---
title: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
year: 2009
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen"
fi1m_score: 34
critics_score: 35
critics_reviews: 16
published: "2026-09-16T15:02:03.732507+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-16T15:02:20.556677+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Directed by Michael Bay · 2h 30m · MPA PG-13 · Science Fiction, Action, Adventure

**Fi1m score: 34** · Critics 35 from 16 reviews

*In a sentence:* Two and a half hours of robots fighting for reasons nobody seems keen to explain

> Michael Bay’s robot sequel is poor: the machines look convincing, but the fighting becomes tedious long before its 150 minutes are over. Crude jokes and muddled storytelling leave the effects doing almost all the work.

## Synopsis

Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) and Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel) are among the humans caught up in battles between giant machines. Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen), Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving) and the Fallen (voiced by Tony Todd) are among the robots involved. The human contingent also includes USAF Chief Master Sergeant Epps (Tyrese Gibson), Simmons (John Turturro) and Leo Spitz (Ramón Rodríguez). Military action and chases accompany the robot combat, with slapstick and comedy between the fights.

## Review

Michael Bay wants *Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen* to give us more machines, more combat and fewer opportunities to catch our breath. That is a reasonable enough ambition for a robot sequel, provided we can follow the fighting and care who comes out of it. We cannot do either often enough here. This is a poor action film with some remarkable effects, stretched to 150 minutes by a story that manages to be thin and difficult to follow.

Those effects deserve their due. The machines have a convincing physical presence, and the amount of moving machinery can briefly hold our attention without help from the script. Ben Seresin’s cinematography is less successful at making the combat readable: too often, the image contains more metal than we can usefully sort into opponents. Nigel Phelps’s production design fares little better, since there is scant pleasure in the surroundings when following the combat takes this much effort. The effects remain the main attraction.

The editing by Joel Negron, Tom Muldoon, Roger Barton and Paul Rubell struggles to make the chases feel urgent. A chase can be busy and still seem to have gone on for ages, especially when the next bout of fighting offers much the same experience. We were bored by the repeated collisions of machinery, then irritated that so much skilled work was making so little difference. The cuts keep demanding a fresh response to familiar destruction. Too little changes between one fight and the next.

Alex Kurtzman, Ehren Kruger and Roberto Orci supply a screenplay whose complications do little to give the action a persuasive purpose. Complication would be welcome if it made the choices more interesting. Instead, the film asks us to keep track of information while giving us little reason to care about it. Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky and Megan Fox’s Mikaela Banes struggle to become people whose company we might want between battles. The script gives them too little that feels particular or worth listening to.

The comedy makes the waiting harder. John Turturro, playing Simmons, finds some laughs through the commotion, and his contribution is a useful reminder that this need not have been such a joyless business. Elsewhere, the crude slapstick and racial caricatures substitute easy recognition for an actual joke. Repeating them does not help. The treatment of Megan Fox is similarly wearying, with the camera more interested in looking her over than the screenplay is in giving her something to play.

Steve Jablonsky’s score adds to the insistence that all this should feel momentous. It gives the spectacle weight, but offers little relief in a film with so little quiet. An action adventure can be ridiculous and still be exciting; it needs a clear immediate problem and some variation in how it approaches it. Here, solemnity, vulgarity and fighting are piled together until even the potentially enjoyable excess begins to feel routine. The noise makes the length harder to forgive.

There are flashes of invention in the action, enough to explain why a devoted admirer of these machines might persevere. We would not dismiss the effort that makes them look so convincing, or insist that a robot fight should justify itself with a lecture. We do expect to know why one fight matters more than another. Those coming for mechanical spectacle may find enough to occupy them; anyone hoping for a lively evening should make another choice.

*Fi1m score 34, published 16 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond negatively to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, with even the more forgiving reviews stopping short of a firm recommendation. Praise clusters around the visual effects: the machines convince, and several reviews find invention and occasional fun in Michael Bay’s action sequences. There is scattered appreciation for the comedy, but little support for the story or characterisation, which most critics find too thin to sustain the prolonged fighting.

The main disagreement is over how much the spectacle compensates for those weaknesses: Time Out finds enough inventive action to make surrender possible, while Den of Geek finds the action flat despite the impressive effects. The spread runs from qualified enjoyment to outright hostility, with excessive length, confused plotting and numbing noise recurring across the reviews. Several critics also object to racial caricatures, sexism or militaristic posturing, treating these as substantial failings rather than incidental lapses of taste.

