I could go into to great detail about how all of the little plot points and individual story lines all come together somehow in the end that doesn't make any sense at all, instead ill just say that the main story line is pretty much a dud throughout the film and thats the one that really only matters anyway as the others seem simply there to just past time until the next battle between huge robot A and huge robot B.  Basically, the story follows the decepticons as they attempt to revive their master who was decimated by Optimus Prime in the first movie.  However, in order to bring him back they need a shard that from the cube that was supposedly destroyed in the first movies but somehow ended up in the hands of Sam who decided to keep it as a souvenir because he's a dumb ass.  And Really, thats what this movie is all about, Sam running from the decepticons as they attempt to steal the shard, while he runs from them for most of the movie to protect it.  It doesn't stop there though, but i won't go into it because A) you can probably guess or figure out what happens after Megatron is brought back (i know you didn't see that one coming), and B) it doesn't really matter much anyways because everything ends how it "should" anyway which is most frustrating part of the entire movie.

Acting wise, there really isn't much to say other than its pretty average for the most part and ranges from decent to atrocious especially in the beginning.  However, the voices of both the decepticons and autobots are done exceptionally well for the most and really keep the movie from being a complete wash thanks to the acting efforts of basically all of the actual people in the film.  But of course the first movie was never known for great acting and engaging story anyway, it was known for its exhilarating battles that were truly mesmerizing to watch as metal is literally turn to shreds and building simply collapse under the devastating power of transformers as they battle for supremacy.  Yes this movie still has fair amount of that but its not on nearly as big of a scale as the last movie, and isn't nearly as frequent or entertaining because it sometimes takes a back seat to the debilitating story, which is unfortunate there are alot of impressive battle sequences especially the one between Optimus Prime and three decepticons that is absolutely insane and captivating that seems to end almost to quickly and before you know it your right back to watching Shia run from the decepticons which is especially underwhelming when just watched an epic battle between a bunch of massive machines and are now forced to sit back and watch as Shia and his dumb roommate run around trying to figure out what to do next

Even the crazy battles between the transformers starts to wear thin as most of the battles throughout the movie start and end two quickly and lack the insane destruction sequences in the last one where buildings were toppling left and right and every single robot was battling face to face in the middle of a huge city that was basically used a destructible sand box that contained all of the action that made it both entertaining and easy to follow while keeping you on your toes as Megatron and Optimus Prime duked it out.  Now what you get are a few great battles that last a few minutes at the most it seemed, which in occurred in the middle of the desert in Egypt of all place where all you get is a couple of toppling pyramids for mass destruction

But i digress, this movie isn't horrible, really its just a slimed down version of the first movie, with most of the same characters albeit a few new additions which are sometimes a hit or miss depending.  There are also a few moments of hilarity particularly between Shia's parents at the beginning when he prepares to leave for college.  In the end though even these things can't keep the movie from simply from being average and its lucky to even be in that range at all.  Ultimately what this movie does wrong is that tries to be something its not: a movie that has both action and a great story to keep you entertained.  On paper this sounds great, but seeing it attempted with such mediocrity on the big screen with a full theater, it makes the overall experience more underwhelming than it should be.  So, if you were a huge fan of the first movie and are alright with seeing more of what the first movie had to offer than you'll probably be satisfied with its shown in the this movie as least initially. However, if your looking for a movie that truly out does what the first movie did, than you'll be sadly disappointed with the this movie in almost every way.  Its almost like see a piece sitting in front looking all beautiful and delicious only to realize after you take the first bite that someone stuck a huge turd in there with it.  And that my friends is the worst type of cake to experience