Michael Bay has finally done what everybody thought was impossible: direct a movie with a great story. Mr. Bay might even be in the running for an Academy Award. Ok, I’m kidding, but how I wish this was the case, but if Michael Bay is one thing, he is consistent. Again, Mr. Bay has sacrificed the story and in its place, replaced it with lots of meaningless action. However, I cannot say that Transformers 2 is not an entertaining summer movie, and with a summer as lackluster as this, Transformers 2 is probably the best summer movie so far.

Here in my second paragraph I usually attempt to describe the plot of a movie, but with Transformers 2 this is a little hard. When it comes to describing a plot there are two problems that usually arise. The first is when the movie is complicated and requires deep thinking. The second is when the movie makes no sense but not because it‘s complicated, but because the whole thing doesn’t fit together and just jumps from one random scene to another. In other words, when watching Transformers 2 it’s better to just remember that the plot….well their really isn’t one.

This goes hand in hand with the performances which aren’t that great either. The one saving grace of the movie, which also helped the first Transformers movie, is that the movie is really funny. There are a lot of jokes and one-lines that really work and not just from one character, but from several. Shia LaBeouf continues his fast talking shtick and when it works it’s fun, but when it doesn’t it’s somewhat painful. John Turturro also returns and gives a pretty decent performance. Turturro and where his character ends up since the first Transformers is turned into a major source of comedy.

However, there are only two reasons people are going to go see this movie and the first is Megan Fox, and like the first movie she looks great. The other reason, most people will see Transformers 2 is for the special effects and they are on par with the first Transformers movie. The special effects in the first Transformers movie took my breath away, I never thought that the transformers could actually look so real and the transformations so spectacular. While the special effect are on par and maybe a wee-bit better than the first, what’s missing is the wow factor that the first movie had. They weren’t able to take the effects to the next level like they did with the first movie. Granted this is a lot to ask. However, I will say that the sequence were the Devastator is formed is pretty awesome.

Like the first Transformers movie, this second parts also suffers from a lack of tension between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The sequence were the Devastator forms is awesome and terrifying, but after that it looks like they didn’t know what to do with him. Likewise besides Megatron, Prime has a mightier foe in this movie, but Bay fails to build the tension and makes the whole last battle kind of meaningless.

Overall, Transformers 2 is great summer fun; an entertaining film that will quench your summer thirst. In a summer with such lackluster releases Transformers 2 is probably the best summer movie so far. Alright, second best, Star Trek has the number one spot.

Review By Milton Brayson
milton@smartcine.com

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