"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" translates its roots in action figures and animated series into TV and other pop culture references.

The sequel to the blockbuster of summer 2007 finds Sam (Shia LaBeouf) running for his life, with the fate of Earth and his alien Autobot friends at stake. He has something the evil Decepticons want, and that's where we'll begin:

• Sam looks into a shard of the life-giving AllSpark, and information is downloaded directly into his brain. That's straight out of NBC's "Chuck," right down to the blinking eyes and twitches that LaBeouf goes through whenever the new brain waves kick in.

• Rainn Wilson's cameo as a professor gives "Transformers 2" the obligatory summer movie appearance by a player from another NBC show, "The Office." (But it's Ed Helms -- "The Hangover," "Night at the Museum 2" -- who seems to be everywhere these days.)

• Glenn Morshower, the upright Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce of TV's "24," portrays ... Gen. Morshower. According to movieblog.com, "He was the colonel in command of the U.S. military base that was attacked in the beginning of the first 'Transformers' movie. [His] character died in that attack but that isn't stopping Michael Bay from bringing him back for 'Transformers 2' anyway. He'll just be playing another character."

• Former "Las Vegas" star Josh Duhamel also gets a promotion. He's the leader of NEST (Non-Biological Extraterrestrial Species Team), the military unit that supports the Autobots. Duhamel has leading-man looks but there's not much on his plate, according to IMDB.com. He's got a rom-com, "When in Rome" with Kristen Bell, listed as completed for next year, and that's it. Well, he is a newlywed -- to Fergie of Black Eyed Peas).

• Duhamel's NEST buddy, Tyrese Gibson, on the other hand, has "Legion" in the can and has been cast as Marvel Comics' Luke Cage in a 2011 film named for the title character.

• Peter Cullen returns as the voice of Optimus Prime, a role he's been associated with since the 1980s. (He also was the announcer for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.") Voice artist Frank Welker is onboard as Soundwave and Devastator (he's Scooby-Doo and Abu the monkey from Disney's "Aladdin," too).

• Watch for "Law & Order's" Anthony Anderson, a computer wiz in the first "Transformers" film, and you won't find him. But listen carefully: Anderson provides the voice of Jolt.

• Leo (Ramon Rodriguez) starts out as Sam's roommate but winds up on the lam with Sam and Mikaela (Megan Fox). Rodriguez is also on screen these days in "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" and is in the cast of Geena Davis' upcoming TV project, the CBS cop drama "Exit 19."

• Pin-up girl Fox told Entertainment Weekly recently: "If I really buckle down, I think one day I could be a very good actress. But so far, I haven't done anything yet." Her next gig is as the title character in Diablo Cody's sci-fi/comic/thriller "Jennifer's Body," due in September.