### Reviews we read (16)

- **Screen Daily** (65/100, inferred): Bay delivers a sprawling, frenetic, blasting, bloated tentpole surgically assembled for core demographics with a certain sense of fun, though the 149-minute runtime drags and the plot is both perfunctory and convoluted. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen/5002498.article)
- **Time Out**, Tom Huddleston (3/5): It boils the blockbuster down to PG violence, safe sex and special effects with largely absent narrative logic, yet offers inventive action sequences and becomes irresistibly lunatic in its climactic desert battle, leaving viewers to surrender or suffer. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-1)
- **Variety**, Jordan Mintzer (60/100, inferred): The film is longer and louder than the original, with impressively lifelike machines and superior effects that serve as the centerpieces, though the narrative makes little effort to set up the fights. [Read](https://variety.com/2009/film/reviews/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-1200475112/)
- **Empire**, Nick de Semlyen (50/100, inferred): The sequel is a bigger, more excessive version of the first film with wild bad-taste jokes and impressive effects sequences, but it accentuates the original's flaws with baffling plotting, forgettable robots and a numbing experience overall. The spectacle saves it just about, though more brains would have helped. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/transformers-revenge-fallen-review/)
- **Little White Lies**, Matt Bochenski (2/2/2): The critic views the film as a frenetic, over-the-top spectacle pushing Michael Bay’s style to its extreme, with some arresting action scenes and sensational effects, but faults its lack of logic, poor storytelling, and conservative politics. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/transformers-revenge-fallen)
- **The AV Club**, Tasha Robinson (40/100, inferred): The review portrays the film as the Platonic ideal of a bigger, louder sequel that recycles the first film's beats but ultimately delivers a massive, eye-popping combat sequence in the final half-hour. Excessive chase scenes, vulgar comedy, slapstick, and ethnic caricatures are criticized, though the action payoff is acknowledged as what audiences likely wanted. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-1798206452)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Ray Bennett (30/100, inferred): The critic describes the sequel as a nonstop whirl of battling machinery that will please devoted fans but finds it loud, tedious, and far too long for others. The massive battles and box-office potential are noted positively, while the simplistic plot, lack of characters or comedy, and overwhelming noise are singled out for complaint. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/transformers-revenge-fallen-film-review-93267/)
- **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the film cretinous and tedious, with inane visual ideas and noxious stereotypes, though it wears viewers down with its outlandish spectacles and dumb fun. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/movies/24transform.html)
- **Slant Magazine**, Nick Schager (10/100, inferred): The critic calls the film banal, belligerent, and brain-dead, succeeding only at falling far short of bare-minimum cinematic standards through incoherent, fetishistic action and racial stereotyping. The plot's lack of inspiration, unintelligible mayhem, and extended runtime are highlighted as major flaws. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (10/100, inferred): The critic finds the film loud and boring, comparing it to watching paint dry while being hit over the head with a frying pan. He singles out the excessive length, uninteresting and directionless plot, and Megan Fox's wooden performance for particular complaint. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jun/19/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-megan-fox-michael-bay)
- **The Independent** (10/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a pretentious, nonsensical, sexist, jingoistic and militaristic muddle that exemplifies everything repulsive about Hollywood blockbusters. The long runtime is filled with incoherent plotting, identical CGI robots, leering camerawork and offensive stereotypes rather than characterisation or thrills. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-michael-bay-147-mins-12a-gigantic-matt-aselton-97-mins-15-1711232.html)
- **Digital Spy**, Simon Reynolds (40/100, inferred): The critic notes it fulfills expectations as a stupid, silly blockbuster with impressive spectacle but criticizes the lack of emotional core, character, and story, making it soul-destroying and tedious at times. Praises some comedic moments like John Turturro's performance. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a160106/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen/)
- **The Playlist**, Rodrigo Perez (40/100, inferred): The film is not a complete disaster but is too long, overwrought, and cartoonish, with racist elements and self-important grandeur that doesn't land. It resembles Bay's Pearl Harbor in its histrionics and is far from fantastic even by his standards. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/revenge-of-fallen-not-quite-disaster-20090623/)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (C minus): The critic is disappointed by the sequel to the first film, criticizing its weak humor including racist caricatures, meaningless spectacle, and lack of story or characters that make the action unengaging. [Read](https://collider.com/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-review/)
- **Den of Geek**, Luke Savage (2 out of 5): The critic finds it a terribly disappointing sequel by the numbers with a weak, confusing story and flat action scenes despite impressive effects. They single out the comedy moments and some technical wizardry for praise. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-review/)
- **/Film**, Russ Fischer (3/10): The film is dull, ponderous, and overlong, with incoherent storytelling, tedious military elements, and a sense of being made by a teenager for teenagers. A few IMAX sequences provide the only real entertainment value amid the chaos. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/504292/movie-review-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen/)

## Details

- **Director:** Michael Bay
- **Director:** Michael Bay
- **Writer:** Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
- **Cinematography:** Ben Seresin
- **Editor:** Tom Muldoon, Roger Barton, Joel Negron, Paul Rubell
- **Music:** Steve Jablonsky
- **Production design:** Nigel Phelps
- **Costume design:** Deborah L. Scott
- **Producer:** Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Ian Bryce, Tom DeSanto
- **Cast:** Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky; Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes; Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime (voice); Hugo Weaving as Megatron (voice); Tony Todd as Fallen (voice); Josh Duhamel as Major Lennox; Tyrese Gibson as USAF Chief Master Sergeant Epps; John Turturro as Simmons
- **Runtime:** 2h 30m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 24 June 2009
- **Genres:** Science Fiction, Action, Adventure
- **Budget:** $200 million
- **Box office:** $836 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnXzKwUgDhg

## Where to watch in the US

- Paramount+: streaming, hd
- Pluto TV: free
- The Roku Channel: free, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $16.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-16.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2010: Best Sound (nominated)
- Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie 2010: Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture 2009: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture (won)

## If you liked this

- *Pacific Rim* (2013): Giant machines fight enormous creatures, and the scale remains pleasingly easy to follow.
- *The Iron Giant* (1999), Fi1m 88: A boy’s friendship with a robot gives the destruction something worth worrying about. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-iron-giant.md)
- *RoboCop* (1987), Fi1m 91: Mechanical bodies, corporate cruelty and jokes with a much sharper sense of purpose. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/robocop.md)
- *The Host* (2006): A monster emergency stays personal through one family’s quarrels, mistakes and stubbornness.
- *Patlabor: The Movie* (1989): Heavy machinery meets patient detective work in a city worth paying attention to.

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen