"TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN" (2009) Review

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”TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN” (2009) Review

Nearly eleven years ago, I had posted a review of the 2007 movie, "TRANSFORMERS". Needless to say, I had written a bad review of the film. Since then, I have seen the movie at least once or twice on television cable. And my opinion of it has changed. Somewhat.  My new opinion has led me to view its sequel, ”TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN” with different eyes. Let me explain. 

When I saw ”TRANSFORMERS” for the second and third times, I discovered a little secret. If a moviegoer harbors low or no expectations of films like the ones from the “TRANSFORMERS” franchise, that person might find him or herself actually enjoying such films. All it takes is the act of simply shutting down one’s brain. However, there are chances that this little tactic might not always work. It did work for me when I saw ”TRANSFORMERS” for the second time. It also worked when I finally saw ”TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN”.

This second movie began two years after the first, when the main hero, teenager Sam Witwicky has graduated from high school and is ready to enter college. In this film, a revived Megatron (the main villain from the first film) and the rest of the Decepticons have returned to Earth in order to take Sam prisoner, after he learns about the ancient origins of the Transformers and some vital information about a certain machine from the remnants of the All Spark (please do not ask me to explain this – I suggest you read the Wikipedia entry). Joining the mission to protect humankind are the Transformers, their leader Optimus Prime, and members of the NEST Team (military Special Forces assigned to work with the Transformers).

And how was the movie? Honestly, it was not all that bad. But it was also far from perfect. One had to deal with a lot of overbearing action – Michael Bay style. In fact, I found it nearly impossible to distinguish between the Transformers and the Decepticons during their fights. The use of Eubonics by two of the Transformers – twins Skids and Mudflap – annoyed the hell out of me. Nor did I find it at all humorous. And could someone please explain how the National Air and Space Museum (where Sam and his friends found the former ancient Decepticon, Jetfire), which is supposed to be in Washington D.C., end up in a location that strongly resembled the western United States? Seeing John Tuturro’s nearly bare ass in one scene did not help matters. Nor did Ramón Rodríguez’s frantic portrayal of Sam’s new college roommate, Leo Spitz. He made Shia LaBeouf’s performance in the 2007 movie look downright subtle. And quite honestly? This movie was too goddamn long. A running time of two-and-a-half hours for a movie based upon toy robots?

But as I had earlier stated, I had no high expectations of the movie and I managed to shut down my brain – somewhat – while watching it. And the story was not that bad. Screenwriters Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Ehren Kruges found a way to bring Megatron back from the dead in a believable manner. They also introduced another villain – an ancient Transformer Prime who went against the other Primes by constructing some kind of machine that can steal the heat and energy from Earth’s sun. Hmmm . . . not bad.

Another aspect of ”TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN” that impressed me was Ben Seresin’s photography. Despite the movie’s fast action, Seresin did an excellent job in capturing the color and grandeur of various locations like New York, Washington D.C. and especially the Middle East. And although there were times when Michael Bay seemed to succumb to his penchant for MTV-style direction, he still managed to maintain a steady pace for the film. And through his direction, he expressed his talent for revealing the funny and quirky sides of the average American citizens.

Speaking of American citizens, I might as well talk about the cast. Shia LaBeouf gave a more subtle performance as the Transformers’ human friend, Sam Witwicky. With Ramón Rodríguez chewing the scenery, I guess that LaBeouf felt he could relax and tone down his performance. Megan Fox gave a nice and occasionally funny performance as Sam’s mechanic girlfriend, Mikaela Barnes. It was nice to see Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson return as Army Rangers William Lennox and Robert Epps. As they had done in the 2007 movie, the pair made a solid screen team. Aside from his ass, it was nice to see John Tuturro reprise his role as Reggie Simmons, now a retired U.S. intelligence agent. However, I must give top kudos to Kevin Dunn and Julie White as Sam’s wacky parents, Ron and Judy Witwacky. More than they did so in the first film, they made a great comedy team, much to my surprise. 

If you have not seen ”TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN”, should you consider renting it?  I cannot answer that question. It was certainly not one of the best films I have seen in 2009. But if you are looking for the occasional mindless form of entertainment in which you can shut down your brain, this is definitely the movie for you.

"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Review

"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Review

When "THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS" first hit the movie screens in 2001, I never imagined that it would be such a major hit . . . or spawn five sequels. The franchise seemed in danger of ending with a whimper with 2006's "THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT", due to its lack of critical success. Three years later saw the rejuvenation of the franchise with the success of 2009's "FAST AND FURIOUS". This movie spawned a mini trilogy of its own, culminating in the latest film, "FAST AND FURIOUS 6". 

