Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray delivers truly amazing video and audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
The battle for Earth continues in this action-packed blockbuster from director Michael
Bay and
executive producer Steven Spielberg. When college-bound Sam Witwicky (Shia
LaBeouf)
learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformer robots, he must accept his
destiny and join Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in their epic battle against the
Decepticons,
who have returned stronger than ever with a plan to destroy our world.
Transformers was
a fun, entertaining, and altogether novel moviegoing experience. Though based on
preexisting
characters, Director Michael Bay reworked the look and feel of the world once only realized in the
animated and physical toy realms, creating more robust, lifelike, and fluid robots and pitting them
one against another in terrifically choreographed action scenes that perfectly blended the gritty
tone of modern warfare with a Science Fiction edge. Though the film stirred controversy
amongst longtime fans of the characters for the
redesigned Autobots and Decepticons and suffered through a somewhat
problematic script that relied a bit too heavily on comic relief which mostly fell flat against the
mesmerizing power of the ultra-realistic action and special effects sequences, the movie worked
thanks to the dazzling visuals, decent storyline, and serious tone to be found outside of the
weaker comedy
routines. Considering the smashing box office success of the film, Paramount was quick to
green-light a sequel, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was born. The filmmakers
and digital effects artists haven't missed a beat in keeping with the original's look and feel, but
Fallen takes Transformers' problems, multiples them a hundred fold, and makes
for a completely underwhelming and mostly disappointing experience.
Optimus Sphinx.
While packing for college, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) finds a shard of the "All Spark," the
previously-destoryed cube that has the ability to animate mechanical objects into transforming
robots. The object soon fills his head with mysterious alien symbols, several times causing him to
lose control of himself as he hurriedly scribbles his visions on any surface available. Meanwhile, a
Decepticon known as Soundwave is in orbit around Earth. He intercepts a government
transmission that reveals both the location of another shard of the All Spark and the resting place
of the Decepticon's deceased leader, Megatron. Successfully rescued and resurrected, Megatron
returns to Mars where he meets with The Fallen, an ancient Decepticon
that once ruled over Earth centuries ago. Only the death of the Optimus Prime and acquisition of
the Matrix of Leadership -- its resting place coded into the symbols Sam envisions -- will allow The
Fallen to return to Earth and complete his task of destroying the planet once and for all.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen seems more interested in comic relief than exciting
action sequences, awe-inspiring special effects, and most importantly, telling a good story.
Though the effects are superb and the action scenes feature the obligatory barrage of gunfire and
explosions, it
seems the filmmakers are hell-bent on masking the uninteresting story with copious amounts of
comic relief, and the result is a movie that quickly grows long in the tooth and becomes
borderline unwatchable at several junctures throughout. Comic relief is taken to a whole new
level here; there are very few instances where Revenge of the Fallen's drama or action
aren't interrupted by pointless absurdities that not only slow the movie down, but
greatly detract from the few things it does right. Whether a pair of fast-talking Autobots
(Mudflap and Skids) disguised together as a rusty ice cream truck, both of whom eventually
transform into their own
vehicles and give Jar Jar Binks a run for his money as two of the most unlikable and annoying
characters in modern movie history; zany and pint-sized Decepticons that act like small children
rather than killer robots; or
the worst offender of them all, Sam's mother; Revenge of the Fallen's "laughs" equate to
far too much fat and are the primary culprits in the film's sloth-like 150 minute runtime.
Trimming out most of the excess (the key word in "comic relief," after all, is "relief," meaning it
comes occasionally and not repetitiously) and slimming the movie down to a leaner 115-120
minutes probably would have worked wonders for it, mediocre story and all. Though these same
problems were evident in the far superior Transformers, the novelty of the experience
and tighter story
helped in masking them. However, they're far too overstated here to be overshadowed by the
admittedly
Oscar-worthy special effects.
