Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Jump to Comments

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an American science fiction action film which was released on June 19, 2009 in the United Kingdom and June 24, 2009 in North America. It is the sequel to 2007’s Transformers, which was the first live action Transformers film. Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg return respectively as director and executive producer, while Shia LaBeouf reprises the role of Sam Witwicky, the human caught in the war between Autobots and Decepticons. The film introduces many more robots and the scope has been expanded to numerous countries, most notably France and Egypt.

A major hurdle that was overcome during the film’s production was the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. Bay finished the production on time with the help of previsualization and a scriptmentby his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger. Shooting took place from May to November 2008.

Development

In September 2007, Paramount announced a late June 2009 release date for the sequel to Transformers, and Bay began creating animatics of action sequences featuring characters rejected for the 2007 film. This would allow animators to complete sequences if the Directors Guild of America went on strike in July 2008 (which did not happen as the DGA signed a new deal). The director considered making a small project in between Transformers and its sequel, but knew “you have your baby and you don’t want someone else to take it”.The film was given a $200 million budget, which was $50 million more than the 2007 film,  and some of the action scenes rejected for the original were written into the sequel, such as the way Optimus is reintroduced in this film. Lorenzo di Bonaventura said the studio proposed filming two sequels simultaneously, but he and Bay concurred that was not the right direction for the series.

Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman originally passed on the sequel because of a busy schedule. The studio began courting other writers in May 2007, but as they were unimpressed with theirpitches, they convinced Orci and Kurtzman to return. The studio also signed on Ehren Kruger, as he impressed Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner with his knowledge of the Transformers mythology, and because he was friends with Orci and Kurtzman. The writing trio were paid $8 million. Screenwriting was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, but to avoid production delays the writers spent two weeks writing a treatment, which they handed in the night before the strike began, and Bay expanded the outline into a sixty-pagescriptment, fleshing out the action, adding more jokes, as well as selecting the majority of new characters. The three writers spent four months finishing the screenplay while “locked” in two hotel rooms by Bay: Kruger wrote in his own room and the trio would check on each others’ work twice a day.

Orci described the film’s theme as “being away from home”, with the Autobots contemplating living on Earth as they cannot restore Cybertron, while Sam goes to college. He wanted the focus between the robots and humans “much more evenly balanced, the stakes [to] be higher”, and more focused on the science fiction elements. Lorenzo di Bonaventura said that in total, there are around forty robots in the film, while ILM’s Scott Farrar has said there are actually sixty.  Orci added he wanted to “modulate” the humor more, and felt he managed the more “outrageous” jokes by balancing it with a more serious plot approach to the Transformers’ mythology. Bay concurred that he wanted to please fans by making the tone darker, and that “moms will think its safe enough to bring the kids back out to the movies” despite his trademark sense of humor. Kurtzman created the film’s title. The filmmakers considered incorporating the comics’ character of G. B. Blackrock, but Bay considered the name too cartoonish.

During production, Bay attempted to create a misinformation campaign to increase debate over what Transformers would be appearing in the film, as well as to try to throw fans off from the story of the film. However, Orci confessed it had generally not been working.  The studio went as far as to censor MTV and Comic Book Resources interviews with Mowry and Furman, who confirmed Arcee and The Fallen would be in the picture. Bay told Empire that Megatron would not be resurrected, claiming his new tank form was a toy-only character, only for Orci to confirm Megatron would return in the film in February 2009. Bay also claimed he faked leaked daily call sheets from the first week of filming, that revealed Ramón Rodríguez’s casting, and the appearance of Jetfire and the twins.

Reception

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has received negative to mixed reviews. It received a 22% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the film’s US debut, and is certified as “rotten”., Nick De Semylen of Empire magazine gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, calling it “a super-sized second helping, but the novelty factor and some of the charm’s gone. Hey, at least there’s more Megatron /Starscream squabbling this time round.” Ray Bennett of the Hollywood Reporter commented on his review that “fan boys will no doubt love it, but for the uninitiated it’s loud, tedious and, at 147 minutes, way too long.” Roger Ebert, who had given the first film 3 stars, gave Revenge of the Fallen only one star, calling it “…a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments.” Total Film gave it four out of five stars.

Next

As a preemptive measure, Paramount announced a July 1, 2011 release date for a third Transformers film before completion of Revenge of the Fallen. Bay responded, “I said I was taking off a year from Transformers. Paramount made a mistake in dating Transformers 3 – they asked me on the phone – I said yes to July 4 – but for 2012 – whoops! Not 2011! That would mean I would have to start prep in September. No way. My brain needs a break from fighting robots.” Like Revenge of the Fallen, Orci refused to guarantee whether he and Kurtzman would return to a sequel, because “we risk getting stale”.Orci has mentioned he would like to introduce Unicron “for Christ’s sake”.The co-writer also said introducing more Triple Changers would be interesting.(Megatron is already the first Triple Changer in the series, retaining two Cybertronian modes)

Before Transformers was released, producer Tom DeSanto had “a very cool idea” to introduce the Dinobots, while Bay was interested in an aircraft carrier, which was dropped from the first film. Orci claimed they did not incorporate these characters into Revenge of the Fallen because they could not think of a way to justify the Dinobots’ choice of form and were unable to fit in the aircraft carrier Orci also admitted he was also dismissive of the Dinobots because he does not like dinosaurs (“I recognize I am weird in that department,” he said), but he became fonder of them during filming because of their popularity with fans. He added “I couldn’t see why a Transformer would feel the need to disguise himself in front of a bunch of lizards. Movie-wise, I mean. Once the general audience is fully on board with the whole thing, maybe Dinobots in the future.”

