Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Michael Bay
Produced by
Written by
Based on Transformers by
Hasbro
Starring
Music by
Cinematography Ben Seresin
Editing by
Studio
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) June 19, 2009 (2009-06-19) (United Kingdom)
June 24, 2009 (2009-06-24) (United States/Canada)
Running time 149 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $200 million
Box office $836,303,693[2]

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series. The plot revolves around Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the man caught in the war between two factions of alien robots, the Autobots and the Decepticons. Sam is having hallucinatory episodes of Cybertronian symbols, and is being hunted by the Decepticons under the orders of their long-trapped leader, The Fallen, who seeks to get revenge on Earth by finding and activating a machine that would provide the Decepticons with an energon source, destroying the Sun and all life on Earth in the process.

With deadlines jeopardized by possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, Bay managed to finish the production on time with the help of previsualization and a scriptment by his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger. Shooting took place from May to November 2008, with locations in Egypt, Jordan, Pennsylvania and California, as well as air bases in New Mexico and Arizona.

Revenge of the Fallen was released on June 24, 2009, and was a huge box office success, setting records upon release, and grossing a total of $402 million in North America and $836 million worldwide. It was the second most successful film of 2009 (behind Avatar) and 12th overall domestically, and the 28th highest-grossing film of all time and fourth highest of the year (behind Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) internationally. Despite its success at the box office, the film was received poorly by critics, and won three awards at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, including Worst Picture. A third film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, was released on June 29, 2011, in 3-D.

Contents

Plot

Thousands of years ago, the Dynasty of Primes traveled the galaxy to create Energon with sun-absorbing machines called Sun Harvesters. The Dynasty follow a law that no sun can be destroyed if it has life on one of its planets. However, one of the Primes broke this law by setting up a Harvester on Earth in 17,000 B.C. The rest of the Dynasty named him The Fallen, and sacrificed themselves to hide the "Matrix of Leadership", the key to start the Harvester.

Two years after the events of the first film, Sam Witwicky is going to college, and the Autobots have joined the U.S military to create a classifed team, NEST (Network Elements: Supporters and Transformers), an elite joint military organization from the United Kingdom and the United States, selected from the world's top elite soldiers led by Optimus Prime, Major William Lennox and General Morshower, to eradicate Decepticons from all over the globe. While packing for college, Sam finds a shard of the All Spark, which "uploads" its Cybertronian knowledge into Sam's mind. Sam gives the shard to his girlfriend Mikaela Banes for safekeeping, and leaves his guardian Bumblebee behind.

In Shanghai, the NEST Team encounters Demolishor and Sideways. Sideswipe and Optimus take down Demolishor and Sideways, but bring damage and destruction to the public. Demolishor warns Optimus of The Fallen's return before his execution. Reporting to NEST's base in Diego Garcia, the Autobots are patronized by U.S. National Security Advisor Galloway for their actions in Shanghai. Soundwave, the Decepticon's communications officer, hacks into a U.S military satellite, and overhears both the location of Megatron's corpse and the Allspark shard that Optimus removed from Megatron in the first film. After Ravage retrieves the Allspark's shard, it is used to resurrect Megatron's corpse at the Laurentian Abyss. Megatron then flies to the Decepticon flagship Nemesis, where The Fallen instructs him to kill Optimus and capture Sam, as Sam has knowledge that can lead the Decepticons to the Matrix of Leadership.

In college, Sam meets his roommate Leo Spitz, who owns a conspiracy website related to the Transformers' existence. Sam eventually starts seeing and scribbling visions of Cybertronian symbols, and suffers a mental breakdown in his astronomy class. At Mikaela's shop, Wheelie tries to steal the shard, but Mikaela captures him and leaves to see Sam in Princeton. She arrives just as Sam is attacked by the Pretender Alice. Mikaela, Sam and Leo flee and eventually kill Alice, but are then captured by the Decepticon Grindor, who drops them off in an abandoned warehouse. The Decepticons brutally torture Sam to obtain the whereabouts of the Matrix, but the only way to find it is to cut his head off to get to his brain. Optimus and Bumblebee arrive and battle the Decepticons, with Optimus taking Sam into a forest where the Decepticons battle him. Optimus manages to rip apart the head of Decepticon Grindor and wound Starscream by severing his arm off, before Optimus is stabbed and blasted by Megatron. The humans flee with Bumblebee and the Autobot twins, Skids and Mudflap. The NEST team, shocked by their loss, brings Optimus' body to their New Jersey base. Galloway arrives with the news that NEST is being decommissioned after the arrival of the Decepticons.

