The summer blockbuster is designed not only to maximise box office takings but also to provide the viewer with plenty of bang for their buck.

A sequel to a previously successful summer blockbuster aims to provide even more value for money, with bigger bangs and better action sequences but it’s a rare successor that manages to capture the fun of the triumphant original.

While Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen patently delivers on the scale of devastation, it doesn’t come close to its predecessor in terms of entertainment value, lacking the visual impact and Steven Spielberg-inspired charm that helped to make the first a runaway success.

The plot this time around has Sam Witwicky (Shia Laboeuf) keen to get on with his life in the most ordinary way possible.

But within hours of starting college, it all begins again, with the Decepticons fighting back in another bid for universal domination.

Armed with key knowledge concerning the Transformers’ origins, Sam enlists the help of trusty Autobot sidekick Bumblebee and Autobot leader Optimus Prime. Along with Agent Simmons (John Turturro), girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) and newcomer Leo (Ramon Rodriguez), the gang attempts to thwart the Decepticons’ plans and save humankind.

With a two and a half-hour run time, Transformers 2 is a tedious, overlong amalgam of noise and disorientating action shot in confounding close-up. 

The human angle to the story is by far the most compelling aspect, with Shia Labeouf eminently watchable when allowed to trade dialogue – often comical – with his co-stars, not least when he is conversing with his on-screen parents, played by Julie White and Kevin Dunn, who are really likable and well-written fringe characters.

Ramon Rodriguez is also a revelation with his slapstick performance as alien-nut scaredy-cat Leo and it is when they are allowed to really play about with their roles that this film is at its most entertaining. 

With humour and the very human characters the presiding strength of the first film, it is a great shame that these aspects are overshadowed here not only by the flashy action sequences but also the film’s excessive exposition, which utilises voiceovers to explain virtually every little aspect of the plot. 

A joy that added to the fatalistic tone of the original, it is irritating, condescending and quite simply boring – not to mention lazy – here.

Megan Fox, meanwhile, is sigh-inducingly exploited. Cementing her reputation as a sex symbol, director Michael Bay takes every opportunity to sexualise the screen beauty using the camera to zoom in on body parts and linger, in slow motion, on her bouncing bosom.  With a 12A certificate, you should be advised that much of this film’s crude or sexual content is unsuitable for young children.

Michael Bay insists that the shoot for this film was exhausting and admits to an initial reluctance to tackle the project. 

A third in the franchise officially hangs in the balance but you can bet your bottom dollar that if this one pulls in the punters, it will be inevitable – with or without the so-called master of Bay-hem at the helm.

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