Transformers 2: Racism and Sexism in Disguise.

I didn't have high hopes. Let's establish that first. I also wouldn't have gone if it wasn't someone Else's idea and if someone else hasn't paid.

I saw the first transformers, whenever it came out, and thought it was pretty mediocre. Entertaining to say the least, but too much special effects, fighting, and one of those basic, obvious, predictable story lines: boy character, love interest that's too cool for him, robots that fight each other, good side wins, boy gets girl. The end.

The second transformers was exactly the same, same fighting, same good vs evil, same boy and girl tension, only this time she was getting him to the point where he would tell her he loved her. Don't hate me if I'm naive, but if you're with the same person for 2 years, and doing the dirty surely you should have said I Love you by then. Yes, two years, that's how long supposedly lapsed between movies.

My first issues with this movie is that they mentioned Obama, the economy, and swine flu. They were trying to make it so present day that it just became silly. People don't want to go to the cinema to be reminded of current day politics, economics, or life-threatening diseases. They go to escape their lives and be entertained for a couple of hours.

I still maintain that Transformers 2 is entertaining, but it's not something anyone should ever see twice. Seriously. It's just not that good.

Here comes my real beef though. From the word go they attack women. They turn women into low-IQ'd, idiotic, senseless, sex-objects, that are motivated only by attraction to men.

The mother of the main character is ditsy, and emotional. The girlfriend of the main character is a sex symbol, with pouty face lips, a needy-clingy-obsessive personality and she keeps pulling the most ridiculous faces you've ever seen. Ridiculous.

The other women (all college students) are made out to be sexy, dirty, flirty, and thick as mince with sex on the brain. Seriously, it's like a guy fantasy or something.

The movie is pathetic for the way it treats women and what I want to know is how that kind of stuff can be rated for kids, because of the kind of attitude and impression it will leave with them. If kids are seeing their hero treat woman like a worthless object then that has to be ingrained somewhere in their behavioural system — especially if the kid doesn't come from a home with a good example of a parental relationship.

Above all this is the pathetic portrayal of race. The main character has a Latino room mate who they turn into a coward, an imbecile and a cry baby.

There is also a black soldier and two 'black speaking' robots that make black people out to be stupid, non-readers, filled with stereotypical racist idioms.

There was not one of likable character, there was no one that a kid could aspire to be like and turn out to be a decent individual and that to me should be more of an R rated movie than something with swearing in it.

If a movie is teaching bad principles about society and life that's just as psychologically damaging, if not more so, than seeing something erotic or violent.

I repeat that this movie is entertaining if you want to be vegetablised for 90 hours of your life (it's long), but as far as storyline, character development, and social lessons go, it should be traded in, or brought to the scrap heap. Seriously, transformers, when I was a child, was filled with intellect and solid stories. Neither movie has succeeded in bringing the real cartoon to life. This is all just made for special effects. Lame.