More than meets the eye

I have now seen Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen twice. First on Monday night for an advance screening, and again last night for the opening day screening with some friends. What’d I think? Big explosions, weak plot that vaguely mirrored the 1980s cartoon movie, and fantastic special effects. Overall, it was enjoyable. Was it a great movie? No. Was it even a good movie? Well…. It may end up as a guilty pleasure movie.

There was a curious issue though for those of us who support the blue and white (and I don’t mean Penn State).

There is a spoiler below, although it’s not a major one. Fair warning.

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So the Autobots and American military head to Egypt, to the Gulf of Aqaba specifically. They are looking for the Matrix of Leadership and a weapon that can destroy the sun. The Decepticons are looking for the weapon for obvious reasons. The search takes them to the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba where Egypt and Jordan meet. Except one thing, there’s another country between the two and a little old port city called Eilat. Oops. Not in this movie, though. No, in this movie, you can see clear into Jordan from Egypt without crossing any bodies of water.

Second curiosity: The Americans and Autobots are getting pummeled by the Decepticons. They need air support. They are still technically in Egypt, right at the top of the Gulf of Aqaba, and they need air support. So who do they call? Why, the Jordanian air force, of course. And as soon as the Jordanians arrive, they get shot down. Both times I saw the movie I turned to a friend and whispered, “Hooray, it’s the Jordanian air force! Now they’re unstoppable…oh wait….”

Seriously. They’re fighting giant alien robots and they call the Jordanians for air support? There was no other military power in the region available? Stars with an “I,” rhymes with Bisrael.
I have two theories about why the writers did this:
1. They wanted to show just how easily the Jordanian air force can be taken down.
2. They deliberately wanted to keep Israel out of the movie.

Given the redrawing of the map, I think No. 2 is more likely, unfortunately. Perhaps they thought Israel might hurt the movie overseas, I don’t know. It’s just rather disappointing. This conundrum may well be “more than meets the eye.”