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen  released on June 19, 2009 in the United Kingdom and June 24, 2009 in North America. It is the sequel to 2007’s Transformers, which was the first live action Transformers film. Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg return respectively as director and executive producer, while Shia LaBeouf reprises the role of Sam Witwicky, the human caught in the war between Autobots and Decepticons. The film introduces many more robots and the scope has been expanded to numerous countries, most notably France and Egypt.

A major hurdle that was overcome during the film’s production was the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. Bay finished the production on time with the help of previsualization and a scriptmentby his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger. Shooting took place from May to November 2008.

No spoiler here- coz i have not watch it yet!

Progress

In September 2007, Paramount announced a late June 2009 release date for the sequel to Transformers, and Bay began creating animatics of action sequences featuring characters rejected for the 2007 film. This would allow animators to complete sequences if the Directors Guild of America went on strike in July 2008 (which did not happen as the DGA signed a new deal). The director considered making a small project in between Transformers and its sequel, but knew “you have your baby and you don’t want someone else to take it”.The film was given a $200 million budget, which was $50 million more than the 2007 film,  and some of the action scenes rejected for the original were written into the sequel, such as the way Optimus is reintroduced in this film. Lorenzo di Bonaventura said the studio proposed filming two sequels simultaneously, but he and Bay concurred that was not the right direction for the series.

Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman originally passed on the sequel because of a busy schedule. The studio began courting other writers in May 2007, but as they were unimpressed with theirpitches, they convinced Orci and Kurtzman to return. The studio also signed on Ehren Kruger, as he impressed Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner with his knowledge of the Transformers mythology, and because he was friends with Orci and Kurtzman. The writing trio were paid $8 million. Screenwriting was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, but to avoid production delays the writers spent two weeks writing a treatment, which they handed in the night before the strike began, and Bay expanded the outline into a sixty-pagescriptment, fleshing out the action, adding more jokes, as well as selecting the majority of new characters. The three writers spent four months finishing the screenplay while “locked” in two hotel rooms by Bay: Kruger wrote in his own room and the trio would check on each others’ work twice a day.

Orci described the film’s theme as “being away from home”, with the Autobots contemplating living on Earth as they cannot restore Cybertron, while Sam goes to college. He wanted the focus between the robots and humans “much more evenly balanced, the stakes to be higher”, and more focused on the science fiction elements. Lorenzo di Bonaventura said that in total, there are around forty robots in the film, while ILM’s Scott Farrar has said there are actually sixty.  Orci added he wanted to “modulate” the humor more, and felt he managed the more “outrageous” jokes by balancing it with a more serious plot approach to the Transformers’ mythology. Bay concurred that he wanted to please fans by making the tone darker, and that “moms will think its safe enough to bring the kids back out to the movies” despite his trademark sense of humor. Kurtzman created the film’s title. The filmmakers considered incorporating the comics’ character of G. B. Blackrock, but Bay considered the name too cartoonish.

During production, Bay attempted to create a misinformation campaign to increase debate over what Transformers would be appearing in the film, as well as to try to throw fans off from the story of the film. However, Orci confessed it had generally not been working.  The studio went as far as to censor MTV and Comic Book Resources interviews with Mowry and Furman, who confirmed Arcee and The Fallen would be in the picture. Bay told Empire that Megatron would not be resurrected, claiming his new tank form was a toy-only character, only for Orci to confirm Megatron would return in the film in February 2009. Bay also claimed he faked leaked daily call sheets from the first week of filming, that revealed Ramón Rodríguez’s casting, and the appearance of Jetfire and the twins.

The Receptions

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has received negative to mixed reviews. It received a 22% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the film’s US debut, and is certified as “rotten”., Nick De Semylen of Empire magazine gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, calling it “a super-sized second helping, but the novelty factor and some of the charm’s gone. Hey, at least there’s more Megatron /Starscream squabbling this time round.” Ray Bennett of the Hollywood Reporter commented on his review that “fan boys will no doubt love it, but for the uninitiated it’s loud, tedious and, at 147 minutes, way too long.” Roger Ebert, who had given the first film 3 stars, gave Revenge of the Fallen only one star, calling it “…a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments.” Total Film gave it four out of five stars.

So what’s Next ???

As a preemptive measure, Paramount announced a July 1, 2011 release date for a third Transformers film before completion of Revenge of the Fallen. Bay responded, “I said I was taking off a year from Transformers. Paramount made a mistake in dating Transformers 3 – they asked me on the phone – I said yes to July 4 – but for 2012 – whoops! Not 2011! That would mean I would have to start prep in September. No way. My brain needs a break from fighting robots.” Like Revenge of the Fallen, Orci refused to guarantee whether he and Kurtzman would return to a sequel, because “we risk getting stale”.Orci has mentioned he would like to introduce Unicron “for Christ’s sake”.The co-writer also said introducing more Triple Changers would be interesting.(Megatron is already the first Triple Changer in the series, retaining two Cybertronian modes)

Before Transformers was released, producer Tom DeSanto had “a very cool idea” to introduce the Dinobots, while Bay was interested in an aircraft carrier, which was dropped from the first film. Orci claimed they did not incorporate these characters into Revenge of the Fallen because they could not think of a way to justify the Dinobots’ choice of form and were unable to fit in the aircraft carrier Orci also admitted he was also dismissive of the Dinobots because he does not like dinosaurs (“I recognize I am weird in that department,” he said), but he became fonder of them during filming because of their popularity with fans. He added “I couldn’t see why a Transformer would feel the need to disguise himself in front of a bunch of lizards. Movie-wise, I mean. Once the general audience is fully on board with the whole thing, maybe Dinobots in the future.”

Can you believe it! it’s fully book till next week!

ARGH!!!!

dont comment about the plot on this post or else ill snap!

3 Comments

Filed under movies