'Transformers' sequel overpowering; lacks novelty, charm

TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

2 stars Rated PG-13

Director Michael Bay delivers a giant sucker punch and reels in the curiosity seekers hook, line and sinker in this sequel to the 2007 box office sensation.The bloom is off the rose with the flip side of everything that went right in the original being done wrong in this follow-up effort. This instantly forgettable popcorn flick requires that you check your brain at the door.

The sights and sounds bombard your senses into a numbing catatonic state. It is a special effects extravaganza with eye candy provided by Industrial Light & Magic. The major set pieces are a series of military battles involving giant metallic alien robots and soldiers armed with heavy artillery. The superficial human characters are merely window dressing to a clash for world domination between the good Autobots and the bad Decepticons. The acting, character development and dialogue are irrelevant, meaningless and superfluous.

The only reason to see the film is to watch massive mechanoids, composed of whirring cogs, twirling cranks and assorted industrial component parts that require lubricating oil, clanging, smashing and crashing into each other. The movie ups the ante with 46 robots this time around - versus 14 in the first film - including Devastator, whose alternate mode is several heavy construction vehicles.

The male contingent will ogle 23-year-old Tennessee native Megan Fox who reprises her role as the brassy, hot-chick car mechanic Mikaela Banes. She is scantily clad to best show off her gorgeous body. The camera plays on her sex appeal status alternating between come-hither poses and escapist action behind the wheel of a fast car or running away from danger with her chest heaving. Shia LaBeouf ("Eagle Eye" and "Disturbia") is back in the nerdy lead role of Sam Witwicky. He is off to college for just two days before he embarks on a treasure hunt for a 1,000-year-old matrix.

New characters added include his roommate Leo (Ramon Rodriguez) who believes that the Internet is pure truth and a strikingly beautiful coed Alice (Isabel Lucas) who has ulterior motives for getting Sam to let his guard down. Sam's parents Ron and Judy (Kevin Dunn and Julie White) are back for comedic relief. Other returning characters are Captain Lennox (Josh Duhamel), Sergeant Epps (Tyrese Gibson) and the still obsessed former government agent Simmons (John Turturro).

The actors are there to merely fill space between the giant robot fights and pyrotechnic displays. The movie tries hard to be funny with jokes that never rise above a sophomoric level. The forced romance subplot between Fox and LaBeouf seems out of place when measured against the serious threat posed by the robots to total annihilation of the human race.

The novelty, charm and goodwill generated by the original blockbuster are missing. Although the frenetic action scenes are bigger and on a larger scale, there is way too much to absorb in one sitting. This sequel starts in 17,000 B.C. with the notion that the worlds of robots and humans have come into contact long before the events of the first movie.

Then the movie fast forwards to the present, when the Autobots and the U.S. military have formed an alliance. Their classified strike team is determined to wipe out any remaining stray Decepticons. A toxic spill is a cover-up to the enemy bots rearing their ugly transforming heads with the threat that The Fallen shall rise again and take revenge. The main combatants, Optimus Prime and Megatron, take turns being resurrected so they can square off in the ultimate confrontation.

The climax set in Egypt surrounded by pyramids seems to go on forever. Bay has changed the cinematic landscape with his own brand of pyrotechnic chaos, wild excesses and confident swaggering flourishes that in combination deserve the label Bayhem. This alien blood feud leaves no stone unturned and piles on the destruction in the wake of each succeeding war game maneuver. Everything but the kitchen sink is thrown at the screen in excessive helpings. This summer escapist fare with a running time of 147 minutes may prove harmful to your health.

The IMAX version is available exclusively in Johnson County at AMC Studio 30.

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