My personal review with Spoilers******
Ok so I just got back from it. I did enjoy most of the film. The special effects were a little over done this time around but it definitely kept the movie at a non stop pace.
That said in the area of plot the first 30-45 min were a mess. It seemed like they were cramming a bunch of stuff together and such at rapid pace. When you mix that with constant in-your-face special effects it can be confusing. The stuff with the other girl at college was completely useless other than showing that they could transform into humans (which was kinda of cool, but very terminator 3-esque). But I thought once everything started to come together with all the ancient stuff it flowed quite smoothly.
The acting was definitely better. I don't really uinderstand all the hate that Shia Laboeuf gets, the guy is funny and likeable and a very good actor. The stuff with his mental meltdown in the classroom was gold as was his and Fox's exchange in the library. On the the note of Fox, other than her first shot of sitting on the motorcycle in the most bonerific pose possible, she was definitely more than eye candy this time around. She was miles ahead of were she was in the first Transformers as far as the acting is concerned. The two sets of Twin Autobots didnt really seem to serve a purpose other than an attempt at evening the odds with the Decepticons as far as numbers go.
The one scene that had me rolling my eyes a bit was the part after Sam's "death" when he had his vision. But the corniness of that was quickly forgotton because of the emense ass-kicking that Optimus Prime laid out soon after.
Of course if your looking for a sensitive character piece with oscar winning performances you would have to be pretty thick to expect something like that from Transformers. Although as Michael Bay said himself, "it's pretty easy to go to the south of France and film a movie in a vineyard with 2 cast members. People dont understand the work that goes into something like Transformers." And it pays off as the special effects are again awe-inspiring.
All in all I enjoyed the film and would definitely recommend it if you are just looking to have some fun for a little while. If you go looking for great acting (althoguh the acting is not bad) and what not and come away dissapointed its your own fault.
3.5/5
__________________
|