Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a American science fiction action film which was released on June 19, 2009 in the United Kingdom and June 24, 2009 in North America.It is the sequal of 2007's Transformers the second film in the live action Transformers series. Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg respectively as director and
executive producer, while
Shia LaBeouf reprises the role of
Sam Witwicky, the human caught in the war between
Autobots and
Decepticons. The film introduces many more robots and the scope has been expanded to numerous countries, most notably
France and
Egypt. The plot revolves around Sam, who had visions of Cybertronian symbols and being hunted by
Evil Decepticons to awake their long-time-hidden leader,
The Fallen.
Revenge of the Fallen achieved the highest Wednesday opening gross in history, bringing in $62 million in North America alone and close to $100 million worldwide; this is also the second-highest opening day gross of all time, behind only The Dark Knight's $67.8 million. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is currently the highest grossing film of 2009, beating out Angels & Demons which previously held the title.
STORY BOARD
It is revealed that thousands of years before Optimus Prime and the other Transformers arrived on Earth, there was a race of ancient Transformers who scoured the universe looking for Energon sources. Known as the Dynasty of Primes, they used a weapon called the Sun Harvester to drain stars of their energy in order to convert it to Energon and power Cybertron’s AllSpark. The Primes agreed that life-bearing worlds would be spared, but when one brother, who was thereafter dubbed "The Fallen", constructed a Sun Harvester on Earth in 17,000 BCE, the remaining brothers sacrificed their bodies in order to hide the Matrix of Leadership, the key that powers the Sun Harvester, from The Fallen, who swore to seek revenge upon Earth once he found the key.
In present day, two years after the events of the first film, Optimus now leads NEST, a military organization consisting of human troops and his own team of Autobots—including newcomers Arcee, Sideswipe, Jolt, and the twins Skids and Mudflap. While on a mission in Shanghai to kill Decepticons, NEST learns that The Fallen is coming. Back in the United States, Sam Witwicky finds a splinter of the destroyed AllSpark, and upon contact the splinter fills his mind with Cybertronian symbols, which he is initially unaware contain a riddle that leads to location of the Matrix of Leadership. Sam gives the AllSpark splinter to his girlfriend Mikaela Banes, for safe keeping, and leaves her and Bumblebee behind to go off to college. Upon arrival, Sam meets his college roommate Leo Spitz, who runs an alien conspiracy website, and Alice, a co-ed who makes sexual advances towards him. Back home, Decepticon Wheelie tries to steal the shard, only to get captured by Mikaela and getting his eye burnt. Mikaela immediately leaves to get to Sam, after he had a mental breakdown, uncontrollably writing in Cybertronian language.
Decepticon Soundwave hacks into a US satellite to eavesdrop on the NEST forces, learning the location of the dead Decepticon leader Megatron, and where another piece of the AllSpark exists. The Decepticons retrieve the shard and use it to resurrect Megatron, who flies into space and is reunited with Starscream and his master, The Fallen. The Fallen instructs Megatron and Starscream to capture Sam in order to discover the location of the Matrix of Leadership. Mikaela arrives in town just as Alice, who is revealed to be a Pretender, attacks Sam. Mikaela, Sam, and his roommate Leo destroy Alice, but are captured by Decepticon Grindor. The Decepticon known as "The Doctor" prepares to remove Sam's brain, but Optimus and Bumblebee appear and rescue him. Later on, Megatron is helped by Grindor and Starscream. In the ensuing battle, Optimus ends up getting killed by Megatron.
After Prime's death, Megatron orders a full-scale assault on the planet. The Fallen speaks to the world and demands they surrender Sam to the Decepticons or they will continue their attack. Sam, Mikaela, Leo, Bumblebee, the Twins and Wheelie regroup, Leo believing his online rival "RoboWarrior" may be of assistance. "RoboWarrior" is revealed to be former Sector Seven agent Simmons, who informs the group that the Transformers have visited Earth before, as their language is written on ruins all over the world. Wheelie identifies the language as that of the Primes, and directs the group to a former Decepticon named Jetfire, who can translate the language. They find and reactivate Jetfire, who teleports the group to Egypt and explains that the tomb of the Primes is located in the surrounding desert, and only a Prime can kill The Fallen. By following the clues, the group locates the Matrix, but it crumbles to dust in Sam's hands. Believing the Matrix can still revive Optimus, Sam collects the dust and instructs Simmons to telephone Major William Lennox to bring the other Autobots and Optimus's body.