Meanwhile, the Decepticons kidnap Sam's parents in Paris. The Fallen taps into media signals and broadcasts a demand that the people of Earth deliver Sam to the Decepticons or be annihilated. Leo suggests to Sam that his online rival "RoboWarrior" may be able to help. When the trio find him, they discover that RoboWarrior is actually Agent Simmons from the now defunct Sector Seven. Simmons reveals that the Transformers have been on Earth for millennia and convinces Wheelie to reveal a group of Transformers known as the Seekers. They find and revive the elderly Jetfire. Originally a Decepticon, Jetfire reveals to have changed sides to the Autobots, and teleports the group to Egypt.

Following several clues, the trio find the Tomb of the Primes in Petra. When Sam touches The Matrix it crumbles to dust, but Sam puts the sand in a pouch. The Decepticons arrive and battle the Autobots and NEST, who are aided by the United States Marine Corps, Egyptian and Jordanian military forces. The Constructicon Devastator uncovers the Sun Harvester from a pyramid but is killed by a railgun strike ordered by Simmons. Epps orders an air strike from F-16s, A-10s, and a B-1 Lancer, taking out all of the Decepticons. Sam makes a dash for Optimus Prime's body, but is shot and killed by Megatron before the Decepticon is overwhelmed and flees. Before dying, in limbo, Sam is told by the Dynasty of the Primes that the Matrix of Leadership is not a physical item to be found, but a right that he has earned.

Sam is resurrected from the dead, and when the Matrix reforms itself from the sand in his pouch, he resurrects Optimus. The Fallen then teleports, grabs the Matrix and flies to activate the Sun Harvester. After an attack by their artillery and air support fails due to The Fallen's telekinesis, Jetfire offers his parts to Optimus before dying of wounds inflicted by Scorponok. Using a battle armor made with Jetfire's remains, Optimus destroys the Harvester, defeats Megatron and kills The Fallen. Megatron, who has been severely damaged in the battle, follows Starscream's suggestion and retreats. The Autobots, NEST, Sam, and his friends return to the US, where Sam continues to attend college.

Cast

Main article: List of characters in Transformers (film series)

Voice Actors

Production

Development

In September 2007, Paramount announced a late June 2009 release date for the sequel to Transformers.[3] 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 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 ultimately did not happen.[4][5] 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".[6] The film was given a $200 million budget, which was $50 million more than the 2007 film,[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

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 their pitches, they convinced Orci and Kurtzman to return.[4] The studio also signed on Ehren Kruger, as he impressed Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner with his knowledge of the Transformers mythology,[10] and because he was friends with Orci and Kurtzman.[11] The writing trio were paid $8 million.[4] 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,[11] and Bay expanded the outline into a sixty-page scriptment,[12] fleshing out the action, adding more jokes,[11] as well as selecting the majority of new characters.[13] 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.[14]

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.[15] He wanted the focus between the robots and humans "much more evenly balanced",[16] "the stakes [to] be higher", and more focused on the science fiction elements.[17] Lorenzo di Bonaventura said that in total, there are around forty robots in the film,[7] while ILM's Scott Farrar has said there are actually sixty.[18] Orci added he wanted to "modulate" the humor more,[19] and felt he managed the more "outrageous" jokes by balancing it with a more serious plot approach to the Transformers' mythology.[20] Bay concurred that he wanted to please fans by making the tone darker,[21] and that "moms will think its safe enough to bring the kids back out to the movies" despite his trademark sense of humor.[22] Two elements were added late into the film, the Autobot Jolt - as General Motors wanted to advertise the Chevrolet Volt - and the railgun that kills Devastator - a new acquision by the US Military.[23]

Before Transformers was released, producer Tom DeSanto had "a very cool idea" to introduce the Dinobots,[24] while Bay was interested in an aircraft carrier, which was dropped from the 2007 film.[25] 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,[15] and were unable to fit in the aircraft carrier.[26] 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,[27] but he became fonder of them during filming because of their popularity with fans.[28] 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."[29] However, upon being asked on the subject, Michael Bay said he hated the Dinobots and they had never been in consideration for being featured in the movies.[30]

