We’ve been here before. An improbable project based on a kitchy source wows audiences and even critics. Then the anticipated sequel comes up short.
One case in point: the theme park inspired “Pirates of the Carribbean” and its waterlogged sequel.
Similarly, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” has odd origins, the popular Hasbro toys that switch from cool vehicles to cooler robots and back.
And so too is its sequel troubled.
If the pre-sold, midnight screenings Wednesday morning were any indication, the movie will make money hand over fist this weekend. .) But, like its alien robots, the nearly two-and-a-half-hour movie is unweildy.
Sporadically fun, “Transformers” more often lumbers — loudly, proudly — as it delves (well, deeper isn’t quite the word) into the ancient antagonisms of the decent alien Autobots and deadly Decepticons.
Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky, the kid the Autobots sought out in their ages old fight with the Decepticons.
Headed to college, he’s leaving behind Mom (Julie White), Dad (Kevin Dunn) and his girlfriend Mikaela, played by Megan Fox. Last but hardly least, he’s saying goodbye to autobot Bumblebee (Mark Ryan).
They’ve upgraded the sentimental machine’s guise from classic Camaro to a newer model. This switch could be a metaphor for a franchise that has already lost sight of its own, old-fashion charms of character in the pursuit of flash.
At school, Sam finds a geek roomie (Ramon Rodriguez) and a disturbingly forward coed (Isabel Lucas). Initially Sam is unaware that he’s got a head full of knowledge the vanguished Decepticons (including the Fallen of the title) want. As the information manifest itself, he looks like he’s caught between a seizure and a very bad trip.
Meanwhile Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) is still a metallic paragon of virtue. Even as the government (represented by the stereotypically officious bureaucrat) begins to suspect Autobots are not protecting earth but putting it at risk of attack, Optimus argues for humankind’s better angels.
In turn, Capt. Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Sgt. Epps (Tyrese Gibson) do the similar advocacy for the Autobots.
The script is by Ehren Kruger and Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the duo who made “Star Trek” so out-of-this-world and the next. And strewn throughout the film are glimmers of their wit. Rainn Wilson makes an amusing appearance as an astronomy professor. Dunn is game and dear as Sam’s pragmatic and loving pop.
But there’s a kind of entropy at work here. The right notes are struck over and over for the target demo but there’s not much for the rest of us. The special effects are no longer quite so special. A fact that doesn’t stop Bay from committing more-is-less excesses.
“Transformers” recovers some in the third act, thanks to an amusingly unhinged performance by John Turturro as former special ops agent Simmons and the introduction of a decrepit Decepticon.
While the fate of this orb hangs in the balance, a pressing question throughout is: Who’s gonna blink first and confess the L-word, Sam or Mikaela?
Not matinee idol foxy, LaBeouf remains an intriguing performer to pin studio dreams on. His gift for snark and hysteria serve him well.
Fox, on the other hand, is arguably the dullest beauty being touted for celebrity. Mikaela’s written to have grit (she works at her dad’s motorcycle shop after all). But the filmmakers shoot Fox for teen boy (and old-guy) fantasies.
Sure the film teases us with a heroic pairing for a generation of gender savvier guys and gals. But it comes up about as short as the daisy dukes Mikaela wears when we first see her.
Film critic Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com. Also on blogs.denverpostcom/madmoviegoer
TRANSFORMERS INFO
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”
PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material. 2 hours, 27 minutes. Directed by Michael Bay; written by Ehren Kruger & Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; based on the toys from Hasbro; photography by TBD; starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro. Opens today at area theaters.
