TRANSFORMERS 2

TRANSFORMERS 2 By John Grafman

When you want to make a blockbuster movie you have to have the right ingredients. Start with an already successful movie at your back. Bring back the simmering Megan Fox (as Mikaela Banes). Add more actions and more alien robot Autobots® and Decepticons®. Lastly, bring in some of the very best concepts that GM has to offer. The result of all of this is the latest Transformer movie - Revenge Of The Fallen.

This might just be the very best commercial General Motors has ever made. The spectacular Corvette Stingray Concept as Sideswipe can steal the screen from even Megan Fox. If you could morph a current Vette with the EcoJet, and maybe add a touch of the Cadillac Cien Concept for good measure, you would have this Corvette Stingray Concept. I wish the action could stop long enough for those in the audience that love cars to soak it up. However, this isn't the only hottie on the screen. The upcoming Beat and Trax concept, as Skids and Mudflap, give us a glimpse into the future products we hope to see. However, the stylized voices are a flashback, reminding me of Jar Jar Binks from the star wars saga. We also get to take a sneak peak at the long awaited Volt in the guise of Jolt, and for good measure the Chevy Camaro returns as Bumblebee. Sharp-eyed motorists can catch a few of these on the street today.

As this movie is saturated with special effect, Industrial Light and Magic deserves a heap of praise for making this feel real. Those credit for bringing this to life are ILM's Animation Supervisor Scott Benza, and Visual Effects Producer Wayne Billheimer. No doubt this will be a tentpole for Paramount judging by the campers waiting to get in, and the early box office take. But I have to wonder, how many 9-13 year old boys are out there? I on the other hand am not in that demographic. Certainly, I have quite a few moments during the screening that question my age. Nevertheless, the juvenile quips seem more fitting in an Adam Sandler movie. Of course, if anyone is expecting dazzling dialogue obviously doesn't seem to understand just what this is all about.

As far as the plot goes Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) again joins with the Autobots to battle the destructive forces of the Decepticons. Hmm, if this sounds a little like the first it's because it is. Hey, why mess with success. www.transformersmovie.com

CAST: Sam Witwicky - Shia Labeouf Mikaela Banes - Megan Fox Major Lennox - Josh Duhamel Usaf Master - Sergeant Epps Tyrese Gibson Simmons - John Turturro Leo Spitz - Ramon Rodriguez Ron Witwicky - Kevin Dunn Judy Witwicky - Julie White Alice - Isabel Lucas Galloway - John Benjamin Hickey Special Air Service Forces - Matthew Marsden, Andrew Howard

Director: Michael Bay
 Written by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
 Based on Hasbro's Transformers action figures 
 Producers: Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom Desanto, Ian Bryce, and Don Murphy Executive Producer: Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner, and Mark Vahradian