Two years ago on July 3rd, 2007, the world was introduced to the film “Transformers” based off of the toys from Hasbro. The film was directed by Michael Bay (Armageddon, The Rock) and produced by film giant Steven Spielberg. With its groundbreaking special effects and well written comedic storyline, the film became a box office success and made its star Shia Labeouf a bonafide movie star. With the release of the sequel “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, the sequel has proven that both films are pop culture phenomonons.

Lets face facts though, we are not talking about “The Godfather” here. These films are strictly effect driven and were made for pure entertainment. Looking at it for what it is, this is the perfect summer sequel. There is way more action, everything is bigger and badder than its predecessor, and Shia Labeouf isn’t the only force to be reconned with in this film. His co-star actress Megan Fox was a fresh face in the first one, but now since she has been established she is right up there with her leading man. No one can deny that the robots are the real stars of the films, but Fox’s presence is definitly greater in this sequel, and I think no one will complain about that.

All of the surviving robots from the first film are back for round two, as well as new autobots and a lot more new decepticons. The Fallen is the main antagonist in this one, although we see more of his pawns fight until the end when he shows up. The premise has changed but is still very much the same as the first one. “Revenge of the Fallen” actually focuses less on the premise and more on the action. Sam and Micheala go through some dramatic changes this time around as Sam heads off to college while leaving Micheala behind. Some comic relief is added with the presence of Sam’s college roommate, but this fails to crack more than just a smile. A lot of the characters from the first film are absent, but that’s ok because they’re just replaced by robots. Sam’s parents are back as well as John Turturro’s character, so thankfully the comic relief do not rest on the shoulders of the roommates character.

Overall, “Revenge of the Fallen” is an entertaining film. I wouldn’t say it is better than the first, but it didn’t make me wish that they should have left it well enough alone. The premise is not as easy to follow as was the first film. It does get somewhat confusing at times. The action is much better and greater, but at times I did find myself getting confused about which was an autobot and which one is a decepticon. The roommate character also was worn thin about after 10 minutes of being onscreen. With a running time of 148 minutes, I did not feel it dragged on at all. It definitly is the hit summer movie to see, and I hope they keep the ball rolling for the 3rd time around.