So let’s get one thing out of the way first: I liked the first Transformers movie. It was fun and enjoyable. Sure, it wasn’t a “good” movie in the way that The Dark Knight was a good movie, but then it didn’t have to be. Not all movies need to have an ambitious plot in the mix to be good summer fun.

Transformers 2 does have a plot. Somewhere. But it simply boils down to the evil Decepticons wanting Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) for whatever reason, yadda yadda. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the movie being unintelligible: that the plot makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I think that’s pushing it a little too far. It’s certainly true that the movie’s plot is secondary to the explosions and slow-motion running of Mikaela (Megan Fox, who, to be honest, looked better in the first movie). The plot makes about as much sense as any plot about massive, transforming robots would make sense.

There have been a lot of comparisons to JJ Abrams’s Star Trek, that is, Trek being an example of a geeky, actiony summer movie that was actually, you know, good. And it’s interesting to note that Roberto Orci - a collaborator with Abrams on works such as Alias and Fringe - and Alex Kurtzman - an executive producer of Abrams’s take on Trek - both have writing credits on Transformers 2. And, to be honest, I see the connection. I think a lot of fans of the recent Trek movie are forgetting a lot of that movie’s shortcomings, including it’s rather ridiculous “Red Matter” plot greasing.

All that to say, Transformers 2 is no more mindless than most other summer action fare.

The story begins with a voiceover by Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) laying out heretofore unknown backstory about Transformers who visited Earth in the far distant past with a scheme to blow up suns to collect energy. One of the Transformers, however, had no problem with killing innocent humans in the process but the others objected, and with their combined strength and will stopped the whole blowing-up-suns project.

Yes, I know, this means their choice probably doomed their home planet, but it’s a summer movie, right?

Anyway, this bad guy is still around, and giving the Decepticons their marching orders. Oh, and they bring Megatron back.

Fights, chases, explosions and slow-motion Megan Fox-running ensues. The good guys win, the bad guys get their asses kicked by giant robots and the US military. In short, just about every other Michael Bay movie ever made. Well, except the giant robots.

And Michael Bay is precisely what is both good and bad about this movie. If you can deal with Bay’s music video approach to cinematography, manipulative emotion-prodding and slo-mo action set pieces, you’ll probably find the movie entertaining. The acting is uniformly fine (save for Megan Fox, who isn’t really there to act anyway), given the rather ridiculous dialogue. I mean - and I say this again - it’s freaking giant robots and Michael Bay, for God’s sake. Those expecting  Chris Nolan picture should … go see a Chris Nolan picture.

The action sequences are in many ways better than in the first movie, although it’s pretty clear Bay didn’t listen to some of the criticisms. The robots now have some distinctive color schemes which aid in figuring out who is who on screen. But in the end, some of the action sequences devolve into smoke and flying, churning clouds of moving metal. But those moments are fewer in this sequel, thank God. Some sequences really stand out, including a fight in a forest, which provides a refreshing change of pace from the urban and desert settings the first movie (and, actually, most of this movie) seem to prefer. I was a little disappointed when at the climax of this film we wind up where the first movie started: in the desert.

The robots look dramatically more a part of their environment than in the first movie, although there are several scenes where the compositing is simply atrocious. But the scenes are short. So none of the long, lingering, painful scenes like in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings where the characters looked like cutouts pasted into a magazine as a kindergartner’s art project. The robots show a bit more emotion, though often this is played for laughs. But where the CGI really shines is in its portrayal of devastation. Explosions, fires, crashes, etc., all look convincing. The robots look like they have more weight and reality this time around, rather than the sometimes floaty feel they had in the first, all of which makes the movie look fantastic.

The action moves quickly, and though the movie’s run time is close to two-and-a-half hours, it feels shorter. Still, the movie could drop twenty minutes if only the slo-mo scenes were played at full speed. Bay seriously over-uses the technique here, often for emotional effect, but far too often in action scenes with jumping, spinning robots. Which is odd, since the robots look best when they’re moving quickly and worst when they’re in slow motion. A few minor characters could easily have been cut, including the vaguely ridiculous twin robots played for comic relief, and also the college-roommate tag-along of Sam’s, and also the strange guy from Sector 7 in the first movie who reprises his role here. Thankfully he’s not as irritating this time around, but also completely pointless. There’s forty minutes to cut right there. It’s hard to imagine the movie wouldn’t be better off without this dead weight.

In short, the movie isn’t anything to write home about. But it is entertaining, and the explosions and action are top notch. Like all Bay movies, this one has some emotionally manipulative moments at the end, but they perform their function adequately. The movie may not have worked hard enough to really earn those moments, but it’s hard not to - at least for a moment - feel genuine sympathy for the characters, particularly the soldiers. The moments pass quickly, though, and on to the explosions again. Because depth isn’t what this movie is about. This is all about catharsis. Violent, explosive catharsis. Screw the emotions, just give me exploding robots and crashing pillars and pyramids! I wonder what Freud would have to say about all that…

Sometimes you just want to see things blow up. And if that’s what you want, this movie delivers. For that, I can say I enjoyed this movie. If you want plot and character development, you won’t find it here.