Oh my freaking god!!!! Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen would have to be the most awesome thing I have ever seen. Screw all the bullshit 'proper' film critics have been saying about it being too long and too loud and lacking in good acting from the 'real' cast, to me this film is just amazing. Obviously my taste in film is completely different to theirs and for that I am eternally grateful because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to enjoy this film as much as I did. The visual effects the film uses would have to be the best I've ever seen, the robots once again look fantastic and this time there's more variation in design as the line ups for both sides have been increased and battles are bigger and badder than the first . Maybe it's because I've grown up in the generation of Michael Bay epics and like minded films that it didn't seem long or loud or any of those criticisms and instead it was funny, visually stunning and pure enjoyment from start to finish.

Story... After defeating Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, and destroying the All-Spark Optimus Prime, leader of a race of transforming robots called the Autobots, and his comrades form an alliance with the US Government to seek out and destroy the remaining Decepticons, sworn enemies of the Autobots. It turns out the Decepticons are looking for something which will help them and The Fallen, the original intergalactic bad ass, take thier revenge on the Earth and the Autobots once and for all. It is up to Optimus and Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBouef), the guy who first discovered the Autobots, to stop the Decepticons and The Fallen and save the Earth. ( I don't really want to go in to too much more detail because I don't want to ruin it, plus story really comes in second place to the amazing spectacle of destruction and devastation that happens on screen)

What it Did Well... Obviously the action sequences and pretty much any scene with the Transformers are freaking awesome. It is just absolute mayhem on the screen and I loved it, if you analyse this film of course you will find flaws but that's not the point. The point is they're are giant fucking robots on the screen who are literally beating the shit out of each other and that's exactly what you've paid for. The time and effort that has obviously gone in to the visual presentation of this film is just awe inspiring. There's one scene where the Constructicons, construction themed Decepticons, unite with each other to create a super Transformer Devastator and it is just jaw droppingly amazing. The way it brutally combines itself it actually makes you believe that's the way it would happen if this was real, a lot of effort has been put in to the little details here. It certainly does epic well and it certainly does destruction well, welcome to Michael Bay's world.


What it Didn't... The whole Sam and his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) I love you thing was a bit lame. Sam is going to college without his girlfriend and she wants him to say I love you but he can't, there's a few scenes where she keeps trying to get him to say it and they argue and then make up. It was just sappy and stupid and really I didn't want a freaking love story, I wanted giant robots blowing each other up and luckily the film had plenty of that to make me forget that little moment. Seriously though if you are coming to this film for serious drama then you might be in the wrong place, it's action all the way baby.

Memorable Moment... More like a memorable 30 minutes, the climax of the film where it's basically all out war between the alliance of the US military and the Autobots and the Decepticons is just insane. Sand has never looked better than when it's being thrown in the air from an explosion. There's a good deal of variation in the focus of the battle as so many things are going on and Bay attempts to adequately show each conflict before bringing it all to a conclusion. It's just so intense and exciting and I couldn't wait to see what Transformers would duke it out next.

So What Does it All Mean... Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen looks to be one of those films you'll either love or hate. So far most critics hate it but the box office will probably love it. Personally I think most critics are a bunch of douche bags, taking their opinions with a grain of salt which you may do with myn as I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If you are interested in my opinion then it's this film kicks ass and takes names in the most visually amazing way I've ever seen and you know what Michael Bay doesn't care about reviews and either should you so just go out and see this film and judge for yourself. I loved it, every god damn minute of it, and will most certainly see it again and again and again. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen gets 9 big ass explosions out of 10.

Oh thank god!!! Yesterday I reported some information from an article on IGN claiming that Michael Bay is looking to step down from the Transformers franchise. I and most other people were shocked at this announcement, Transformers is Michael Bay's project, the current ads running even say it's Michael Bay's Transformers. Luckily the man himself has spoken out in response to these articles and rumours and I am happy to post his clarifying statement. Bay posted last night on the Michael Bay dot com website, "Hah, Love press how they spin. Never said it - just wanted a vacation is more to the point. And no I don't read the good or the bad reviews" This is fantastic news!!! Transformers needs Michael Bay, it just means that we are going to have to wait longer to see the next installment which I'm happy to do as long as he's taking charge. We love you Michael Bay!!

After the success of The Dark Knight you would think it would be impossible for there not to be a third film. It broke just about every box office record upon release generating a box office total that was just over US $1 billion and garnered a best supporting actor Oscar for Heath Ledger's mesmerizing and maniacal performance as The Joker. Rumours swelled after the films release as to what direction the next film would take with The Riddler being rumoured as the new villain and famous actors like Casey Affleck, Johnny Depp and Eddie Murphy attached to the role. Almost a year after the films release though we have no solid information on the third film. Director Christopher Nolan has said that he may not return for the third film, saying that Warner Brothers will have to come up with a very convincing story and deal to sway him. The director said he was rocked to the core by the death of Ledger and that is what is leading him to give away the Batman franchise. I have tremendous respect for him, the guilt he must be feeling knowing he cast him for the role and spent so much time with him and yet likee veryone else could not forsee his unfortunate and unexpected death. So whilst it would be terrible to lose Nolan as a director it's even more disturbing to hear that Christain Bale, probably the best Batman seen on film, is not a fan of Nolan leaving the project. In good news IGN recently spoke to David Goyer who is a writer for the Batman movies who said that they are discussing ideas for a third film and it has been reported that we will not be seeing Batman back on our screens until at elast 2012 or 2013, a real bummer. Obviously though with the extreme success of the The Dark Knight there will be so much pressure on the third film, regarding financial succes and the performance of the new villain so I'd rather them take their time.