Even the action can't really find its stride. In true Michael Bay fashion, there's lots of fast cuts,
swirling cameras, and some slow motion shots thrown in, perhaps, to try and add some kind of
balance to the mayhem. Complicating matters are the complexly-assembled Transformers that
have so many moving parts that viewers often simply can't get a grasp on what's transforming,
what's
an arm, what's a leg, or what's a mouth (not that the mouth really matters, because most all of
them do
is spew pointless, overly dramatic, or otherwise nonsensical or even incomprehensible lines). The
Autobots -- as annoying as they can be outside of Optimus Prime -- are at least colorful and fairly
easy to recognize (including "Jetfire" who looks more like Davy Jones than a
Transformer). On the other hand, all of the Decepticons look virtually identical; Starscream,
Megatron, and The Fallen all share the same design cues and a bland gray color scheme. Only
Devastator -- the most poorly translated of all Transformers from the original character to the
"thing" that's in this movie -- features a colorful body, but since the character looks like the
contents of a scrapyard were randomly glued together in the vaguest of shapes resembling some
sort of creature, it really doesn't matter, anyway. Though the characters are wonderfully
rendered and inserted seamlessly into the real-world environments, it's difficult to appreciate the
artistry of the special effects when they either share similar design cues, lack color, fall victim to a
camera that moves too fast, or as the case often is, all of the above. The human characters, too,
are uniformly lame and, for the most part, pointless. Most are around only for more comic relief;
only Shia LaBeouf delivers a somewhat genuine performance, probably because his character is
given minimal comic relief duty. It's funny how that works.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen transforms home theaters into the local multiplex
with a dazzling 1080p, 2.39:1-framed transfer that perfectly reproduces a flawless and film-like
image for home viewing. The video quality seems almost transparent to that found on the
Blu-ray release of Transformers; flesh tones take on a decidedly red tint, but otherwise,
there's nothing to complain about. Fine detail is exceptional, particularly when the camera slows
down long enough to allow viewers to take it all in. Many such scenes occur in or around the
Witwicky house or Sam's dorm room: small lines in leather furniture; scuffs and scratches in
hardwood floors; the grass, shrubs, and flowers of Sam's father's prized landscaping; or creases in
posters on the wall; all feature fabulous texture and crystal-clear clarity that allows viewers to
absorb every square inch of information that zooms across the display. Even some of the darker
locales -- the inside of an abandoned warehouse as seen in chapter nine, for instance -- reveal
small dents, rust, grime, and other signs of desertion wonderfully. Even so, the Transformers
themselves are the true stars of the show. Megatron's body appears appropriately beaten and
rusted; Prime's windshield shows grime smeared across the glass; and each scrape, dent, and
chip on Bumblebee's body is beautifully rendered and plainly visible, again though only when the
camera slows down enough to catch a glimpse. Colors are rich and natural; bright green foliage,
the red of a fire
engine, Bumblee's yellow paint job, or any other number of hues are exceptionally translated to
Blu-ray. Black levels are
superb, and the Blu-ray retains a fine layer of film grain that completes a breathtaking visual
experience.
Does this section really require analysis? Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's DTS-HD
MA
5.1 lossless soundtrack is terrific, quite possibly the best currently available on Blu-ray. The
studio logo sequence alone is of reference quality; the Paramount stars sweep through the
soundstage from front to back with a digitized, robotic sound, accompanied by a nice low-end
presence and fully-engaged rear-channel activity. Bass is positively tight and robust
throughout; the entire theater shakes with every heavy robotic footstep, gunshot and explosion,
and percussion beat of the score. Gunshots zip across the soundstage, explosions push objects
from side to side through the listening area, and voices echo about a tomb in chapter 14, all to
startlingly realistic effect. Distant explosions and sound effects, particularly in the film's Egyptian
combat sequence in the final act, do a superb job of placing the listener in the midst of the desert
and the action. What's so amazing about this soundtrack isn't just that it features room-shaking
bass and fully-realized surround activity. Instead, it's the seamlessness of it, its ability to draw
listeners in and create a virtual world of sound where the home theater transforms into a space
hosting a running gun battle, a bustling college campus, a wooded area engulfed by the
destructive
power of stories-tall robots, or an Egyptian desert devastated by brutal warfare. The faultless
dialogue reproduction seems a mere afterthought, but it's the final piece to a perfect soundtrack.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen features plenty of extras, the bulk of which are
found
on a second bonus disc. The lone supplement to be found on the first disc is a feature-length
commentary track with Director Michael Bay and Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
Recorded separately, Bay leads the discussion, sharing a few anecdotes from the set and speaking
on the film's established tone, his thoughts on
the cast, general filmmaking techniques and procedures, Ben Seresin's cinematography and Bay's
own background in the field, and much more. Meanwhile, the writers
discuss their initial hesitation to pen the sequel and the challenge of assembling a story, their
influences, the story's dichotomy of Sam's role in the alien war and his desire to lead a normal
life,
the evolution of the script, tying various themes together, and more.
