Transformers – Die Rache

Kein Gefühl für das Maß und der gute Geschmack von Michael Bay in der zauberhaften, eleganten Welt der ersten Transformers?! Die Transformers erleben eine ähnliche Entwicklung wie Bad Boys II. Der Produzent Spielberg ist verschwunden, Bay macht, was er will. Der erste Film war super, weil er eine vernünftige Mischung aus angenehmen Aspekten war: die visuelle Feier der Schönheit von Megan Fox, das Funken zwischen ihr und dem schüchternen Shia, das allmähliche Kennenlernen der super Roboter. Jeder von ihnen hatte seinen Platz im Drehbuch, sie haben Verwunderung und Sympathien ausgelöst. Der Film hatte es nicht eilig, er hat jede Szene genossen. Die einzige Sache, die ich nicht so gut fand, war die Unübersichtlichkeit der Actionszene im Finale. Im zweiten Teil geht es nur darum, dass Megan und Shia Explosionen meiden (in unübersichtlichen Actionszenen). Der Humor hat sich verändert, jetzt soll man einen kleinen Roboter lustig finden, der auf Megans Stiefel Bewegungen wie ein Hund macht (!). In dem Film gibt es zu viele Roboter, das Potenzial ihres Individualismus ist verschwunden. Manche sind sogar nervig (die "Paare", welche die Helden begleiten). Und wenn ein Roboter endlich für Begeisterung sorgt, wird er gleich durch seinen riesigen Stahlhoden entthront, unter dem John Turturro mit einem Funkgerät die Marineinfanterie ruft (!!). Ich habe mir nicht gewünscht, dass sich Transformers in diese Richtung begeben. Ganz zu schweigen von dem zersplitterten Drehbuch, in dem die Handlung nur ein dünner Faden für die ständigen Action-Orgien ist, die das Publikum nach zwei Stunden einfach NICHT befriedigen können… (19.06.2009)

100% concentrate of one artist. From another director, I would love it, but this Bay… and I can only take him dissolved. Everything bangs, everyone is gorgeous, everyone is American… and then the humour, the humour!!! Horny dogs, a stoned mum, moron robot twins… Two stars for the special effects, otherwise it’s rubbish. (15.08.2011)

Michael Bay has transformed himself into his own genre, where he has made his own rules that physics, logic, and even Spielberg himself cannot affect. On the other hand, no one else has such perfectly stitched visuals with slow-motion shots of the characters' hellishly serious faces, military formations, and the setting sun with heroic music blaring. It’s off the rails, without a drop of judgment and a sense of calm. And with the overblown runtime, it hits the viewer with the vigor of a little cheeky brat whose rich parents bought him a lot of toys from Hasbro and he doesn't know what to do with them out of mischief. So there are explosions everywhere and in between all this we have Shia and Megan, who just happen to look good again. I admit that I have probably never felt so awkward after leaving the movie theater for having actually liked this. But I don't want to see it a second time, not without the assistance of the big screen. PS: Even after a second viewing, it's still surprisingly entertaining. In a perversely demented way, but it's fun. :) (23.06.2009)

Bay steigert gerne. Demnach ist der Zweier größer, explosiver, infantiler, dümmer, lobotomierter ... vielleicht ein bisschen lustiger. Kurci und Ortzman haben die meisten intelligenten Schüsse im Startrek-Prequel-Drehbuch abgefeuert, sodass sie in diesem Hasbro-Mischmasch keine andere Wahl haben, als den in der Tat dementen Handlungsstrang mit guten Gags sowie selbstparodisierenden Sprüchen anzugehen. Und das ist ja auch schön, denn ansonsten erschien mir die Rache der Blechfiguren wirklich unerträglich vor. Es ist ja auch so eine solide Belastung für das Nervensystem, zweieinhalb Stunden Destruktion Zerstörung, verwirrende Action oder murrende Betonmischer zu beobachten. Vor allem deshalb, weil es im Gegensatz zum Einser nicht mehr eingeweidenzerreißend ist, sondern nur noch quietscht. Das Überraschungsmoment ist somit weg, so dass das Emmerich-Rezept zur Geltung kommt: "Wenn Du nicht mehr weißt wohin, schmeiß´ einfach die größte Länderei zum Fenster hinaus". Fürs Ende hat für mich der göttliche Míša diesmal sein doch so geliebtes Pathos in rohem Zustand vorbereitet, wofür ich ihm danke und einen Zinnkuss sende. Ich weiß, dass Bay-Film-Liebhaber vor Glückseligkeit sabbern werden, denn für einen Betrachter, der außer einer Tonne an Stahlpanzer auch eine kleine Prise Grip gerne benutzt, bleibt Star Trek der diesjährige Blockbuster. Und sämtliche von Bay´s TOP-Leistungen ändern hieran auch nichts. (19.06.2009)

