Well. I’ve taken some heat for reviews in the past, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen such… interesting reactions to one of my reviews as I have for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Of course I don’t really care – back in the day it used to bother me when someone flamed me for a movie review, but now I actually get a kick out of it. 
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Of course I’m not alone – go to any site that gathers up an aggregate of movie critics’ opinions and you’ll see similar numbers when it comes to Transformer 2. The number of positive reviews for the sequel to the highly successful first film is abysmally low:
RottenTomatoes.com: 20%
MetaCritic.org: 35%
TopTenREVIEWS.com: 1.7 out of 4
Even over at IMDB.com, where it’s mainly “regular people” voting for films, it’s only getting 6.7/10 – not bad, but not an overwhelming vote of quality from “Joe Average.”
On the other hand, two days shy of being in theaters for even a full week, the film has already earned over $200 million in the U.S. and close to $400 million worldwide, and our very unscientific poll here on Screen Rant shows that 74% of visitors here rate the film either a 4 or 5 out 5 stars.
What did you think of Transformers 2?
- 5 stars - Perfect robot awesomeness (50%)
- 4 stars - Not the best, but still kick-ass (21%)
- 3 stars - Good, could have been much better (12%)
- 0 stars - Ridiculous, totally sucked (8%)
- 1 star - Terrible except for a couple of scenes (5%)
- 2 stars - A barely OK action movie (4%)
Total Votes: 3,811
Loading ...The result? A backlash against movie critics the likes of which I’ve never seen before. There are accusations of impartiality (”you hated the first one so of course you hate this one!”), being too old to “appreciate” the film, being generally unclear on the concept of a “fun, summer popcorn movie,” and my favorite: Not liking it because I (and other reviewers) are snobby, elitist critics.
Generally speaking, action films that do well at the box office tend to get at least half way decent reviews (The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Spider-Man 1 & 2, etc.), but this has to be the best-performing, worst-reviewed film in recent memory.
It seems that Michael Bay (who, for the record, I do not “hate” – his film The Rock is one of my favorite movies to pop in the DVD player from time to time) has tapped into the formula for entertaining the teen moviegoer who is easily amused by cool visual effects, big explosions and titillating shots of hot babes.
What’s ironic is that many of the same “elite” critics that skewered the sequel actually LIKED the first Transformers film, so those accusations are pretty ridiculous. Fine, I’m not one of those who liked the first one, but over at Rotten Tomatoes the first film had almost triple the positive score of the sequel (57% vs 20%), MetaCritics had almost double (61% vs 34%) and at IMDB where non-critics vote it was 7.4 vs 6.7.
The other funny thing is that here at Screen Rant I actually try to write reviews to help the average person decide whether or not to drop their hard earned bucks at the local multiplex. I also generally rate movies within the context and genre of where they fit and what they set out to accomplish. In other words I don’t judge Oscar-contender dramas on the same scale as a great comedy or an awesome Sci-Fi film. That’s why I can give Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, the amazing documentary Enemies of Happiness and Serenity all 5 out of 5 stars. Each of those films has a different goal, and each of them meets or exceeds it within the context of its genre.
Some may call that inconsistent, but I never claimed to be objective in my reviews – I have a certain taste and regular readers come to know that point of view and can judge whether or not they’ll like a film based on that particular point of view.
So as to the accusation of being an “elite snob,” here are a few movies that I consider “popcorn flicks” and which have received good reviews from me – and in some cases I’ve taken heat for being too easy on them:
- Get Smart
- Friday the 13th
- Eagle Eye
- The Signal
- Cloverfield
- Beowulf
- Shoot ‘Em Up
- Live Free or Die Hard
- Black Snake Moan
- Unleashed
So if a string of explosions, big CGI effects sequences, bad jokes and sight gags, no plot, lousy acting (HELLO Megan Fox) and foul language in a movie based on a toy line that will attract under-10-year-olds doesn’t strike me as a “fun” movie, that’s not my problem.
If you want GOOD action movies, keep supporting movies like Star Trek, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Hellboy, etc.
However, if you want more empty action movies, by all means, go see Tranformers 2 three or four times. But when you get a bit older and appreciate movies that have a good story and characters you can care about, don’t complain that there’s nothing but crap at the megaplex – because it’ll be your own fault.
82 Comments
I know. It’s like they’re not even trying, lol. But I think Abrams helped a lot more than just the directing area with Trek. In the hands of someone else, the Trek film may have been Trensformers. Who knows?
@Kel…
That is why I hope that Abrams is on board for the Trek sequels. I pray, PRAY that someone like Bay isn’t at the helm for the sequels.
As to this article. I have not seen this film and I will probably wait until I get it through Netflix. I tend to agree with Vic about alot of the films he reviews (although I did enjoy the first Transformers). Vic is usually fair and I have to laugh at the people who call him biased. I’ve said it before, but this is the best movie blog on the web.
Oh, and “Shoot ‘em Up” was awesome. I’d love to see a sequel to that flick!
Andy, I agree. And I would kinda like it if Abrams took another shot at Superman. His script from before was terrible, but that was before he was Abrams.
And the rant IS the best movie site on the net!