The military arrives with the Autobots, but so do the Decepticons, and a battle arises. During the fight, Decepticon Devastator is formed and unearths the Sun Harvester in one of Egypt's pyramids before being destroyed by the US military. Jetfire arrives in time to save the group from Mixmaster, but is mortally wounded by Scorponok. The Air Force carpet bombs the Decepticons, but Megatron breaks through the offensive and kills Sam.
In a vision, Sam meets with the other Primes, who tell him that the Matrix of Leadership is not found but earned, which Sam has done, and send him back. The dust reassembles to form the Matrix, which Sam uses to revive Optimus. The Fallen steals the Matrix shortly after that and activates the Sun Harvester. In a final effort, Jetfire volunteers his parts and spark, giving Optimus the power he needs to defeat The Fallen. With enhanced capabilities, Optimus destroys the Sun Harvester and takes on Megatron and The Fallen, killing The Fallen brutally and saving humanity. Megatron and Starscream retreat and vow that their fight is not finished.
Shia LaBeouf plays Sam Witwicky, the teenager who killed Megatron. In this movie, Sam is trying to get some personal development, and have a normal life, getting over his world-saviour status, and out of the overprotection from his parents and Bumblebee. He attends an East Coast college to learn astronomy.[4] During his time there, Sam starts having mental flashes about Cybertronian symbols that turn out to be the key to finding a source of energon on Earth, so now the Decepticons are after him to get that information.[5] On July 27, 2008, LaBeouf was involved in a car crash, with fellow actress Isabel Lucas, and had to undergo hand surgery. The character getting burned in the story was an unrelated decision.[6] LaBeouf said production was only delayed by two days after his accident because Bay made up for it by filming second unit scenes, and he recovered from the accident a few weeks earlier than expected, allowing him to return to the set.[7] Bay had suggested the hand injury would be written into the story,[8] and Orci said on-set rewrites were done to protect his hand for the remainder of the shoot.[9] Towards the end of filming though, LaBeouf injured his eye when he hit a prop, which required seven stitches. He resumed filming two hours later.[10]
- Megan Fox plays Mikaela Banes, Sam's girlfriend, who cannot afford to attend college with him.[4] She works alongside her father, Cal, at a motorcycle repair shop. Fox cannot ride bikes in reality and had to have someone push her vehicle around as she rode on them.[11] Fox had lost a lot of weight for her role in Jennifer's Body, and had to gain ten pounds within three weeks. She explained "Michael doesn't like skinny girls."[12]
Josh Duhamel plays Major William Lennox, a U.S. Army Ranger and ally of the Autobots.[13] Since the 2007 film Lennox has become part of NEST, an international taskforce battling Decepticons with the Autobots.[14]- Tyrese Gibson plays Robert Epps, a U.S. Air Force Combat Controller and a member of NEST.[13] He has been promoted to the rank of Chief Master Sergeant.[15]
- John Turturro plays Agent Simmons, former agent of the terminated Sector 7 unit, which monitored Transformer activity on Earth.[13] He is now off-duty, working in his mother's deli restaurant when Sam enlists his aid. He joins Sam's group and is responsible for the destruction of Devastator.[11] Turturro was allowed to climb the real pyramids during filming.[16]
- Kevin Dunn and Julie White play Ron and Judy Witwicky, Sam's parents. They learned the truth about the Transformers while off-screen in the last film.[17]
- Ramón Rodríguez plays Leo Spitz, Sam's college roommate who owns a website on conspiracy theories. He accompanies Sam and Mikaela all the way to Egypt. Rodríguez endured 100 mph winds created by fans while filming in Egypt, which resulted in him dislocating his shoulder and having to spend 45 minutes having his eyes flushed of sand.[18] At some point, the character was supposed to be called "Chuck" and Jonah Hill was considered for the role.
- John Benjamin Hickey plays Galloway, the American National Security Advisor who believes the Autobots' presence on Earth is the reason for the Decepticons still remaining on the planet.
