Revenge of the Fallen’ Was So Bad for a Specific Reason

While many grew up with Transformers as their most cherished toy, the jump onto the screen has been more of a love-hate relationship, from the cheesy cartoon made to enjoy with your favorite sugary cereal to the live-action blockbuster movies to the most recent animated film, Transformers One. The history of the Autobots and the Decepticons has always been somewhat divisive. This is particularly true of the live-action movies, with none of them being critical darlings and sparking debate and mixed reactions from audiences.

The divisive view of the franchise can be pinned down to various things, but it is hard to deny that the subpar Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the film that started the trend and drove that divide deep into the fandom. Yet, some behind-the-scenes issues plagued the movie, hurting the overall execution of the film and leaving a blight on the franchise. This is why Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen failed and how it still ended up being a box-office success.

‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ Is the Franchise at Its Worst

Release Date

June 24, 2009

Runtime

150 Minutes

It seems ages removed from the first live-action Transformers movie, released in 2007, with seven films now in the franchise. The first film in the Transformers franchise was a massive success, introducing the public to the civil war on Cybertron, leading to an ongoing battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons and the quest for the Allspark, which managed to land on Earth. The movie, which would star Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, would go on to kill it at the box office; off a budget between $145 million and $200 million, it would gross $709.7 million globally. The real push for success came from the phenomenal special effects, which would see the movie landing rotten with critics, but it was a fan favorite, 57% to 85%.

After the success of 2007’s Transformers, the sequel, 2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, should have been a slam dunk for Michael Bay and Paramount Pictures. Yet, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which looked to continue the first film’s events while deepening the lore behind the conflict between the two robot factions, was not met with nearly the same fanfare. Critics were hard on the film for similar reasons, but even the audience’s score saw a dip, with the movie standing at 19% rotten by critics and 57% on the Popcornmeter. The second film would not be the only movie in the franchise to score a shockingly low score, but it marked a turning point in the reception of the Transformers movies and director Michael Bay.

Transformer Live-Action Movies:

• Transformers (2007) — Directed by Michael Bay
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) — Directed by Michael Bay
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) — Directed by Michael Bay
• Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) — Directed by Michael Bay
• Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) — Directed by Michael Bay
• Bumblebee (2018) — Directed by Travis Knight
• Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) — Directed by Steven Caple Jr.

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‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ Was Still a Hit Despite Bad Reviews

The critical and fan reception to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was pretty harsh on release. The initial film did leave an unfavorable impression among critics as an action film with no narrative substance, but they were much harsher on the second. This includes Dana Stevens of Slate, who cleverly lambasted the movie’s mindless plot by saying, “The cacophonous final showdown between Jetpack and Camshaft, or whatever the last robots standing are named, takes place in some abstract dimension of pure blockbusterdom, impervious to human identification or emotion. It isn’t my war, and if it rages on into the summer of 2010, I plan on defecting to Canada.” The film’s lack of emotional or meaningful storytelling is at the core of many negative reviews, with the few positive scores at best calling it a popcorn flick to tune out to.

Despite the negative reviews from critics and fans, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was still a huge box office success, even more so than the original, earning $836.5 million globally off a budget of $210 million. How did this happen? Are American audiences gluttonous for punishment? The Transformer franchise has found great success overseas, particularly in China, with the global box office often outdoing the domestic. Notably, 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction became China’s highest-grossing movie, beating out Avatar when it brought in over $300 million. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen would create an unfortunate trend: focus marketing on China and bank on the franchise name value over storytelling.

What Made ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ So Bad?

The goal of any movie should be to have all elements work; even ‘big dumb’ action flicks benefit from having a story with a bit of heart. So, even though the Transformers franchise has been largely successful, why was there such a decline in storytelling quality? Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was affected by a writer’s strike in 2007/2008. The result was a rushed script that would be incomplete when the movie started shooting. The rushed scheduling caused some aspects of the story to fall flat, be nonsensical, or poorly thought out, such as introducing a mysticism to the origin of the Transformers. The special effects were also strained to compensate for the lack of script, leading to a less impactful presentation than the first entry.

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To some, the Transformers films have always been bad, with those who dislike Micheal Bay pointing towards his involvement in making mindless popcorn fodder with little redeeming value. In contrast, others cherish the amazing action sequences Michael Bay has created. It is a love-hate relationship with the director and the Transformers franchise, and there are those out there who don’t see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen for the car wreck it is; to each their own. If you want to check out the film and judge for yourself, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and other Transformers films are streaming on Paramount+.