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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) is a two and half hour phallic joke extravaganza with crude references and sexual innuendo at every turn. The plot line was predictable with lots of special effects and action to cover the weak points. While the human characters were mostly believable, the Transformer characters parodied the basest of human characteristics - making the story unbelievable and unredeemable!

I wish I could say the movie engendered no emotional reaction from me but I would be lying if I did. Sitting in a crowded movie theater with children from the age of five to fifty, I experienced over-whelming embarrassment and anger. A movie built on a child's cartoon and marketed to children (regardless of the PG-13 rating), starts out with humping dogs and goes downhill from there. The girlfriend is set up to look like a porn star. The Transformers have human anatomy. College scenes are played out like orgies. And a Decepticon even humps a girl's leg!

I can see teenagers enjoying the movie for the raunchy behavior that taints almost every scene. Yet, the movie draws both the young and old. Unfortunately, seeing the first movie does not prepare you for this latest Michael Bell installment. Many parents who were leery of the first movie have since formed the idea that while there is violence, it's the typically good versus evil type of violence that mostly involves robots. Therefore, many will allow younger kids to see Revenge of the Fallen, unaware of the sexually explicit and vulgar content that awaits them.

Let's talk about the PG-13 rating. According to this article, the first movie was initially given an "R" rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Steven Spielberg, executive producer of Transformers, was able to convince the MPAA to downgrade the rating to PG-13. As I mentioned earlier, this was probably appropriate, but one does wonder if that is how this latest movie managed to earn the PG-13 rating as well. The vulgar language, sexually explicit jokes, and crude references alone should have been enough for an "R" rating. Add the violence and there's little doubt that Revenge of the Fallen should never have received a PG-13 rating!

When it comes to adults, there's no accounting for what some will find funny. More sophisticated audiences will surely find the humor low brow and crass. However, as ticket sales have shown, there are plenty that have found the movie enjoyable. If you are planning on watching the movie for nostalgia reasons; though, I would suggest against it! The transformers in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (like in the first movie) have little resemblance to the cartoon characters of our childhood. The sense of justice and integrity that was the backbone of the cartoon series is slaughtered by the movie makers in an attempt to shock audiences while catering to the lowest common denominator.

So, if you are a 17 year old that finds bathroom and sex humor funny - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the movie to see. Those of us that are a bit mature or that have younger children are probably better off skipping this one.

Learn more about this author, Valarie Juntunen.
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