In other sequel news Jurassic Park IV may not be dead in the water yet. In December of 2008 producer Kathleen Kennedy said that the prospects of doing another Jurassic Park were effectively ended after the unfortunate passing of author Michael Crichton. Many of us were disappointed as we were eagerly anticipating another foray in to the Jurassic world, working udner the title of Extinction but producer Frank Marshall has hinted recently that if they can get a good story together then their is a possibility of another film. The possibilities the Jurassic Park franchise creates are amazing, they are the best looking dinosaurs we have ever seen on film and everyone likes the idea of these creatures being brought back to life in our modern world. I hope these rumours start a buzz about a 4th film again but as we remember the 3rd film was not directed by Steven Spielberg and not directly based on a Crichton novel and it was a lesser film for those reasons. A real effort would have to be put in to this film to make it good.









When I heard they were making a new Indiana Jones I was filled with so much excitement. I grew up on the orginal three Indiana Jones movies and coupled with his performances in Star Wars as Harrison Ford he was pretty much my idol. Indiana Jones AND Han Solo, could one man be any more awesome??!! The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came and whilst I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was a financial success the critic and overall fan response was not that spectacular. We all thought that four would be enough for Indy and Harrison Ford, I mean he is 67 this year, and I personally cringed at the potential nod to Shia LeBouef taking over the franchise. Harrison Ford is what made this series and is the iconic Indiana Jones, it should end with him just like it started but Spielberg does not seem finsihed with Indy. Shia LaBouef told BBC News whilst promoting Transformers Revenge of the Fallen that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have already formulated the basic story for Indy V and are beginning production. It remains to be seen whether Ford will return and whilst I'm scpetical of this project to begin with if Ford does not return as Dr Jones then they should give it a complete miss altogether, it's best some things go out on a high.














In terrible news regarding potential sequels Michael Bay, the godfather of explosions and generally epic films has left the Transformers franchise. He believes that after 3 and a half years straight working on the franchise he needs to get away from it as he has taken it as far as he can. He said he needs to do something without explosions which is just ridiculous, explosion is Michael Bay's middle name. Obviously Hasbro and Paramount will be wanting to exploit this franchise for more films and rightly so it is kick ass but how good will it be without Bay? I think someone like Spielberg, who was a producer on the film could take over seeing as he has worked on films like War of the Worlds or John Favreau the director of Iron Man but I really do think Bay is a massive loss to the series. He created these robots and their world has definetley become a Michael Bay one. Another director may want to explore the emotional side of these robots or develop the human characters into the star but Bay understood that the sole reason people see these films are for explosions, giant robots fighting each other and more explosions.

So the first reviews of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen are out after it's premiere in the UK. Rottentomatoes currently has 10 reviews collected with 6 being good and 4 being rotten giving the film a current score of 5.4 out of 10. Not the greatest of starts really. So far the overall consensus is that the film is too long and loud. One reviewer from screen daily dot com writes that "Performance-wise the machines do tend to upstage the humans." Of course they freaking do!!! That is the whole point of the movie!! It's about giant freaking transforming robots!!! If it was me I wouldn't even have any humans in it really, it'd be like the original TV show where apart from 1 or 2 people (the original Witwickies) humans were only ever seen running away in terror. If you are going to this film expecting to see quality, Oscar performances from LeBouef and Fox then you clearly are in the wrong theatre. I mean honestly what actor could hold an audiences attention when there is a car that can turn into a 30 foot robot next to him? Also I love how no one is prepared to sit through a long film anymore. Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds which premiered at Cannes was about 2 and a half hours and majority of critics complained about it saying it dragged along and was way too long and now Tarantino is trying to re-edit it for theatrical release. Similar criticism has been released about Revenge of the Fallen. It's a summer blockbuster!! They are supposed to be long and loud and not make sense. You are supposed to go there and be like my mind has been blown by how freaking awesome that just looked and that's it. It's pure escapism. I mean come on who honestly goes to these movies expecting an engaging storyline filled with moral dilemmas, political intrigue and serious drama...apart from reviewers ofcourse. These films are designed for the inner child in all of us, well mostly the inner boy in all of us, who sat around watching Looney Tunes cartoons were all they did was try to kill each other and we loved it. That is the pure glee and excitement these films are trying to give us and if you can realise that then you can enjoy these movies and not even notice how long it was or how loud it was. Those that were positive reviews seemed to reiterate this stance, saying that older people may not look it and that it is a film for the child in all of us and well for actual kids. Also saying that the specatacle is for everyone but the story may be more fan boy directed. Obviously seeing as I'm not a kick ass reviewer, yet, I haven't been able to go to an advanced screening of it but I will be seeing it on the 24th when it comes out and will be posting my own thoughts then. I can almost say with certainty that I will love it, any excuse to go and see giant transforming robots fighting each other is good enough for me and considering that there are more in this one and it's longer I'm already happy.