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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 15; suggested age 13.

  • Is it any good?

    1.0
  • Common Sense says

    Violent, crude, pointless sequel just isn't kids' stuff.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 13–15

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Any positive messages about friendship and fellowship are negated by the film's objectification of women and frequent use of phrases like "bitch" and "p---y" in a film ostensibly aimed at kids. There's also some racial and ethnic stereotyping; while a giant robot with a wacky "Scottish" accent seems harmless, two robots with protruding ears, grotesque features, and a propensity for thuggish rap slang like "pop a cap in his ass" and "get up in that ass" are less easy to write off as wacky fun.
  • Role models:

    While Optimus Prime is a stalwart defender of the innocent, the other characters are so thinly crafted that it's virtually impossible to find anything to admire. Sam is loyal to his robot friends, but, again, the film is so suffused and soaked in bullets, bombs, and bombast that it's hard to hear the positivity over the explosions.
  • Violence:

    Nonstop explosions, gunfire, bombardments, and barrages affecting human beings, as well as tons of combat to the death between robotic (but intelligent and self-aware) aliens. Bodies are hurled by explosions and battle, and there's some scary torture/medical imagery. Extensive robotic carnage and destruction, as well as pushing, shoving, and scuffling. There's a threat to the sun, which, if carried out, will wipe out all human life.
  • Sex:

    Plenty of cleavage, shots of panty-clad bottoms, kissing. Dogs hump each other, and a robot proceeds to do the same to a woman's leg. A husband and wife engage in a little saucy talk and bottom-grabbing. Some suggestive talk about young men at a college party being "on the hunt."
  • Language:

    Above-average level of strong language for a PG-13, including one use of "f--k," plus "s--t," "p---y," "piss," "damn," "balls," "ball sack," "punk ass," "crap," "oh my God," "bitch," and "ass."
  • Consumerism:

    Considering that the movie is based on a toy line by Hasbro -- and co-produced by Hasbro -- you could argue that the entire thing is an exercise in product placement. Other brands shown on screen or mentioned include car makes, manufacturers, and models (including General Motors, Volvo, Camaro, etc.), Mountain Dew, Budweiser, State Farm, OnStar, CNN, and more.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    It's implied that characters drink liquor and beer in social settings. A parent also mistakenly eats some marijuana brownies and babbles incoherently, runs about, and tackles strangers.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was written by James Rocchi

Parents need to know that this sequel to 2007's Transformers is edgier and less kid-friendly than the first. Kids will want to see it because they're the ones who play with the toys the movie was inspired by, but it's packed with metal-on-metal mayhem and brutally violent action scenes that are too much for them. While most of the combatants are giant robots, the film's human characters are in constant peril, and the explosions never seem to stop. There are also eyebrow-raising amounts of sexualized and even racially insensitive material, as well as strong language (including one use of "f--k" and frequent uses of words like "bitch" and "p---y"). Plus, it's essentially a long commercial for both cars and toys.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about the movie's robot-on-robot violence. Are brutal dismemberments, stabbings, and shootings easier to take when they involve large metal robots instead of flesh-and-blood humans? Even when the robots talk, think, and "die" like people?
  • Families can also talk about the consumerism side of things. What do kids make of the fact that this is a movie based on a line of toys? Is the movie's goal to sell more toys? If not, what is it?
  • You can also bring up the movie's stereotyping -- including the robot "Twins," one of whom has a gold tooth and later explains that he can't decipher hieroglyphics because "We don't do much readin'." Are those kinds of caricatures funny or offensive? Why?
  • And you can discuss whether the movie objectifies women. Why is more screen time devoted to the leading actresses' bodies than their characters? Why do male characters not get the same treatment?
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More on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

What’s the Story?

After the events of Transformers, Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky is off to college. But the long-simmering war between the noble Autobots and the villainous Decepticons is about to boil over again as Sam learns he's the receptacle for eons-old information that everyone wants -- information that includes the location of a weapon that could be used to destroy the sun, along with all life on Earth.

Is It Any Good?

Whether you loved or hated the original Transformers, it made so much money that a sequel was inevitable. It was not, however, necessarily inevitable that said sequel would be good. The faults of the first film are even worse here -- director Michael Bay brings in robot after robot after robot, making it impossible to tell the metal mega-warriors apart and resulting in action scenes where who's doing what to who is conveyed more by screaming bystanders than clear, comprehensible filmmaking.

The human characters aren't much better -- the film bogs down in scenes where Sam's parents are concerned about him heading off to school, only to jettison all that in the name of globe-trotting action. The relationship between Sam and girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) is laughably thin, and the film's need to overdo everything results in either misshapen comic relief scenes or action scenes so loud and large and quickly cut that they're simply empty blurs. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is, at heart, the worst of everything that modern big-money moviemaking has to offer -- spectacle, sex, special effects, and sanitized violence -- without a single redeeming feature.

Movie Details

Studio: Paramount Pictures, Director: Michael Bay
Run time: 147 minutes
Theatrical release: 6/24/2009, DVD release: 10/20/2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, some crude and sexual material, and brief drug material

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 5.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages

    magdee

    i love it wallah it is good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 3.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language

    Ok first off, this movie is way better than all the reviews its getting. While its better than it's predecessor and more entertaining, it's way too long. They really pushed the PG-13 rating with the nonstop violence (although bloodless)and the constant sexual jokes (even though they're actually funny..). This definetly isn't a kids film. OVerall, it's a good B-Movie that's a homage to ridiculously long films and all out action films.

  3. I rate this title on for age 15 and give it 3.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Negative role models

    Alright,but not my fave.

    I LOVED THIS MOVIE but there is more than the first of everything.