The franchise's fifth installment, "FAST FIVE" ended with Dominic Toretto and his accomplices reaping the rewards of a successful heist from a Rio drug lord. In the film's Easter egg segment, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs learns from U.S. Customs agent Monica Fuentes (from 2003's "2 FAST 2 FURIOUS") that Dom's former girlfriend, Letty Ortiz, is alive and well, and working with one Owen Shaw, a British criminal (and former Special Forces soldier) who had recently pulled a heist on a Russian military convoy. Hobbs and his new partner, Riley Hicks, recruit Dom, Brian O'Conner and other members of the gang who helped pull off the Rio heist; to help them take down Shaw. Hobbes convinces Dom to help him, revealing Letty's existence and offering full amnesty for past crimes. With the exception of Mia Torretto and former Rio police officer Elena Neves (who remain behind to care for Mia and Brian's new baby), along with Leo Tego and Rico Santos (who remain on the French Riviera gambling); Dom, Brian and the rest of the gang arrive in London to help Hobbes and Hicks to track down Shaw. Upon their arrival, they discover that Letty has amnesia and that capturing Shaw might prove to be more difficult than they had originally imagined.

After watching "FAST AND FURIOUS 6", I came to the conclusion that it was my second favorite movie in the franchise after "FAST FIVE". However, I am not so sure anymore. There are certain aspects of this latest film that makes me reluctant to view as the franchise's second best. One, the movie's premise is not that original - even for a FAST AND FURIOUS movie. In fact, the story premise for "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" bears a strong resemblance to the premise for the 2003 movie, "2 FAST 2 FURIOUS". In that movie, Brian O'Conner and Roman Pearce helped the Feds bring down a Miami-based drug lord in exchange for pardons and clean records. Brian, Roman, Dom and others help Fed Luke Hobbes take down international criminal Owen Shaw for . . . what else? Pardons and clean records. I also had a problem with the Roman Pearce character. I had no problem with Tyrese Gibson's portrayal of the character. But I found it odd that Roman would immediately drop his airborne love fest with a group of models due to a summons from Dom Toretto, of all people. "FAST FIVE" did not exactly end with Roman and Dom as the best of friends. If the movie had established that Roman had received the summons from Brian, who was his childhood friend, I could accept his immediate decision to join the team. One last problem I had with "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" proved to be a flashback from 2009's "FAST AND FURIOUS" regarding the origin of Letty Ortiz's amnesia. The 2009 movie hinted that Letty had been killed by Arturo Braga's henchman, Fenix Calderon. But a flashback in "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" revealed that Calderon missed Letty completely and shot the car to which she was standing near. The car exploded, injuring Letty. Why Calderon failed to confirm her death after the explosion remains a mystery to me. The entire scene struck me as clumsily handled. I also noticed that Dom's ridiculous "Daddy issues" and desire to be "Papa Toretto" to anyone close to him still remains. When he made a comment at the end of the movie about Brian and Mia's son, Jack O'Conner, being solely a Toretto, I merely laughed. When he repeated the "joke" again, I began to wonder if he was making a demented attempt to claim the toddler as his own offspring. Right now, I feel that Brian and Mia should leave the Toretto home and purchase their own house to raise their kid.

But despite these problems, "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" turned out to be a pretty damn good movie. The franchise's street-racing theme played a major part in the efforts of Dom's team to stop Shaw's team from carrying out their crimes. This theme was definitely apparent in four scenes. One of them was a car chase through the streets of nighttime London that ended with the team's failure to capture Shaw, as he was fleeing his hideout. Another scene featured Dom and an amnesiac Letty in a street race that ended in a sexy moment in which the former tried to revive the latter's memories. There was also the film's final action sequence at a NATO air strip in which Dom and his team finally prevented Shaw from escaping by plane. I found that particular sequence a little hard to bear, considering that at times, it seemed to go on forever and it was shot at night. The only daytime sequence that featured vehicles on a highway not far from that NATO base in Spain. What made this sequence memorable for was the spectacular car chase that featured an outstanding stunt performed by Tyrese Gibson . . . or his double. There is a spectacular fight scene between Letty and Hobbes' partner, Riley Hicks, in the London Underground. I heard that Michelle Rodriguez felt a bit wary in doing a fight scene with Gina Carano . . . and I do not blame her, considering the latter is a mixed martial arts champ. There was also a pretty decent Dom and Hobbes vs. Shaw and his men aboard the cargo plane in Spain.

