Transformers 2: 'Dazzling,' 'Scrap Metal'

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen doesn't skimp on the special effects, say critics, but it lacks the clever touches of its predecessor and the mammoth 2.5 hour running time is likely to give all but the biggest fans metal fatigue.

• Joe Lozito, Big Picture Big Sound: "This robot-on-robot sequel is a pointless, messy assault on the senses. The special effects, of course, are flawless. The rest is scrap metal."

• Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: "What saves Fallen," apart from star Shia Labeouf's "undeniable charisma," is the special effects. "The movie may be nonsense, but it's dazzling, visually striking nonsense."
• Tom Long, Detroit News: Director Michael Bay's "great grinding garbage disposal of a movie" gives fans what they want, but the result "isn't so much a narrative film as a cacophonous series of explosions intermittently interrupted by needless dialogue."

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