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.[26] 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.[31] Bay told Empire that Megatron would not be resurrected, claiming his new tank form was a toy-only character,[7] only for Orci to confirm Megatron would return in the film in February 2009.[32] Bay also claimed he faked the leaking of daily call sheets from the first week of filming,[33] that revealed Ramón Rodríguez's casting, and the appearance of Jetfire and the twins.[34]

Filming

Inspired by it's use in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, three action sequences in Transformers Revenge of the Fallen were shot using IMAX cameras.[21] Although in an August 2008 posting Orci suggested that the IMAX footage would be 3D,[35] Bay later said that considering himself an "old school" filmmaker, he found 3D gimmicky. He also added that shooting in IMAX was easier than using stereoscopic cameras.[36]

The former Hughes Aircraft soundstages at Playa Vista served for filming the majority of interior scenes.[37] From June 2, three days were spent on an action sequence at the Bethlehem Steel site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which was used to represent a portion of Shanghai.[12][38] Afterwards, they shot at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.[39] The crew moved to Philadelphia on June 9, where they shot at the defunct PECO Richmond power station, the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, the Eastern State Penitentiary, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia City Hall, Rittenhouse Square, and historic Chancellor Street (which represents a street near Place de la Concorde in Paris), and Wanamaker's.[40][41][42][43] They moved to Princeton University on June 22.[44] Filming there angered some students at the University of Pennsylvania, believing Bay had chosen to reshoot scenes at Princeton and script Princeton's name in the film. However, neither the University of Pennsylvania nor Princeton gave Bay permission to be named in the film because of a "funny 'mom' scene" that both felt "did not represent the school" in which Sam's mother ingests Marijuana-laced brownies for comedic effect.[45]

Bay scheduled a break for filming beginning on June 30, turning his attention to animation and second unit scenes because of the potential 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike.[46] Shooting for the Shanghai battle later continued in Long Beach, California.[47] The crew shot at Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico during September. The two locations were used for Qatar in the 2007 film, and stood in for Egypt in this film.[48] A scale model in Los Angeles was also used for some close-ups of the pyramids.[7] Shooting at Tucson International Airport and the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group's aircraft boneyard took place in October under the fake working title Prime Directive (a reference to Star Trek). This location was delayed from July.[49] Filming also took place at Camp Pendleton and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.[37]

The first unit (including Shia LaBeouf) then shot for three days in Egypt itself, at the Giza pyramid complex and Luxor. For security's sake, the shoot was highly secretive, but according to Lorenzo di Bonaventura, a crew of 150 Americans and "several dozen local Egyptians" ensured a "remarkably smooth" shoot.[50] Bay earned the Egyptian government's approval to film at the pyramids by contacting Zahi Hawass, who Bay recalled "put his arm around me and said, 'Don't hurt my pyramids.'"[37] A 50-foot-tall (15 m) camera crane was used at the location.[7] Four days were then spent in Jordan; the Royal Jordanian Air Force aided in filming at Petra, Wadi Rum and Salt because one of the country's princes liked the 2007 film.[51][52] Filming continued at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, with second unit shots of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.[53] The cast and crew finished on the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis on November 2, 2008.[54]

Bay stated he found the climax of the 2007 film to be weak, partly because it was shot across five different city blocks, making the action confusing and hard to follow. On this film, the final battle in Egypt was devised to make it easier to see what was going on.[55]

Effects

Hasbro became more involved in the designs of the robots than in the 2007 film,[19] and they and Takara Tomy suggested to the filmmakers that combining robots be the main draw for the sequel.[56] They insisted on keeping the alternate modes of some of the returning characters similar, so people would not have to buy toys of the same characters.[57] Bay used real F-16 Fighting Falcon and tank fire when filming the battles.[9] Many of the new Autobot cars supplied by General Motors were brightly colored to look distinctive on screen.[58] Revenge of the Fallen features 46 robots, while the original movie had 14.[59]