- Matthew Marsden plays Graham, an agent of the fictional SASF, and a member of the United Kingdom Special Forces who joins NEST. Marsden grew up reading the comics and loved the 2007 film. Bay was impressed with his audition and decided to increase the character's screentime.
- Rainn Wilson plays Professor Colan, Sam's sleazy college lecturer.[21][22] Bay based the character on one of his professors at Wesleyan University, who was rumored to be chatting up his female students.[23]
Glenn Morshower, having cameoed in the 2007 film's opening action sequence as a Marine killed by Blackout, now returns playing a character named Gen. Morshower after himself.[24] Bay wanted Amaury Nolasco to return as soldier Jorge Figueroa, who was wounded by Scorponok in the 2007 film, but Nolasco was not able to participate due to schedule conflicts, though this does not rule out a return in any upcoming sequels. Mikaela's dog is credited at the end of the movie as "Bonecrusher the Mastiff", playing himself, and he is in fact Michael Bay's pet dog.
Autobots
Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader. He retains his alternate mode of a blue Peterbilt truck with red flame decals. Cullen recorded a voiceover for the opening scene in August 2008, but began the majority of voice work in November.[27][28] Originally, a cameo was written for Cullen, but it was not included in the final cut of the film.[29]
- Bumblebee, the Autobot who befriended Sam and disguises himself as his fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro. Mark Ryan reportedly reprised his role as Bumblebee from the 2007 movie, but ultimately, no spoken lines by the character were included in the finished film. Ryan also continued his role as stand-in for the robots on set.[30] Bumblebee's voice is still malfunctioning, and he still uses radio soundbites to express some of his emotions. The filmmakers updated his previous appearance as the 2006 Camaro Concept based on the Super Sport version of the 2010 production model.[31] Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design, said the redesigned car emphasized Bumblebee as becoming stronger after having his severed legs reattached in the first film: the new intakes and spoilers show he is a sturdier character.[32]
- Jess Harnell voices Ironhide, the Autobot weapons specialist who transforms into a GMC Topkick.[33]
- Robert Foxworth voices Ratchet, the Autobot medic who transforms into a search and rescue Hummer H2.[33]
- Mark Ryan voices Jetfire, a Seeker and former Decepticon who transforms into a SR-71 Blackbird. His wounds and age have made him choose to become an Autobot.[34] The writers wanted a geriatric robot, and during scripting they gave Jetfire that personality.[35] He creaks, does not transform well, and is said to be running out of energon.[11] Also, he walks with a cane, which doubles as a battle axe.[36] Jetfire initially appeared in the tie-in card game to the 2007 film.
- Grey DeLisle voices Arcee, a single consciousness driving three female Transformers that transform into three motorcycles: a pink Ducati 848, a blue Suzuki B-King 2008, and a purple MV Agusta F4.[37][38] All three motorcycles feature customizations performed by custom sportsbike builder retroSBK.[39] Although this ability was dropped from the movie, the robots that make up Arcee were once meant to be able to combine into a single robot. This ability can still be seen in the movie's novelization and toy line.[40]
While the name "Arcee" is used for the three characters collectively in the film, the accompanying toyline has characterized each bike separately. Thus, the pink bike is called Arcee, and the blue motorcycle is named Chromia. The purple third robot has yet to be characterized in any ancillary media. Arcee was initially meant to appear in the 2007 film as a robot that transformed from a single bike, but was ultimately dropped from it due to concerns of her being too small compared to the other bots,[41] and the fact that the writers felt there was not enough time to explain her "gender", despite her and several other female Transformers appearing in the first film's toy line and tie-in comics.[42] Whether to explain robotic gender or not was something the writers were unsure about, and it remained undecided until post-production, with the issue eventually remaining unaddressed in the finished movie.[43] Arcee rider holograms were played by Erin Naas.