‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’
The follow-up to 2007’s ‘Transformers’ is more of the same: ultra-stylish explosions, some occasional ridiculous plot devices, and dialogue so bad it doesn’t bear thinking about.

But then, that’s the point isn’t it? A movie about giant alien robots that have the ability to turn into any high-tech piece of automotive eye candy they choose, is never going to a appeal to anybody on an intellectual level.
The plot isn’t really worth going into detail about here, but if you’ve seen the first movie, you know it will be relatively convoluted, and ultimately, not that important.

There’s no denying the fact that ‘Revenge of the Fallen’ is a treat for the eyes. The special effects are seamless, with effects company ILM pushing the envelope yet again with their blend of computer graphics and motion capture, often leaving the audience scratching their heads and asking how on earth did they do it.

Shia La Beouf has perhaps the most difficult role here, as Sam Witwicky, the main human protagonist. One can imagine that the majority of his filming involved acting alongside the empty spaces where the Transformers would be digitally added later, which is no mean feat.

It is disappointing then that the other members of the cast don’t necessarily find this method as natural as La Beouf, leading to an array of clunky and awkward performances. The humour, while occasionally hitting the mark, feels completely out of place for what is essentially a kid’s movie, including some decidedly adult conversations between the parents of Sam (La Beouf).

Director Michael Bay is notorious for these kinds of effects movies, and while occasionally he gets the human element right too (‘Bad Boys’, ‘Armageddon’), here all he seems to have cared about is blowing things up.

Steven Spielberg as executive producer must have known that if you want explosions, you get Bay for the job. All in all, a satisfying blockbuster– just remember to leave your brain at the popcorn stand.

Rating: 3 out of 5

‘Moon’
We meet Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) on the final two-week stint of his three-year contract working for Lunar Industries. His role at their lunar station is to harvest and supply supplies of helium-3, the clean fuel used on Earth.

All communication with Earth is done through recorded video messages as the live feed has malfunctioned. Sam’s only personal interaction is with an artificially-intelligent assistant robot called Gerty, voiced by a typically laconic Kevin Spacey, who attends to most of his everyday needs.

The isolation and loneliness begin to affect Sam’s mental well-being and he begins having hallucinations. While focusing on his reunion with his wife and child back on Earth, and distracted by another hallucination, he accidentally crashes his mechanical harvesters and is knocked unconscious.

He awakens back at the station in the infirmary, presuming he has been assisted by Gerty. He discovers all is not as it seems, and a surprise appearance by another astronaut leads him to further question his own sanity.

The remainder of the movie is a big surprise, but the twist is so unexpected and treated with such smarts, that the viewer can’t help but be impressed by what director Duncan Jones has achieved, especially on, by today’s standards, a shoestring budget.

The visual effects and set decoration are sublime, and really hark back to classic science fiction such as ‘Alien’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

Both the script and Sam Rockwell’s performance are nothing short of spectacular and surely ‘Moon’ will gain huge recognition come awards season. The incidental score also deserves a mention as does Kevin Spacey’s voice work as Gerty.

The audience was clearly wowed by the movie’s emotional climax, and ultimately by the questions it raises as an allegorical reflection on the ethical vagueness of many multinational corporations.
‘Moon’ is highly recommended viewing.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5