Disc two begins with The Human Factor: Exacting 'Revenge of the Fallen' (1080p,
2:14:31), a seven-part making-of documentary. The first segment, entitled Seeds of
Vengeance (30:03), features cast and crew recalling the success of the first film, the
structure of Revenge of the Fallen's script, the impact of the looming writer's strike, and
the tone and themes of the story. The piece moves on to examine how the characters are drawn
and designed, ideas gleaned from "Transformers" mythology, and the development of new
characters for the film. The second segment, Domestic Destruction (24:27), takes
viewers behind-the-scenes of the shoot for several of the key sequences filmed in the United
States. The piece also looks at Michael Bay's demanding style and dedication, creating some of
the special effects, on-set accidents, and the grind of shooting the more action-oriented scenes.
Joint Operations (9:59) looks at the U.S. military's cooperation in making Revenge of
the Fallen. Wonders of the World (13:19) takes viewers to the various shooting
locations in the Middle East and examines the challenges of filming in foreign lands. Start
Making Sense (9:24) is an all-too-brief look at the editing process. Under the Gun
(29:00) looks at the intense work that went into getting the finished product completed, and
completed on time. The piece examines the complexity of the effects shots, the design of the
characters, Michael Bay's involvement in the effects process, the technologies used to create the
effects, and more. Finally, Running the Gauntlet (16:36) looks at the finishing touches
applied in post-production -- including the sound design and the last few effects shots -- and the
film's premiere.
A Day with Bay: Tokyo (1080p, 13:23) looks at the hectic day of the film's Tokyo
premiere as Bay deals with the stress of finishing the film and handling his first major press
interviews. 25 Years of Transformers (1080p, 10:44) is next. The piece looks at the
evolution of the product, Hasbro's designs, creating a toy line based on the movie, the evolution
of the toys between films, and more. NEST: Transformer Data-Hub (1080p) is an
interactive features that allows users to select from a list of Transformers robots; read their bios;
learn about their history in the "Transformers" animated series, the Marvel comics, and the IDW
comics; and view concept art, still galleries, and where applicable, the evolution of the character
in the toy lines. Robots included are Optimus Prime, Jetfire, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Skids &
Mudflap, Megatron, Starscream, Devastator, Soundwave, Ravage, and The Fallen. The
Allspark Experiment allows users to customize a selection of vehicles and watch what
happens when the Allspark is unleashed on the creation.
Deconstructing Visual Bayhem (1080p, 22:46) looks at the importance of computerized
previsualization sequences to the filmmaking process. Viewers are presented with the
option of viewing the 15 previsualization sequences either by themselves or
side-by-side with the finished product. The sequences are accompanied by commentary from
Michael Bay and Pre-Vis Supervisor Steve Yamamoto. Next up is a collection of three deleted and
alternate scenes: Sam and Alice at the Dorms (1080p, 2:10), The Witwickys in
Paris (1080p, 2:54), and Leo Refuses to Go to Egypt (1080p, 0:56). Giant
Effing Movie (1080p, 24:03) is an extended montage of various moments from the set,
most of which are played with a humorous overtone. Linkin Park - New Divide (1080p,
4:40) is a music video tie-in with the film. The Matrix of Marketing contains a pair of
Revenge of the Fallen theatrical trailers (1080p, 2:18 & 2:32), six TV spots (1080p, 2:12
combined runtime), and two still galleries, one each for theatrical posters and promo/marketing.
Finally, users may "unlock an exclusive augmented reality experience" by placing the Blu-ray
packaging in front of an active webcam.
Excessively bloated, lacking in focus, far too kinetic, and hedging its bets on inane comic relief,
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a borderline disaster of a movie. Though it
retains a
similar
look and feel to its vastly superior predecessor, Fallen accentuates the negatives in an
effort
to mask the weak plot, and worst of all, the movie just isn't much fun. With a third installment
supposedly in the works, one can only hope that it will forego the bad comedy in favor of a leaner,
meaner, more aggressive picture that also returns the sense of wonder and fun found in the first
film. Still, there's an artistry here that transcends the bad script and
excessive runtime; Michael Bay's style might be a bit too much when taking into account all
that's going on in most every frame, but there is no denying that the man is a talented
filmmaker and knows how to put together a movie that people want to see. Though the movie
may not be up to par, Transformers: Revenge of the
Fallen arrives on Blu-ray as a two-disc package that represents the pinnacle of the format.
Featuring a brilliant film-like picture quality, one of the best lossless soundtracks yet, and a
plethora
of bonus materials that truly convey the grand scope of the Herculean effort that goes into
making a movie like this, the technical specifications make this package a winner, even if the
movie could have been better.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Other Editions
2-disc set $7.89
1-disc $16.11
2-disc set
Blu-ray bundles with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2 bundles)
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