Scott Farrar returned as visual effects supervisor and anticipated moodier use of lighting as well as deeper roles for the Decepticons. He stated that with the bigger deadline, post-production will be a "circus".[60] The producers expected that with a bigger budget and the special effects worked out, the Transformers would have a larger role. Peter Cullen recalled, "Don Murphy mentioned to me, 'Only because of the tremendous expense to animate Optimus Prime, he'll be in just a certain amount of [the 2007 film].' But he said, 'Next time, if the movie is a success, you're gonna be in it a ton.'"[61] Michael Bay hoped to include more close-ups of the robots' faces.[62] The heads had to be designed with more pieces in order to express emotions in a more convincing way.[59] Farrar said the animators implemented more "splashes and the hits and the fighting on dirt or moving, banging into trees, [...] things splinter and break, they [the robots] spit, they outgas, they sweat, they snort." Shooting in the higher resolution of IMAX required up to 72 hours to render a single frame of animation.[18][63] While ILM used 15 terabytes for the 2007 film, on the sequel they used 140.[52] Particularly problematic effects were the lighting, with scenes such as Jetfire inside the Smithsonian requiring 41 light sources, and the destruction of the pyramid, which appears in about five shots but required seven months alone to simulate the behavior of the blocks.[59]

Orci hinted the majority of the Decepticons were entirely computer-generated in both robot and alternate modes, making it easier to write additional scenes for them in post-production.[64] Rendering the Devastator took over 85% of ILM's render farm capacity, and the complexity of the scene and having to render it at IMAX resolution caused one computer to "explode".[65]

Music

See also: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - The Album and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - The Score

The score to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was composed by Steve Jablonsky, who reunited with director Michael Bay to record his score with a 71-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage.[66] Jablonsky and his score producer Hans Zimmer composed various interpretations of a song by Linkin Park called "New Divide" for the score.[67]

Marketing

An additional $150 million was spent to market the film globally.[68] Hasbro's Revenge of the Fallen toy line included new molds of new and returning characters, as well as 2007 figures with new mold elements or new paint schemes.[69] The first wave was released on May 30, although Bumblebee and Soundwave debuted beforehand.[70] The second wave came in August 2009, which introduced toys such as 2¼-inch human action figures that fit inside the transforming robots, and non-transforming replicas of the cars that can be used on a race track. Product placement partners on the film include Burger King, 7-Eleven, LG phones, Kmart, Wal-Mart, YouTube, Nike, Inc. and M&M's, as well as Jollibee in the Philippines.[71] General Motors' financial troubles limited its involvement in promotion of the sequel, although Paramount acknowledged with or without GM, their marketing campaign was still very large and had the foundation of the 2007 film's success.[72][73][74] Kyle Busch drove a Revenge of the Fallen decorated car at Infineon Raceway on June 21, 2009,[75] while Josh Duhamel drove a 2010 Camaro at the Indianapolis 500.[76] At the movie's launch in China, a version of Bumblebee was constructed using a Volkswagen Jetta.[77]

Printed media

Chris Mowry and artist Alex Milne, who had collaborated on The Reign of Starscream comic book, reunited for IDW Publishing's prequel to the film. Originally set to be a five part series entitled Destiny,[78] it was split into two simultaneously published series, titled Alliance and Defiance. Alliance is drawn by Milne and began in December 2008: it focuses on the human and Autobot perspectives.[79] Defiance, which started the following month, is drawn by Dan Khanna and is set before either film, showing the beginnings of the war.[80]

After the 2007 film, and serving as a bridge between the two films, Alan Dean Foster wrote Transformers: The Veiled Threat,[81] originally titled Infiltration. During the writing, Foster collaborated with IDW to make sure their stories did not contradict each other.[82]

The first printed media directly related to the second film was a 32-page coloring and activity book by publisher HarperCollins, which became available on May 5, 2009 and was the first official source to openly give out key plot points to the film.[83] On June 1, 2009 DK Publishing published a 96-page book entitled Transformers: The Movie Universe, which intended to provide factual data on the characters of the film.[84]

On June 10, 2009 the comic book adaptation of the film, written by Simon Furman was released.[85] Additionally, Alan Dean Foster also wrote the novelization for the film.[86] Meanwhile, Dan Jolley wrote Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen: The Junior Novel, a 144-page book oriented at a younger audience than the one by Foster.[87] Lastly, a book titled Transformers: The Art of the Movies, was released, documenting behind-the scenes aspects of the making of the film.

Other minor tie-in publications include Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: The Last Prime, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen: The Reusable Sticker Book, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Made You Look!, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen: Rise of the Decepticons, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen: Spot the 'Bots, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Mix and Match, Operation Autobot, When Robots Attack and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 2010 Wall Calendar.

