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Movie Review: Transformers: Age of Extinction

Dane Jackson

Admit it. You already have your mind made up about Michael Bay’s latest installment featuring everyone’s favorite robots in disguise. I could tell you Transformers: Age of Extinction makes Citizen Kane look like Transformers 2 (don’t worry, it doesn’t) and you would still probably stick to your guns. This movie franchise is critic-proof. No matter how hard the movies get slammed, they still perform amazingly well at the box office. After watching Age of Extinction, they’ll still continue to do so, and more movies will be on the way. It’s my opinion that readers of this review are looking to validate their preconceived notions about the franchise; they don’t care about plot (Michael Bay himself seems to fall in this camp at times throughout the movie), they just want to know about the robots, the action, the Dinobots, whether to see it in the theaters, and whether to shell out the extra couple bucks for 3D.

So, here goes:

Transformers: Age of Extinction takes place soon after humans have regained control of Chicago after the events of the third movie. Due to the destruction and loss of human life incurred, relationships between us and the alien robots are understandably strained. The Autobots are all scattered and in hiding while black ops government agencies conduct searches, raids, and disposal of any Transformer they find. An inventor from Texas named Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) happens upon a broken down semi-truck and plans to scrap it for parts to help with past-due bills and getting his daughter to college, only to discover that it’s the leader of the Autobots. When reactivating Optimus (once again voiced by the wonderful Peter Cullen), Yeager ends up putting his family and business partner (T.J. Miller in a stand out performance) in danger, which results in the destruction of his house and workshop. Then, in a potential flaw of logic, Yeager and family go on the run with Optimus Prime to figure out what’s going on and who’s trying to kill them.

Aside from Wahlberg, the movie’s cast gets a complete upgrade with the likes of Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, and the voice talents of John Goodman and Ken Watanabe. As is typical in a Michael Bay film, most of the female characters aren’t as fleshed out, and serve more as window dressing than anything else. I’ll give him some credit though, Yeager’s daughter Tessa (Nicola Pelz) holds her own for the most part. The cast breathes new life into the franchise, making Shia LeBeouf a complete afterthought. Sadly, while the cast was amazing, they weren’t always given the best material to work with, but Wahlberg and Tucci especially, still offered many humorous and thoughtful moments. My one gripe with Wahlberg’s character is that he morphed into aww shucks inventor into a full-fledged action star with no real character development. By doing this, his mechanic/inventor strengths are dropped for a full-fledged fighting machine who becomes an alien rifle-toting sharpshooter. In a movie showcasing giant transforming robots, the evolution of Cade Yeager felt the most unrealistic.

But who cares about the humans anyways? This is a movie about big giant robots! How were the robots? The core Autobot team was great. After being in hiding and not trusting the humans, they have clear motivation and conflict. In fact, this is the best Bay has done with the robots at giving them an interesting narrative. Of the Autobot team, my only real gripe is with Hound (John Goodman). While he was a great character and fun to watch on the screen, he had a bit of a potty mouth, which felt really out of place to me. I get that it’s PG-13, but with a movie based on a line of toys, there’s no doubt the audience for this film will skew younger. Bay should’ve been more mindful of that and cleaned it up a bit. The Decepticons are essentially non-existent in the film, instead replaced with human-generated Transformer clones created by Stanley Tucci’s character, as well as nondescript Decepticon henchmen working for Transformer bounty hunter Lockdown. The lack of villain depth and characterization basically turns them into cannon fodder for trademark Michael Bay action set pieces. These scenes are hit and miss and, after four movies, some of them are just starting to feel a bit routine. All that aside though, Bay has a real eye for these scenes by now and they really are blocked and realized in spectacular fashion.

Aside from the Decepticon snub, my other gripes about Age of Extinction include the misuse of the Dinobots (I wanted them to play a bigger role than they actually did), and the movie’s length. With a runtime just shy of three hours, watching this movie felt like a chore at times. The good news is, Frank Welker finally makes his voice heard in the movie though, so that’s pretty cool.

While it may not be the best film in the series, Transformers: Age of Extinction is the best put-together. Transformer die-hards will be pleased. This is the definition of summer movie blockbuster. It’s filled with loud noises, bright lights, and action. It won’t move the dramatic needle, but it will entertain you. And what’s wrong with a little mindless fun every now and then?

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Dane Jackson

Dane Jackson has been writing about movies since high school when he had a monthly column in the school paper about cult movies. His cinematic tastes have matured (slightly) since then.
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