Out Now: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

If you did not grow up in the eighties or have a family of young children at that time then you will likely feel as alien to this movie as the characters are themselves compared to the original TV cartoon series.

For those unfamiliar with these old toons and the modern movies, Transformers focuses around a group of giant alien robots who can change shape into vehicles. As silly as the concept sounds the formula has spawned a multi-million dollar franchise for over two decades.

In the first Transformers (2007) a good group of robots known as the Autobots arrive on Earth to locate a mysterious life-giving cube known as the All Spark. Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) and his girlfriend Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) become the unwitting owners of one of the autobots (Bumblebee) when he is disguised as a car. But to find the All Spark they end up fighting a group of evil robots known as the Decepticons.

The second installment catches up with Sam two years later as he is about to embark on his move to college. But on arriving he discovers an odd piece of rock in his belongings.
Looking into the piece, Sam effectively downloads ancient knowledge of the Transformers.

Not long afterwards the Decepticons return to Earth with reinforcements, hell bent on revenge over the destruction of the All Spark in the previous movie.

The CGI in the film is stunning, especially when you consider the amount of detail on each character. If you have kids they will love the effects as much as the fight scenes (which five-year-old doesn't want to see giant alien robots beating chunks out of one another?). And there's enough of a human element as well as jokes to keep the adults happy throughout.