Video game

Main article: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (video game)

Revenge of the Fallen video games are available on the following platforms:

Release

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was premiered on June 8, 2009, in Tokyo, Japan.[94] After its UK release on June 19, 2009, it was released in regular and IMAX theaters in North America on June 24[95] (though some theaters held limited-access advance screenings on June 22). The IMAX release featured additional scenes of extended robot fighting sequences, which were not seen in the regular theatre version.[96]

Critical reception

The film has received generally negative reviews from film critics. Based on 235 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Revenge of the Fallen received an average 20% overall approval rating (the original earned a 57%). Critical consensus was that the film was a "noisy, underplotted, and overlong special effects extravaganza that lacks a human touch."[97] Metacritic gave it an average score of 35 out of 100 from the 32 reviews it collected.[98] In CinemaScore polls, however, users gave the film a "B+", compared to the "A" that the original film had scored.[99] Actor Shia LaBeouf was unimpressed with the film, stating, "We got lost. We tried to get bigger. It's what happens to sequels. It's like, how do you top the first one? You've got to go bigger. Michael Bay went so big that it became too big, and I think you lost the anchor of the movie...You lost a bit of the relationships. Unless you have those relationships, then the movie doesn't matter. Then it's just a bunch of robots fighting each other."[100] Michael Bay has admitted his disappointment with the movie and has apologized saying the movie was "crap" and blamed the 2007-2008 Writer's Strike saying "It was very hard to put (the sequel) together that quickly after the writers' strike (of 2007-08)".[101] According to The Washington Post, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is Bay's worst-reviewed film, faring even worse than Pearl Harbor.[102] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times described the film as "in-your-face, ear-splitting and unrelenting. It's easy to walk away feeling like you've spent 2½ hours in the mad, wild hydraulic embrace of a car compactor".[103]

Roger Ebert, who had given the 2007 film three stars, gave the sequel only one, calling it "...a horrible experience of unbearable length." Later in his review, Ebert discouraged movie-goers from seeing the film by saying "If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination." [104] He later wrote in his blog about the film, "The day will come when Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be studied in film classes and shown at cult film festivals. It will be seen, in retrospect, as marking the end of an era. Of course there will be many more CGI-based action epics, but never again one this bloated, excessive, incomprehensible, long (149 minutes) or expensive ($190 million)."[105] Ebert would continue to lambast the film in other movie reviews and responses to letters and emails sent to him. Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers did not give the film any stars considering that "Transformers 2 has a shot at the title Worst Movie of the Decade."[106] The A.V. Club gave the film a "C-", complaining about the writing and length, and considering the film only works during the action scene that occurs in the last half-hour.[107] Among positive reviews, Amy Biancolli of The Houston Chronicle called it "A well-oiled, loudly revving summer action vehicle that does all that’s required, and then some",[108] Jordan Mintzer from Variety said it "takes the franchise to a vastly superior level of artificial intelligence",[109] and Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Revenge of the Fallen may be a massive overdose of popcorn greased with motor oil. But it knows how to feed your inner 10-year-old's appetite for destruction."[110]

On a year-end poll administered by Moviefone, the film was voted the worst film of 2009, and Fox's performance the worst by an actress that year.[111] Comcast ranked the film as the 4th worst sequel of all time.[112] Empire named the film the 25th worst movie ever made.[113] In June 2009, an Associated Press article by David Germain called the film as the worst-reviewed $400 million hit ever.[114][115]

"On every level this movie is as bankrupt as GM. [...] Transformers: The Revenge of The Fallen is beyond bad, it carves out its own category of godawfulness."
— Peter Travers, American film critic[106]

There was considerable negative reaction to the characters Mudflap and Skids, who some perceived as embodying racist stereotypes. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said that "the characters [...] indicate that minstrelsy remains as much in fashion in Hollywood as when, well, Jar Jar Binks was set loose by George Lucas".[116] Critic Scott Mendelson said "To say that these two are the most astonishingly racist caricatures that I've ever seen in a mainstream motion picture would be an understatement".[117] Harry Knowles, founder of Ain't It Cool News, went further, asking his readers "not to support this film" because "you'll be taking [your children] to see a film with the lowest forms of humor, stereotypes and racism around."[118] Director Bay has attempted to defend the film as "good clean fun" and insisted that "We're just putting more personality in".[119] Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman responded to the controversy with "It's really hard for us to sit here and try to justify it. I think that would be very foolish, and if someone wants to be offended by it, it’s their right. We were very surprised when we saw it, too, and it’s a choice that was made. If anything, it just shows you that we don’t control every aspect of the movie".[120]