Vic is right folks seen Dark Knight 5 times,Star Trek 3 times Transformers II once was enuff they cram a whole lot of G1,G2,and the Pretender Bot no acting,and a lot of Boom I just hope that G.I. Joe don’t suck!
I screen rant is the only site I like. I use to use comicbookmovie like crazy then I found this place and it’s my new home.
I’m not a fan of Abrams I find him to be way over rated, but Trek was great. I was shocked. Because I’m not a big fan of him and I hate the original Trek series with a passion. However the new Trek was great.
I don’t get the appeal of Shoot Em up. I forget his name, but the main bad guy in it is an amazing actor and it sucks to see him do a movie like that, but he’s done worse and I think he just takes any role he can get. Because he has done some real stinkers. Shoot em up was ok to me, but nothing special. It was just one of those overly violent to over compensate for something else movies.
The more I think about Transformers II the more I hate it. I’ll never sit through that again. People at work keep telling me the movie was great and made perfect sense. Mankind may be nearing its end.
@ viper moon
I wouldn’t get my hopes too high for G.I.Joe not sucking…
I do have to say, this summer has almost felt like one huge bust. I never would have expected Star Trek to be the best movie to have come out of all the movies I was eagerly anticipating.
Also, I had no idea both Transformers and Star Trek were written by the same people. That’s bizarre.
I guess it’s true that more than just writing goes into the making of these movies.
Not to bash Bay again and praise the writers but it goes to show you what the producers and directors can do to a movie.
If you have Abrams and good writers you get Star Trek.
If you have Bay and good writers you get Tranformers II.
What would have happened if Bay had bad writers . . .
I wonder what would have happened if Transformers had Abrams. Think of the possibilities! Keep the incredible CGI, better acting, far better humor, no stupid sexual jokes, and robots that actually act like alien robots. That movie would be the greatest money-maker of all time.
Ka’ pla! to Kahless!
A brillant suggestion.
A Transformers movie we could ALL be proud of.
Robots with personality, humans showing true emotion, all with great CGI effects AND a plot.
No wait – that’s way too much to expect. What’s the matter with me? I must have lost my mind. Expecting great action and great story in the same movie. Idiot I am . . . .
@Fury
ROTFLMBO!!!
No, no, no Mr. Kahless. This is not a laughing matter.
If we have any expectations in regards to a “summer pop-corn movie” then we could easily be called snobs and elitists.
And you know better than I – there’s nothing worse then a Klingon Elitist.
Yes there is, humaaan…..a petaQ who thinks this movie is honorable!!!
You’re killing me Fury!
I can’t help but laugh at this, all the drama this movie has caused between everyone. It’s hillarious I think I’d agree that the story lines faulty, but most movies are! But I’m not gona say anything else, just that Vic your the man! Hahaha I believe “angel dust” was true when he said that you’re a tricky fellow haha
just think in 20 years, we get to look forward to movies involving guys who use playing cards in games that come to life!
….still waiting on the live action Jonny Quest movie to be announced…with Shia LeBeefsteak as Race Bannon!
@Vic
As Gaff said to Deckard at the end of Blade Runner,
“You’ve done a MAN’S job, sir”
Keep it up. Forget the nay-sayer’s, like you said, We can’t fire you….You’re the boss!
Give me back my $15 Michael Bay! to.
It is possible for Transformers to be better if Abrams made it, but at the same time remember Abrams isn’t flawless some of his movies are not great either. Also at the end of the day no matter who sits in that chair it will still be a movie about giant alien robots that turn in to cars. It can only be so good.
DOESNT MATTER WHAT WE SAY BAD OR GOOD…IF THE MOVIE MADE MONEY ITS ALL THAT COUNTS IN HOLLYWOODS EYES..TRANSFORMERS2 MADE ALOT OF MONEY.
CAPSBOY has spoken.
End of discussion. Goodnight.
@Fury2701
hahahahahaha
Has anyone else ever thought about the fact that these new movies are breaking box office record profits because every year ticket prices go up by a few dollars? Do the numbers take into account inflation?
For instance maybe 5 or 6 years ago, matinee prices were around 5 to 6 dollars. Now they are 10 to 12 dollars. So if today’s movie only sells a little more than half the tickets of older movies, it breaks the box office records! That doesn’t seem right!
What if they started measuring by number of tickets sold? I’d like to see those numbers.
@dataschmuck
well i don’t know where you live… but most of the place i go matinee prices are still 5 to 6 dollars and i live in New York.
DataSchmuck a lot of places are still roughly 6 for matinee. In my city they are 5.50. Regular price to get in is 8.50 and has been for 10 years over here as well or right around there I think in the last 10 years they went from 8 to 8:50.
Anyway if you go to Boxofficemojo.com they show the adjusted top 100 movies of all time. It’s not 100% accurate they even admit it on the site if you do a little digging, but it’s as close as you’ll get.
We pay $15-$18 in OZ. That translates to roughly $13-$15US.
I tend to wait for them to come out on Box office or DVD now, unless its something I really HAVE to see, like Harry Potter, or Star Trek.
Some films have to be experienced with a theatre full of strangers to be enjoyed.
@Datashmuck
They also release films on FAR more screens than they used to.
Vic
^^^^ Touché.
Does money made by a movie really say anything of the quality? The Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers franchises make a lot of money too, you know.
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