"Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen"

It's totally OK to me when movies are just so ridiculous that you only watch for the entertainment part, and not anything else. Yet when you watch "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen," every single aspect of it is so absurd that it almost makes it hard to watch. Granted, it did come out in the beginning of the summer and wanted to be this huge box-office blockbuster, and it was. It made a ton of money, and will in DVD sales too I'm sure. But it's ridiculous plot, terrible acting and shameless self promotion make it almost unbearable. Oh, and it clocks in at two and a half hours; I could barely keep my eyes open....

The movie picks up where the first left off, this time with the main character Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) about to head off to college. He still has his Autobot Camaro "Bumblebee" and his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox), both of whom will not be heading to college with him. But instead of a normal transition to college, Sam finds a piece of AllSpark, a necessary piece that can bring to life transformers, and is sought by the Decepticons (the bad guys). They learn that Sam has the piece, and come after him in hopes of reviving their fallen leader. Sam and Mikaela and the rest of the transformers find themselves in a battle of good vs. evil that takes place all over the world. That's about how deep I'll delve into the extremely convoluted plot.

There are some decently funny lines, and the action is intense, with lots of explosions and fighting between machines and humans. In the theaters, I'm sure it was that much better. But this is a DVD review, and I don't have a high powered home theater system, so the sound and picture wasn't as good for me. The product placement in the movie was also pretty blatant. General Motors, a company I thought could barely stay in business, is all over the place, as is Mountain Dew and other shameless self-promotion. The film is a commercial for itself, which I guess is what you should expect from blockbusters now a days. They also try to really sell Megan Fox as a sex symbol. She is a beautiful girl, and I'm sure all the guys watching the movie appreciate her, but the poses, changing scenes and her "sexy talk" are another cheap scheme to get people to watch the movie on her, not on talent.

4 out of 10 stars