Naked robot genitals across the screen. Robot Jar Jar Binks in duplicate. Optimus "Conan" Prime. Devastators remake of the scene with Legolas on the Oliphaunt. “Mythology". A fire farting and leg rogering little robot. A huge, rusk robot with a walking stick who (for a change) farts out a parachute. A camp pug. A cowardly Megatron. Silicon heaven not included. Bay simply let rip. What else do you expect. Unlike the second Bad Boys, he let rip in the wrong direction. Seriously infantile. Michael, I want those politically incorrect brothers back, not prattling midgets... um, midgibots! (23.06.2009)

I would deserve a slap for expressing everywhere that the other Transformers cannot be great. Because they, in fact, once again gave me a sense of absolute happiness that cinema has given us blockbusters. The revenge of the defeated may not rewrite history and will never be anything other than a thrilling ride, which surpasses the story with its visuals (even though it is irresistibly fairy-tale-like). Those who were so captivated by the adventure of the boy and his protector are suddenly disappointed when Bay's vision brings something even more magnificent. Not me, I bow before the story of the same boy, who, however, has much more to do this time. Enthusiasm, wide-eyed and touched by how intoxicating a film can be. I go to the cinema because of this, and I'm sorry that the series never reached this peak again. (27.06.2009)

Hm. I saw a lot of action, but sometimes I just didn't know who was with who, where is what. The beginning was decent, I enjoyed it, but then it went downhill, although the action and noble gestures increased. Too bad, I just wasn't enjoying it. Anyway, if I were a guy I'd add a star for Megan Fox's cleavage, those running scenes, they really could have used some slow motion, eh? X-) But then again, I didn't expect more from it, so no disappointment. Definitely worse than the first one. The message "love and peace and memories" was sent again, so I'm expecting another installment. (22.07.2009)

I hate people. I’d like to help the Decepticons destroy that gang of worms that call themselves human kind. Movie theaters always used to be a place to escape from niggling reality, an oasis of peace and quiet where nobody spoke and let themselves be carried off to fantastic places with the help of a projector and a silver screen. But to conclude, so we can get on to the movie. If I meet that jerk who was spitting in my hair and talking about what was going to happen in the next scene once again, I’ll rip out his eyes and tongue. But, let’s get to the important things. Revenge is a full-blooded action popcorn movie which is slightly brought down by the unnecessarily intricate mythology (which is full of holes anyway). It would have helped if it had been a little briefer. In any case, the action is excellent and mainly it’s less confused that in the first part. The fight in the forest is unbeatable. The finale is nice and completely over the top with loads of robots, where the only downside it that the movie pays too little attention to them. Bay simply wanted to do everything at once, but it wasn’t really worth it (well, in money terms it was actually worth it, but I didn’t mean that). It’s still effective, but it isn’t how it should be. As for the actors, Shia is cool, his character is split between two images of Sam - a poor student with typical problems and a veteran who has some experience behind him - and he pulled it off with flying colors. Moreover, both he and John Turturro were the only ones with really good snappy lines and their scenes together are the best parts of the movie (apart from the FIGHTS). And Megan Fox is foxier than ever. I just hope that in part three they manage to balance the ingredients so that it could rock like it did before. P.S.: Optimus is awesome. (23.07.2009)

