WARNING!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!

Let me start by saying that I loved the first Transformers movie. In all honesty, if I were to make a list of pros and cons about the movie, I think the list would be pretty even. But if you look at the weight of each item, the positive far outweighs the negative. Optimus Prime producing a sword from his hand and decapitating Bonecrusher under the freeway definitely makes up for John Turturro in his Sector 7 underwear getting peed on by Bumblebee.  Likewise, Jazz’s annoying ebonics and breakdancing are more than made up for by seeing his body ripped in half by Megatron’s bare hands while perched atop a skyscraper. The list goes on and on, but the bottom line is that every annoyance in the first film is easily washed away by the sheer badassery of other elements of the film.

Unfortunately, after watching T:ROF, the negative outweighs the positive. It reminded me of a fighter who is being paid to throw a fight. They do just enough to look like they’re trying to win, while the whole time they are setting themselves up to lose.  One of the gripes from the first film was that there weren’t enough robot battles and that the ones that were featured were almost too clunky and awkward to clearly determine who was who.  Director Michael Bay really does a great job of not only throwing in more incredible action scenes, but also in cleaning them up so that they are easier to follow. The action scenes are just awesome and Bay has really upped the brutality level in all of the fights. Watching the Transformers battle it out is what audiences pay to see, and in that respect the flick more than delivers.

Sadly, almost everything between these battles is excruciatingly painful to watch. I can accept the Transformers movie having minimal character development and plot holes big enough to drive Optimus Prime through. However, what kills me is the fact that Bay felt the need to include humor that seemed like it was written by the writers of ‘Meet the Spartans’ and ‘Disaster Movie.’ Robots farting, robot balls dangling, Old Robot with a cane, and a robot leg humping a human are all featured in this film. Are these the elements this incredible franchise is reduced to? Apparently so.

As far as characters, Bay introduces so many meaningless additional characters while at the same time ruining existing characters. There is a Decepticon who can transform into a hot college coed. Her transformation amounts to nothing more than a metallic looking ‘Species’ rip off and her inclusion in the movie is highly unnecessary.  Then there are Sam’s new sidekicks and protectors who have earned the nickname ‘Car Car Binks’ from various other reviews due to their irritating nature and the stereotype they personify. These twins speak in full ebonics, have gold teeth, and are dumb as a box of rocks. While I wasn’t anywhere near as irritated by them as a lot of other people (I actually found them kind of funny in a ‘I can’t beileve I’m laughing at something this stupid’ kind of way) I did feel that their inclusion was also very unnecessary.

Then there are the existing characters. In this film, the almighty Megatron is reduced to, for lack of a better term, a little bitch. In the first film, he was an unstoppable monster who nearly killed Optimus Prime. Here, he is reduced to the role of subservient errand boy. Then there is Soundwave, who is nothing more than a glorified talking sattelite in space. Don’t even get me started on Bay’s treatment of Devastator or Jetfire. One thing is clear, the threat of the Decepticons is considerably less menacing than in the first film.

There are numerous other problems that I had with the film, but these are the more major ones that I can think of right now. Is it a good movie? yes, but by no means is it great. There are quite a few elements that make it worth watching. The previously mentioned action scenes are top notch. While the physicality of the Transformers seems to have lost a bit of freshness from the first movie, it is still a blast to watch them throw down on screen.  Sam’s interaction with his parents is still pretty damn funny. Surprisingly, John Turturro is less annoying in this film and is actually one of the funnier, more entertaining characters. Believe it or not, Megan Fox actually got a bit hotter in this film also.

So while the movie didn’t quite live up to the hype and promise of the original, it is still very entertaining despite all of its flaws. I’ll be watching it again since i have to take my son to go see it. Who knows, maybe my opinion of the film will change after another look.  As it stands in my mind right now, it’s a good and entertaining flick that is definitely worth watching at least once.