Watching ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’
Sorry to be remiss in my usual roundup of the latest high-def releases during my extended wisdom teeth excursion. (To be honest, yesterday’s selection was pitiful, so I’m not too torn up about it.) I’m back now, though still heavily medicated. Perhaps it was this state that led me to pick up the critically reviled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on Blu-ray disc yesterday.
This was a blind buy for me (I skipped it in theaters), and I must be honest: I didn’t hate it. That said, I can’t really think of anything good to say about it. It has no quality, it was merely entertaining enough to hold my interest, even at an undoubtedly long two-and-a-half hours. There are, however, a number of bad things to be said that all jump immediately to mind, despite my mild affection for the movie as a whole. Its blatant racism, its vulgarity masquerading as “edge,” that makes-no-sense slutty girlbot (since when can the Transformers replicate human flesh???). All in all, however, I must say that I found this one slightly more coherent than the original. That is, I usually understood what was going on and who everyone was, which was not always the case when I first saw Transformers in theaters two years ago.
As for the Blu-ray, the image looked good (grainy and washed out by design) and the sound was incredible. The version I picked up was Walmart’s exclusive “Big Screen Edition,” which includes some footage only seen previously in IMAX theaters, and shows off all the IMAX-shot footage in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio à la The Dark Knight. (The rest of the film is in ‘Scope.) This “big screen” format really makes a lot more sense for the exceptionally tall Transformers. There is also a “Big Screen Edition” standard-def DVD, also a Walmart exclusive, which presents the film the same way. This edition, on both DVD and Blu-ray, is currently available at most Walmart locations for $19.96.
What did you think of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen? Will you be buying it on DVD or Blu-ray, renting it, or skipping it altogether?
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