Action sequences were not the only staple that made "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" entertaining for me. The movie also featured some pretty damn good dramatic moments and rather funny scenes. I have already pointed out that sexy moment between Dom and Letty in which the former tried to revive the latter's memories. I also enjoyed the sequence in which Brian allowed himself to be "arrested" (courtesy of Luke Hobbes' Federal connections) by the FBI, in order to question former adversary Arturo Braga about Letty's connections to Shaw. Not only did it featured a humorous reunion between Brian and his former FBI colleague, Special Agent Stasiak; but also a very dramatic one between Brian and Braga. "FAST FIVE" featured the beginning of a romance between Han and Gisele. But their relationship took on a more poignant note in this movie, which I found very satisfying. I especially enjoyed how Roman quickly figured out Han's true feelings for Gisele. Speaking of Roman and Han, the movie featured a very funny moment in which both of them secretly agreed not to inform the others of their defeat against one of Shaw's men in the London Underground. In fact, Roman proved to have the best lines in the movie. My ultimate favorite? Read the following scene between him and Tej Parker:

[Roman asks Tej for change to use the vending machine]
TEJ: You're a millionaire and still asking for money?
ROMAN: That's how you stay a millionaire.

"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" featured some pretty decent performances. But there were those that stood out for me. I especially enjoyed Tyrese Gibson, who not only proved to be even funnier as Roman Pearce, but shared a nice dramatic moment with Sung Kang, while the two discussed Han's feelings for Gisele. Michelle Rodriguez gave one of her better performances as an intense and amnesiac Letty Ortiz, who is torn between her confusion over her identity and her growing wariness toward Shaw. Dwayne Johnson continued his energetic portrayal of DSS Agent Luke Hobbes with great style. Luke Evans made a particularly formidable foe as former Special Forces soldier Owen Shaw, who proves to be a very difficult to take down. Then again, the franchise has always featured some first-rate villains. Not only did Vin Diesel provided an unexpectedly sexy performance in one particular scene with Rodriguez, he and Elsa Pataky provided a nice poignant moment between Dom and former Brazil cop Elena Neves, who end their relationship due to Letty's re-emergence in Dom's life. However, Paul Walker really surprised me in this film. He has always struck me as mediocre or solid actor in the past. But his acting skills seemed to have grown considerably between "FAST FIVE" and "FAST AND FURIOUS 6". This was apparent in his scenes with John Ortiz, which featured a hostile reunion between Brian and Braga in a California prison.

I feel that "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" had its share of flaws. But thanks to Justin Lin's direction, a charasmatic cast and a solid script written by Chris Morgan, I feel that it not only proved to be one of the better films for the summer of 2013, but also one of the better films in the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise.

"TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN" (2009) Photo Gallery

Below is a gallery of photos from "TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN", the 2009 sequel to the 2007 hit film, "THE TRANSFORMERS".   Directed by Michael Bay, the movie stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox: 


"TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN" (2009) Photo Gallery

"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "FAST AND FURIOUS 6", the sixth entry in the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise. Directed by Justin Lin, the movie stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans and Michelle Rodriguez: 


"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Photo Gallery

"TRANSFORMERS" (2007) Review

"TRANSFORMERS" (2007) Review"

Based upon the Japanese cartoon TV series and the line of Hasbro toys, "TRANSFORMERS" is the story about how Earth is caught in the middle of an intergalactic war between two races of robots, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, which are able to change into a variety of objects, including cars, trucks, planes and other technological creations. This 2007 film was developed by producers Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto and executive director, Steven Spielberg, had convinced Michael Bay ("PEARL HARBOR", "BAD BOYS" and "THE ISLAND") to direct it as his first family film. 

I really do not know what to say about "TRANSFORMERS". It has a pretty good cast with the likes of Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson and John Turturro. It also featured the voices of Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime (leader of the the good alien robots) and Hugo Weaving as the voice of the evil Megatron. 

I am already into the third paragraph of this post and I have yet to give my review. It sounds as if I am delaying in giving my view of the movie, doesn't it? Perhaps I am. Like I had stated in the previous paragraph, I do not know what to say about "TRANSFORMERS". On the surface, it is a pretty exciting, yet funny film. It can boast some first-class action, which happens to be Michael Bay's forte. And the performances are pretty good. I could say that Shia LaBeouf (Spielberg's new favorite at the time) was exceptional. Although there were times when I found his performance a little frantic. Rather like a young John Cusack on crack. Nearly six years ago, I thought Tyrese Gibson seemed a little too big to be playing second fiddle to a TV actor like Josh Duhamel. Now that both are big screen actors . . . well, I was too busy enjoying their on-screen camaraderie to really care one way or the other. 

Despite all of the action, special effects and good performances, I had left the theater with this uneasy feeling that"TRANSFORMERS" seemed a little beneath for someone of Bay's talent or reputation. When one really comes down to it, the movie seemed nothing more than an over-the-top kiddie flick. But hey, if you are really a fan of THE TRANSFORMERS franchise, I suggest that you check it out. Chances are you will not be disappointed.

"TRANSFORMERS" (2007) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "TRANSFORMERS", the 2007 adaptation of the Hasbro toy line. Directed by Michael Bay, the movie starred Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson: 


"TRANSFORMERS" (2007) Photo Gallery