Another major complaint about the film was Bay's usage of the IMAX format. Instead of using IMAX for complete unbroken sequences similar to director Christopher Nolan's approach for The Dark Knight, Bay chose to use the format primarily on a shot-by-shot basis, combining conventional 35mm footage and IMAX shots in the same sequence. That approach, combined with rapid cutting of same created a jarring, highly unpleasant experience for most moviegoers.[121]

Awards and nominations

Revenge of the Fallen was among the films shortlisted for the Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards,[122] but was only nominated for Best Sound (Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson) at the 82nd Academy Awards, eventually losing to The Hurt Locker.[123] The film won five Scream Awards, for Best Actress (Megan Fox), Breakout Performance-Female (Isabel Lucas), Best Sequel, Best F/X, and Scream Song of the Year ("New Divide");[124] and two Teen Choice Awards, for Choice Summer Movie Star: Female (Megan Fox) and Choice Summer Movie Star: Male (Shia LaBeouf).[125] Revenge of the Fallen was also nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film,[126] Satellite Awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound,[127] a VES Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture,[128] a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble,[129] and an MTV Movie Awards for Best WTF Moment (Isabel Lucas turning into a Decepticon).[130] LaBouf was nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards for Favorite Movie Actor.

On the other hand, it was nominated for seven Razzie Awards including Worst Actress for Megan Fox (also for Jennifer's Body), Worst Supporting Actress for Julie White, Worst Screen Couple (for Shia LaBeouf and either Fox or any Transformer) and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel,[131] winning three in the Worst Picture, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay categories at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards.[132]

Box office

Despite poor reviews from critics, the film was a box office success. Revenge of the Fallen grossed $16 million on its midnight premiere, at the time the most ever for a Wednesday midnight debut.[133] The film proceeded to beat Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix's record ($44.2 million) for the biggest Wednesday opening in history,[134] bringing in $62 million in total receipts on its first day (until The Twilight Saga: Eclipse topped this record with $68 million),[135] additionally ranking it as the second biggest opening day ever, at the time, behind The Dark Knight.[136] The film grossed $108.9 million on its first weekend, the seventh-largest in history at the time, and brought in $200 million in its first five days, putting it in second place behind The Dark Knight's $203.7 million for all-time biggest five-day opening.[137] Its gross from Friday to Sunday was the biggest June opening weekend for one year, breaking Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban's record ($93.7 million), until Toy Story 3 claimed that record ($110.3 million).[138]

Revenge of the Fallen remained #1 at the box office for two weeks straight, by a close margin. Initial studio estimates showed a tie between it and that weekend's new release Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, but the actuals showed Revenge of the Fallen taking the #1 spot yet again with $42,320,877.[139] Also, it was the first film of 2009 to reach the $300 million mark in North America.[140] On July 27, a month after its release, the movie reached $379.2 million in the US, which brings it into the top 10 highest-grossing movies ever in that country as of August 2009.[141] Revenge of the Fallen closed its box office run with $402,111,870 in North America and $836,303,693 worldwide, being the twelfth highest-grossing film of all time domestically, and the 28th highest internationally.[142] Among 2009 films, it was the second highest grossing in the United States and Canada, behind Avatar,[143] and fourth globally behind Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.[144]

Home media

The film was released on October 20, 2009 on two-disc Blu-ray and DVD editions, and a single-disc DVD version.[145] Michael Bay has revealed that the Blu-ray release of the film, produced by Charles de Lauzirika, will feature variable aspect ratio for the scenes shot in IMAX format. A special IMAX edition is available exclusively at Wal-Mart.[146] Home versions include over three hours of bonus content and several interactive features, including "The AllSpark Experiment", which reveals Michael Bay's plans for a third movie in the series. At Target, the DVD and Blu-ray versions will include a transformable Bumblebee case. Both two-disc editions are the first to include Paramount's Augmented Reality feature, which allows the user to handle a 3D model of Optimus Prime on a computer by moving the movie's package in front of a webcam.[147] First week sales of the DVD reached 7.5 million copies, making it the best-selling DVD of 2009. The Blu-ray version had the best first-week sales of 2009, with 1.2 million units.[148]

References

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