Transformers 2 hat mir fast genauso viel Spaß gemacht wie Nummer eins. Auch hier muss man den Film mit Vorsicht genießen, aber innerhalb des Action-Genres ist er gut gemacht, auch wenn es stimmt, wie andere gesagt haben, dass es stellenweise so viel Action gibt, dass alles ein bisschen überladen wirkt. Mir hat gefallen, dass die Geschichte diesmal nicht nur in der Stadt spielt, sondern zu einem großen Teil in der Wüste, die als Drehort ihren ganz eigenen Reiz hat. Auch hier haben sich die Macher nicht auf reine Action beschränkt und uns eine Reihe von witzigen Szenen serviert, für die vor allem Sams Eltern (insbesondere seine Mutter), die Roboterzwillinge und der Robo-Greis sorgen. Die romantische Linie war dieses Mal ziemlich erzwungen, aber sei's drum - zum Glück gab es nicht zu viel davon. Zusätzlich zu diesen Handlungsebenen hat mich auch beeindruckt, dass die Macher die Transformers-Mythologie aufgedeckt haben. Daher ist es ein schwächerer Film, aber immer noch vier Sterne - hätte ich den Film damals im Kino gesehen, wäre es sicher glatte vier gewesen. (27.06.2019)

Michael Bay hat tatsächlich alles explodieren lassen, was ging, viel Action, Schießereien, Explosionen und eine Prise Humor mit einer guten alten Truppe. Weder hervorragend, noch ausgesprochen schlecht. Transformers verstehe ich als ein Märchen für Teens und Erwachsene als Relax von der bedrückenden Realität. Sich für zweieinhalb Stunden in ein Multikino setzen und sich in Bays Welt hineinziehen lassen... (12.08.2009)

This series has never grown on me since the first installment. However, I have seen all three of them. I watched the first one out of interest, the third one because my brother wanted to go to the movies after years, and they happened to be showing it, which could have looked cool in the cinema. As for the second one, I watched it to fill the gaps between the first and the third film. It's not worth it. Michael Bay just confirmed that he's a freak for technology, and that's the only conclusion the film brings. The robots may look cool, the effects are actually good, but the story disappeared somewhere with the jokes that are inserted into the main character's mouth. Shia LaBeouf should be the catchy cool guy who carries the whole film, but he's just a clumsy person who got his hands on super toys that he loves. "Transformers" are actually like adult "Toy Story", but with the difference that this is pure masturbation over super awesome technology, grand action, and completely dumb story. And Megan Fox? I definitely won't be one of those who daily search the internet for her new photo where she shows at least 20% of her left nipple. If Megan is compared to Angelina, someone has made a big mistake because Angelina, as far as I know, can act excellently when she wants to. Megan just has a pretty face. As soon as she left - in the third film, she had to be replaced by a model who didn't play any role - I immediately gave the film 10% more. And I wasn't the only one. But the second one is simply a travesty. Summer blockbusters like this should be banned. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/06/nebezpecne-znamosti-jak-ztratit-kluka.html (21.02.2013)

There are basically two distinct perspectives that can be applied when evaluating the second Transformers. We can think of this megalomaniacal project by director/businessman Michael Bay as superficial "popcorn" rubbish that serves only to give us visual satisfaction and leave us brainwashed by a dozen different brands of nonsense and screenwriting blunders. The second view is probably the easiest to characterize by conceiving of the whole film as a completely unpretentious diversion, and laughing at the many clichés and "Americana", but still expecting some visual paint and Bayesian camera flourishes, while maintaining some reasonable level of taste for all manner of explosions, carnage, and the general tolerability of said visual pageantry. Personally, I found the second one to be a pretty action-packed but still workable and immensely entertaining spectacle that I'm happy to "switch off" in front of and certainly don't consider to be anything stupid or tasteless. I agree with the opinion that the first one was slicker, less superficial, and had some heartfelt moments. On the other hand, Michael Bay is an animal :) and when you let him out of his cage, he can run amok and what a little kid does with planes, cars, and robots in his room, Bay realizes right on the screen with the help of real planes, ships, and cars. A heady, heavily unintellectual little thing:) (26.06.2011)