Let me start this off...Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is not a good movie. However, it is very watchable and wildly entertaining if you're in to action films. Seems contradictory, no? This movie is balls-to-the-wall action in the purest form, and that's about all it does well, but it does it VERY well.

Story: The script is awful. I could write something better when I was 10, and I mean that. It is in no way realistic AT ALL, and yes, this is sci-fi/action so it's not supposed to be realistic. My point is this: real people don't say "Bring the rain" and "I have a destiny" in reference to their lives or military operations. That's bullshit, and it pisses me off. That's like Saturday morning cartoon writing, not something that you advertise for years as an epic summer blockbuster. The comedic bits in it are funny when not being crude and racist. The twin Autobots Mudflap and Skids are this generations Jar-Jar Binks, to quote Colin Murphy. Wildly unnecessarily, and overwhelmingly racist and stereotypical to the point where it makes me angry that the characters were even included in the film in this regard. The fact that Michael Bay defends the characters as being "good clean fun" makes me even more upset. My respect factor for him has dramatically dropped.

The story is largely incomprehensible with more holes than swiss cheese. The ideas behind the story are very interesting, if not completely different from the original origin story in Transformers lore. The Primes, the Fallen (in a completely different aspect than the original), are used moderately well, however, it seems like the writers had very little imagination when it came to the technicalities and particularly the naming of certain things...Matrix of Leadership? Really? At least keep the original name of the Creation Matrix, please, at least that implies what the device does! The story ties in moderately well with the first movie, but in some regards it leaves the audience with a very "...what?" feeling.

The cast of robots has at least doubled, and this is generally a good thing, with the inclusion of Demolisher (who should've had a larger part in my opinion) in the beginning in Shanghai, Ravage is always a welcome addition, Devastator and the Constructicons were awesome, Soundwave was good but needed a larger role, Sideswipe was AWESOME and needed a MUCH larger part, and Jetfire as an ancient Decepticon-turned-Autobot Blackbird was probably one of the most entertaining if not strangely interesting parts of the story.

The Fallen needed a larger role and more explanation. Simple as that. The use of the Space Bridge (the instant teleportation that Jetfire and the Fallen do) according to Transformers lore needed to be explained.

Robots that didn't need to be there: Skids and Mudflap the twins (again), Arcee had a tiny part with one line, Sideways (who all us of mistook for Barricade from the original in a new form) had about one minute of screen time before he was literally diced in half by Sideswipe (easy to get those two confused...), Jolt was useless and most people I think didn't even notice him. Wheeley the little RC monster truck was annoying and obnoxious. The bastardized inclusion of a Pretender was a little sketchy in the sense "where the hell did this come from??" Since when could they perfectly mimic humans? Completely unnecessary and unexplained inclusion.

Megatron should've been renamed as Galvatron after his resurrection as per the original story, but for some reason the writers decided this was a bad idea...his evolution in his new form is certainly interesting, seeing that his form is now slightly different due to the new parts from the cannibalized Scrapper. Oh, another thought: Scrapper is in the movie three times. He gets ripped apart to rebuild Megatron, then you see him again as becoming part of Devastator, and then you see him a third time (!) chasing Shia and Megan's characters through the desert! Grindor just should've been kept as Blackout. End of story. He has the same exact form and weapons and the production team used the same exact model for the two characters. I thought it was him the whole time! Slight inconsistencies, no? It's the lack of thought like these examples that make me think that the writers and production team just didn't care.

Acting: The acting overall is good, but would've been much better had the script been any kind of decent. Shia LeBouf is still humorous and engaging, and Megan Fox still is mediocre yet attractive. On that subject, there were way too many voyeuristic camera angles and dirty humour. Seriously juvenile. The voice actors for the Transformers were spot on. Can't beat Hugo Weaving as Megatron and Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, being the original voice actor from the cartoons!

Bottom line here is that the acting was well done, but again, the script prevents the human actors from being able to unleash their best potential. Also, don't take young children to this. Much language is used in the film including shit, bitch, fuck (once, to keep their PG-13 rating), and pussy.

Effects: The visuals are bar none. The improvements made from the original film to this are very readily apparent, showing that the robots are indeed living things in the sense that they have "blood," they spit, cough, cry, etc. The fights in this make every fight in the original that we thought was epic look like nothing. Optimus Prime vs. Megatron, Starscream, and Grindor (still think he's really Blackout) all at once in the forest, interacting with the live action scenery is incredible to watch. Jetfire's fight with Mixmaster and Scorponok was brief yet satisfyingly brutal. Bumblebee vs. Rampage and Ravage was epic. Optimus' fight against the Fallen was epic. Moral of the story: don't screw with Optimus Prime.

The outrageous amount of product placement from the first movie is back in force, this time even more so, with GM essentially demanding that the Chevy Volt (as the almost unnoticeable Jolt Autobot) be included in the film in order to have a tad of advertising.

The railgun effect was cool yet utterly ridiculous.

The end.

Conclusion: On a scale of A, B, C, D, or F, Transformers 2 gets a solid C. This is a movie that if you want to see it in theatres, go to a matinee. Thank you, Dexter, for buying my ticket! Otherwise, wait til it comes out on DVD and borrow it from a friend. If you can ignore the horrible writing and holey and widely incomprehensible story, then you may like it. As mindless entertainment and unbridled action this film most certainly succeeds. The action/effects get an A+, the story gets a D.

Don't even rent it; borrow it or download it and watch it on your bigscreen with surround sound.