[44] - Reno Wilson and Tom Kenny voice Mudflap and Skids, also known as the twins. These Autobot infiltrators transform respectively into a red Chevrolet Trax and green Chevrolet Beat.[31] Mudflap is very hyperactive, while Skids believes himself to be the smarter of the two and tries to come across as mature, but nevertheless appears unable to keep quiet.[45] Skids and Mudflap share an almost psychic link which enables them to coordinate their attacks in battle, when they are not bickering among themselves. [46] Bay compared the message of the bumbling but heroic characters to the story The Little Engine That Could.[42] He chose the Beat and Trax for the Autobot twins because he thought those two small cars looked good together.[47] Ed Welburn added when they had designed the cars before Bay selected them, the "character" they wanted to bring to the concepts was a sense that small cars could be as cool as large ones.[32] The twins have the ability to combine. They start the film by combining into a pink and white ice cream van,[48] and although it was probably dropped at some point during production, it was initially said that they would have the ability combine to form a bigger robot.[49]
- André Sogliuzzo voices Sideswipe, a silver Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept.[31] Having wheels for feet, he moves around skating, similarly to the way Bonecrusher did in the 2007 movie. He is an expert fighter with his swords and tries to get in close with his opponents. At BotCon 2009, the movie writers said Sideswipe was originally scripted to be a Lamborghini as he was in G1, but Bay had his choice of cars and went with the Stingray. Also, the fact that Lamborghini is owned by the Volkswagen Group (long resistant to allowing their brands as Transformers), may have played a part in the decision.[50]
- Jolt, a blue Chevrolet Volt armed with a pair of electric whips, befitting his electric car alternate mode.[51] He was a last-minute addition to the cast as General Motors, the film's car supplier, wanted to promote the Volt.[52] The writers had already wanted to include the car in the script before the Writers Guild strike, so they had to work out a character that would fit well within the Autobot team afterwards and convince Bay to approve the addition.[53] Welburn was pleased the Volt's character was christened Jolt by the
filmmakers, as it reflected that car's design "character".[32] - Tom Kenny also voices Wheelie, a blue radio-controlled toy monster truck. Wheelie initially serves the Decepticons just because he is scared by them, but during the movie he is convinced by Jetfire that they are allowed to choose sides. Wheelie soon sides with the Autobots after hearing this[54] He is called "Wheels" in the film novel.
- Michael York, Kevin Michael Richardson and Robin Atkin Downes voice The Dynasty of Primes, a group of robots that confront Sam while he's on the verge of dying in a vision.
Decepticons
- Hugo Weaving voices Megatron, the Decepticon leader.[55] Despite Michael Bay's initial claims of him not returning after he was killed and thrown into the Laurentian Abyss in the first film[56], Megatron is resurrected by the Decepticons with an AllSpark shard as a Cybertronian tank, although he can also change into 2007's Cybertronian jet mode, making him the first Triple Changer in the film series. He has become stronger as a result of absorbing the AllSpark that originally killed him.[57] When reviving the character, the writers chose not to rename him Galvatron so as to not confuse the general audience.[58]
- Tony Todd voices The Fallen, one of the Dynasty of Primes and Megatron's master. He is the one who corrupted Megatron into forming the Decepticons. He had been trapped in another dimension and was able to communicate with the Decepticons via an interdimensional window. The image of his face, seen through this window, served as inspiration for the Decepticon insignia.[59] He is capable of opening Space Bridges at will.[60] Lorenzo di Bonaventura compared The Fallen to Judas Iscariot.[61] Although this form is not in the film, his toy versions transform into a Cybertronian aircraft.[62] The writers selected The Fallen after looking through various cartoons and comics for new characters, because he was the most "elemental" villain.[43] At some point, Leonard Nimoy[63][64] and Frank Welker[58] were considered for voicing the Fallen.
