. If you’re not a Transformers fan… Well, I suppose you’ll like it as well. It has all the silliness of the first movie, jokes and special effects and what not, but also does its best to cater to the classic fans. So, I guess you could say this one is for everyone just like the first, but… Well, just give it a watch and you’ll see what I mean. I guess one can argue that the Transformers theme isn’t in the movie, but it feels so much like the classic that it doesn’t even need it. Revenge of the Fallen has “Transformers the Movie (1986)” written all over it. And it doesn’t disappoint.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen greatly exceeded my expectations. This is exactly what I, as well as any old Transformers fan, could possibly want in a modern Transformers movie. I give it a 4.8 out of 5.0.


