  4. I rate this title iffy for age 16 and give it 2.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language
    • Negative message
    • Negative role models

    Not For Kids!

    HATE IT! The objectification of women is horrifying, the fact that even the "role models" are crude, rude and love to call women and each other "B*tch" is so sad! We let our kids watch this crap and wonder why the crime and pregnancy rates amongst teens in America is so bad! Kids need real heroes and while we can't shelter them, we should NOT be giving them "heroes" that are crude and see women as nothing more than T&A (parents can figure that out). It's so sad how this movie (through happy meal toys and more) has been marketed to our young generation, while teaching them such negative and disrespectful behavior! Not for children at all!

  5. I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 3.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language
    • Excessive consumerism

    Much more violent than the first

    I thought it was it was an ok movie, but it had way more sex, language, and violence than the first. The beginning especially and when he went to college had a lot of language and sex, and then the action/violence came in. You should see it if you are 12 or 13 and older. It's good enough to see once or twice.

  6. I rate this title iffy for age 9 and give it 1.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate language

    I have no idea why I'm wasteing my time on this movie

    This is one of the worst movies ever. While the transformers look cool, everything else is horrible. Where to start... Well, the storyline is one of the most pathetic I have seen in years, uses of the word p**s or p***y, aren't helping it's case, some of the most pathetic acting of all time (nearly as bad as one of the bond girl's in "License To Kill"), it's based off hasbro toys, it has a very stereotypical mom, and the robot that turns into a incredibly desperate college girl doesn't help. In the end, you will either be thinking " That was the biggest load of crap I have ever seen" or a "Team America World Police" line left echoing in your head, "Why does Micheal Bay make movies?"

  7. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 5.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language

    great movie

  8. Kid Reviewer Age 10
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 5.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language

    best action movie

    this movie the awsomest action movie I have ever seen

  9. I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 5.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language

    I LOVED this movie!!!!!!!!!! i thought that the action in it was amazing, i liked it better than the first one. when i read the review on it on here, i was mad, bcuz i loved it, and the language that it said it had on here was not completely true!!! it did not say the f-word, but it did have some incomplete uses of the word. alll in all, it was an amazing movie.

  10. Kid Reviewer Age 10
    I rate this title iffy for age 14 and give it 1.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language
    • Drinking, smoking, or drug use

    sssssssssssssssssssssssssstupid!

    hate it inapropriate.

  11. I rate this title on for age 14 and give it 5.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Excessive consumerism

    A Great Sequel.

  12. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 5.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate sexual content

    Older teens and up.

    Parents should know that this sequel to the original is overly sexual and violence for 13 and under.The movie`s very good and part 3 is coming out somtime in 2010/2011.

  13. I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content

    Good sequel.

    I know I'm one of the few who liked this movie; and I think the only reason I liked it was because I was waiting so long for it to come out. But I thought it was a good movie.

  14. Parent Reviewer
    Lives in Ohio
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    not really for kids

    Optimus Prime is suppose to be peaceful and they have him rip another robots head off. he's not suppose to kill!!! but other then that blunder, great movie!!!

  15. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in New Jersey
    I rate this title on for age 14 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate language
    • My highlights are:
    • Good role models

    Violent Robot Movie Not So Bad

    The movie was violent but only because the robots were fighting a war among each other. It was mostly bloodless violence. The language was pushing the language for a child. It was a good movie if you enjoy this sort of movie.

  16. Parent Reviewer
    I rate this title iffy for age 16 and give it 2.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Inappropriate sexual content

    Not for kids at all, total rip off for a Hasbro sponsored movie

    we waited for this movie for a year, brought even kids from our church to view it and had to walk out in the middle of the movie, horrible sexuality and language not for kids def. not.

  17. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 2.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language

    All In All A Bad Movie

    I think the previews were slightly better than the movie itself. Well, first of all, I think that the sexual humor was over-used and totally unnecessary. The scene when the robot humps the girls leg was incredibly stupid, but apparently for most people my age, that was the funniest scene in the movie. The language was severe. Some of the first words the robots said was “punk ass” that is the first time I decided the movie was going to be awful. About the violence, I suppose since it’s transformers, sci-fi violence is going to be a given. It wasn’t a big problem for me. Another thing, the characters in the first movie were much easier to get attached to. In the first movie when a character died, I felt kind of sad. However, in this one, if a character dies it didn’t seem to matter as much. One thing that really confused me/made me angry was bumblebee’s voice. In the first movie, it was fixed, but for some strange reason, he was back to using the radio to talk. Seriously, what happened? Couldn’t they at least explain what happened in the beginning of the movie? It’s stupid. All in all, the movie was awful, the plot stunk, the humor was dumb and it wasn’t even close to being as good as the first movie.

  18. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    I rate this title iffy for age 15 and give it 2.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate language
    • Negative message

    not ment for kids

    I thought the movie was horrible, they added so much extra stuff that shouldnt have been in a movie tweens were going to see.

  19. Parent Reviewer
    I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 3.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language
    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages
    • Good role models

    If a child knows right from wrong and is with an adult?

    I made the mistake of taking the kids to the drive-in and seeing this the first time... With all of the special effects from the explosions, exstensive details in the scenes and robots; my boys surprised me. They paid more attention to all of that, than they did some of the more "inappropriate" things. The sexual content and crude language can seem overwhelming, if that is what you dwell on. I think my boys, even at their young ages, were so happy to see all of the highlights of the show, they let the other stuff go. Will I let them continue to view the movie over again, not likely... If so, they would eventually catch on!

  20. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    I rate this title on for age 9 and give it 3.0

    preety average

    didnt expect a sueqel

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