Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed by Michael Bay and is based on the Transformers toy line. The film is the sequel to 2007's Transformers, as well as the second installment in the live-action Transformers film series. Taking place two years after the first film, the story revolves around Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), who is caught once again in the war between the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and the Decepticons, led by Megatron (Hugo Weaving). Sam begins having strange visions of Cybertronian symbols, and is being hunted by the Decepticons under the orders of an ancient Decepticon named The Fallen, who seeks to get revenge on Earth by finding and activating a machine that would provide the Decepticons with an energon source, destroying the Sun and all life on Earth in the process. Returning Transformers include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet, Megatron, Starscream, and Scorponok.

With deadlines jeopardized by possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, Bay managed to finish the production on time with the help of previsualization and a scriptment by his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger. Shooting took place between May and September 2008, with locations in Egypt, Jordan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and California, as well as air bases in New Mexico and Arizona. It is the last film in the series to star Megan Fox, and is also the last film in the series to be co-produced by DreamWorks Pictures, leaving Paramount Pictures as the sole distributor of its future sequels.

Revenge of the Fallen premiered on June 8, 2009 in Tokyo and was released on June 24, 2009 in the United States. Critical reception was negative, with critics considering it to be inferior to the first film. Critics panned the film's plot, screenplay, crude humor, offensive racial stereotypes, characters, and runtime, but the visual effects, and sound design received praise. The film won three Golden Raspberry Awards at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony and became the highest-grossing film to win the Worst Picture award. The film surpassed its predecessor at the box office, grossing a total of $402.1 million in the US and Canada and $434.2 million in other territories, for a total of $836.3 million worldwide, making it the 37th highest-grossing domestic film and fourth-highest of the year worldwide. With over 11 million home media sales in 2009, it was also the top-selling film of the year in the United States. It was followed by Dark of the Moon in 2011.