I think all of us who grew up in the 80s and watched the original Transformers were  goddamn excited when Hollywood announced that there would be a live-action Transformers. As the months went by we were exposed to more information as the film entered pre-production. Soon we we’re given a glimpse of the Transformers appearing in the movie  and shortly after  some images began to surface. During this time, hope for a decent live-action adaptation of  the 80s cartoon started to fall. The Transformers we grew up with would be changed forever. Instead of bulky machines that had solid arms and legs with a humanoid -looking faces, we were introduced to robots that had sharp corners with almost all wires, gears, servos, and pistons exposed. I set out to check out Michael Bay’s Transformers drawn in by the love of the original animated movie and curiosity about the new movie . The movie was a success, bringing in just a little over $26 million in ticket sales for the opening weekend. But at what price? Everything fans loved about Transformers was smashed at our feet and almost nothing was salvaged from the original. People who didn’t know or knew very little of the movie loved it, and talk about that up-and-coming actress Megan Fox (’nuff said). The movie had an open ending, and everyone knew that there was going to be a sequel. But the audience was left with some questions; How much of the original would be in it? Who are the characters? And what happens in the second movie? Since I had time to digest the first movie and compare it with all the other incarnations that Transformers had over the years, such as Beast Wars, Transformers: Armada, and Transformers: Animated. I accepted the first movie as a different take on Transformers. No longer bound by Generation 1 (The Transformers that started it all) I was willing to go see the Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen. After waiting about an hour and a half in line, I found my seat and prepared myself for the 2 hr. and 10 min long movie ahead.

Story:
A special task force named NEST is joint operated by both the Autobots and American Special Ops, who go around hunting left over Decepticons. When a battle with a Decepticon known as Demolisher ends up causing massive damage the American Special Ops, the Special Ops think about pulling the project and forcing the Autobots to leave the planet, fearing that the only reason that the Decepticons are here are is because of the Autobots. When the Decepticons come back from Cybertron to bring back Megatron, they find out, buried away, that there is a deadly secret that only the Decepticons know about, and if the Decepticons  access this secret, both humanity and the Autobots will be lost.

Characters:
We have your known Autobot survivors from the first film: Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Bumblebee and Ratcher but we are introduced to a whole slew of others such as Sideswipe who is a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept, Arcee (sisters) who consists of three seperate motorcycles  a pink Ducati 848, a blue Suzuki B-King 2008, and a purple MV Agusta F4, Jolt a blue Chevrolet Volt, Jetfire who transforms into a SR-71 Blackbird, Mudflap and Skids (the Twins) red Chevrolet Trax and green Chevrolet Beat; and last we have the all popular Wheelie (you know the one that spoke in rhymes in the animated movie) is now a blue radio-controlled toy monster truck.
As for the decepticons, the characters returning from the first film include: Megatron who is still a jet but also can now transform into a Cybertronian Tank, Starscream, Bonecrusher and Scorponok. Unlike the Autobots, the Decepticons always travel in numbers so now we have the long-awaited Decepticon Soundwave, who is now a satellite; The Doctor, who’s secondary form was taken from the Autobot Preceptor from the cartoon as a microscope; Demolishor, a white Terex O&K RH 400 hydraulic mining excavator; Ravage a metallic one-eyed panther-like animal,; Alice, a “Pretender” bot; Grindor, a Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter: Sideways, a silver Audi R8:; and we can’t forget Devastator, who consits of Mixmaster, a Mack concrete mixer; Scavenger a red Terex O&K RH 400 hydraulic mining excavator;  Scapper a yellow Caterpillar 992G scoop loader; Hightower a yellow Kobelco CK2500 crawler crane; Overload a red articulated dump; Long Haul a green Caterpillar 773B dump truck and Rampage A yellow Caterpillar D9L bulldozer.

Impressions:
Going into the movie I was expecting the same kind of film as the first one. This time it was a bit longer, had more Transformers in it and a lot more action scenes, but what I wasn’t prepared for was one of the most head-scratching movies I’ve seen in a long time. It really all goes downhill from the beginning, where we learn that the Autobots are working with an American Special Ops. Well, the proper word would actually be working FOR the Special Ops. No longer is this a war about Autobots v. Decepticons, instead it’s a war between the American Special Ops. and the Decepticons; the Autobots are merely used as weapons when things go sour. When dealing with large robots that are themselves upwards of 50 feet tall or taller, you expect there would be some carnage. Instead of letting it go, the Special Ops. commanders complain that the Autobots cause to much destruction. Fearing that the Decepticons are only on earth to kill the remaining Autobots, a representative from the US President’s office speaks for the world by saying that the Autobots must leave, because once they do, the Decepticons will leave. I don’t know about you, but when did the US become a spokesperson for the world? And how stupid can you be to believe that the Decepticons will just leave you alone?
Not only is the portrayal of the Autobots disappointing, but the storytelling suffers greatly by two very big factors:

1) The amount of Transformers that now have been showcased in this film. There is WAY too many Decepticons compared to Autobots, sure the ratio is usually 2 to 1 but this time it’s more like 4 to 1. Introducing too many characters prevents enough time to get to know them and develop a story properly. The idea of a properly developed story also fits with the second factor

2) Story Changes.  In a movie like this, your viewer should never be lead one way, only to change it up tell a tell a different story. It creates confusion and prevents the development of a phenomenal story.
There were a few other criticisms on Transformers; Why does Bumblebee act like a child? If the Decepticons knew about a second shard, why didn’t they just look for this item  from the beginning? If you’re a fan of the 80s cartoon, skip this one. Even all the energon in the world could not salvage this film.