- Charlie Adler voices Starscream,[33] the air commander who transforms into an F-22 Raptor. He flew into space at the end of the previous film, and returns bearing Cybertronian symbols on his body and commanding a new Decepticon army.[65] Chris Mowry, writer of the comic book prequels, stated Starscream differs from his 1980s incarnation because "His motivations are more for the species. He's definitely at odds with what Prime and Megatron have been doing. He thinks that they've both been consumed with greed, for their own selfish reasons, but as he finds out, his plans start to fall through as he’s kind of becoming overwhelmed with the same greed that they had."[66] However, Orci explained that Starscream would have more dialogue than in the first movie,[67] and that dialogue additions during post-production edged Starscream closer towards his 1980s counterpart.[68]
- Frank Welker voices Soundwave, Megatron's Communications Specialist.[69] He transforms into a Cybertronian craft with a jet mode and a satellite form, coordinating the Decepticons' movements around the world.[65] The concept artists also designed an Earth form of a Chevrolet Silverado for him to upgrade into, which Orci stated was dropped.[70] The filmmakers had tried to work Soundwave into the first film twice, and these roles eventually evolved into Blackout and Frenzy. The latter character was particularly thought to be too different from the original.[71][72]
- Ravage, a minion of Soundwave that resembles a large one-eyed jaguar that transforms into a cybertronian missile.[42]
- John Di Crosta voices The Doctor (known as Scalpel in the toy line), a small, spider-like robot who turns into a microscope. He is a medic and scientist equipped with tools he is seen using to torture Sam. The packaging of his Scout-Class figure details he is skilled in dissecting and rebuilding almost any living organism.[42][73]
- Sideways, a silver Audi R8 hiding with Demolishor in Shanghai, China until he is discovered by the Autobots.[74]
- Grindor, a robot transforming into a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter.[75] Both his vehicle and robot mode are greatly similar to Blackout's from the 2007 movie, being the main differences a lighter coloring and different head model.
- The Constructicons, a Decepticon sub-faction of robots that transform into construction vehicles.
- Calvin Wimmer voices Demolishor,[65] who transforms into a white Terex O&K RH 400 hydraulic mining excavator.[76] In robot mode, his treads turn into huge wheels, enabling him to roll either on the two of them, or only on the front one, with the rear one lifted behind his head. During production, the film writers simply called him "Wheelbot",[43] and he is erroneously listed by that name in the film's credits. Also, he is referred to as "Demolisher" in the film novel.
- Mixmaster,[77] who transforms into a black and silver Mack concrete mixer truck. He is briefly seen to have a third "battle mode" which appears to be a gun emplacement.[78] According to his toy bio, he is an expert in chemistry and explosives who makes explosives and poisons for the other Decepticons' weapons.[79]
- Long Haul,[77] whose alternative mode is a green Caterpillar 773B dump truck.[80] Long Haul's robot mode was designed by freelance artist Josh Nizzi as fan art of the original character. The fan art impressed Bay enough to hire him on to the film.[81]
- Kevin Michael Richardson also voices Rampage,[77] who transforms into a red Caterpillar D9L bulldozer. His robot mode resembles a centaur with four spider-like legs, and his treads coming out of his hands, which he uses as whips. He also sports a third "jackhammer" mode in which he has a snake-like body and moves by jumping around.[82] During production he was known as "Skipjack"[83], and is erroneously listed by that early name in the film's credits.
- Scrapper,[65] a robot that turns into a yellow Caterpillar 992G scoop loader.
- Frank Welker also provided vocal effects for Devastator, a 46 feet (14 m) tall (hunched over) massive robot formed by several combining construction vehicles, who walks in a four-legged fashion resembling a gorilla.[61] He is physically unable to stand upright, but would be 100 feet (30 m) to 120 feet (37 m) tall if he did.[60] His jaws can open up to form some sort of suction vortex, and he seems to have grappling hooks he is seen using to climb a pyramid.[11] In the first film, the name "Devastator" was mistakenly given to Brawl, a tank.
Although in the toy line these vehicles are characterized into robots, in the movie Devastator's components are never seen to adopt any individual robot modes.
The vehicles that make up Devastator are[80][84]:
- Isabel Lucas plays Alice, a Pretender who stalks Sam by pretending to be a co-ed of his. Though not covered in the film, the novelization and comic adaptation explain her adopted earth mode as her duplicating the appearance of a theme park animatronic figure of Alice in Wonderland.
- Scorponok, a giant robotic scorpion. After the events of the 2007 film, it appears that Scorponok hid in the desert and repaired his tail.
The movie features other minor robots, including
Insecticons,
[74] a razor-thin robot formed by a swarm of marble-sized 'bots dropped by Ravage, named
Reedman (vocal effects by Frank Welker), and some kitchen appliances from Sam's kitchen brought to life by the AllSpark shard.
[85] Among these kitchen bots, is a pyromaniac toaster bot, named
Ejector in the toy line,
[86] who had also appeared unnamed in Mountain Dew commercials tying in to the 2007 Transformers film
[87
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