Transformers: Age of Extinction

Where to begin with reviewing a Michael Bay film? How should I even start?

Transformers: Age of Extinction is Bay's fourth film in the franchise that has dominated the box office and baffled the critics with every iteration. Deemed by most critics as the "worst movies of the year" (they aren't), the films often go on to make the type of money that would indicate they were actually some of the best of the year (they aren't).

Given that this is the first Rath's Review for the Transformer franchise I'll disclaimer this: by this point in time, you, as a casual movie goer, should know EXACTLY what you are getting into when you buy a Michael Bay Transformers ticket. A dumb, video-game-esque story, endless hyper-edited action sequences, slow motion, hot cars, hot girls, tons of explosions, and lots and lots of noise. Personally? I'm a fan of the franchise if for nothing more than a little escapism and to see some ginormous explosions (Age of Extinction has one in particular that is mightily impressive). I think that the series' second film, Revenge of the Fallen, was pretty darn bad, that the first film is still the best mainly because of its actually-reasonable runtime, and that the third has grown on me quite a bit.

Agree or disagree with me but it is my opinion that Bay gets his fair share of unwarranted flak in Hollywood. I know I've discussed it before in my Pain or Gain review but every director has a distinct style and something that he/she is good/bad at. Michael Bay can't tell a story worth s**t, but he definitely knows his way around a spectacular set piece. Wes Anderson, for example, creates fantastic characters with some quirky comedy but I guarantee you that he would be a tad disappointing at the helm of a million dollar explosion on set.

But enough about Bay's resume. This is a review for Age of Extinction, not a discussion about misguided critiques. That's an entirely different post altogether.

Random metal dragon? Check!

With LaBeouf's career spiraling, the series looked
to a new hero. Enter...the Gas Station!

Age of Extinction ditches the entire cast (other than the Transformers themselves) from the first trilogy and instead ops for all new characters. I was somewhat perturbed that there was no mention of previous characters, but oh well. Mark Wahlberg owns the film and was the right leading actor to take over the franchise. His character, Cade Yeager, is far less annoying than LaBeouf's eventually came. He is a humble, but unsuccessful, inventor who is trying to support his daughter, Tessa. Nicola Peltz is the standard "hot-chick" in the film, although I liked her more than past females of the series because I found her to be much more of a heroine than the other two. Yes she gets caught in peril and needs saving from the burly men, but she also takes initiative and is ambitious to be in the fight, even if she is doing so in very short shorts per Bay's request. Her boyfriend, played by Jack Reynor, fairs less admirably as he was pretty forgettable and seemed unnecessary.  TJ Miller provides some great comedic relief for a while and I wish that he would have stuck around longer. Stanley Tucci is fun to watch as the Steve Jobs copycat, Joshua Joyce, who is using the Transformers' metal to make a new, programmable element. It's just too bad that by the time the film gets to him, the audience is losing interest. Also impressive was Kelsey Grammar as the CIA official and human villain. There was some untapped potential in this film but I would love to see him play the villain again in other movies throughout his career. So...all in all, this Transformers boasts an improved cast that I think people (other than obnoxiously cynical critics) will enjoy.

The Transformers themselves are unchanged somewhat. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are still the focal points. The "immature" robots are largely gone which was nice for a change. The new addition of Lockdown is a phenomenal one as he is probably the highlight of the film and really could be the villain of the new trilogy. The film tries, albeit very unsuccessfully, to shoehorn Megatron back into the mix and I was really disappointed that it was retreading that old ground. Also violently shoehorned into the film, to a point where it was distracting because I was like "Wait, where the f**k did these come from?!?" were the dinobots. Bay knew that in order to get the fanboys back on board for another Transformers film he would have to give them something to drool about. The dinobots were his ticket but they literally come out of nowhere in the last 30 minutes and by that time I was too exhausted to even be impressed.

Nebraska just got a whole lot more exciting!

As is usual with these films, the special effects are tremendous. My jaw still dropped from time to time just because of how good these robots look against a city backdrop. The spectacle is still out of this world and you really do have to give Bay credit, even if you hate him, for being able to put together one hell of a sound and light show. Unfortunately, it seems that his talent was his own demise. 2011's Dark of the Moon ended up having a larger affect on the industry than I think many people realize with its amazing, albeit overly long, destruction of Chicago (which the new film addresses specifically how many people died, damage done, etc. Big scripting points from me for addressing the destruction of a past film. Not enough films do it). After Dark of the Moon, Avengers and Man of Steel followed, among others, with the "city destruction" theme. Bay's finale in Age of Extinction, although just as long as Dark of the Moon's, is far less impressive and even worse, less inventive. Where some of the film's early and middle action scenes are fun, the finale is hyper edited to the point of making an exhausted audience member even more drained. Simply put, the Transformers movies would be SIGNIFICANTLY better if they chopped off 40 minutes each, except for the first one. I mean hell, the first one is by far the best and guess what? It's also the shortest. Had Age of Extinction ended much, much sooner I think it probably had the potential to be the best of the series.

The film could really be split into two with the first, far superior half, being about humans hunting the Transformers for their metal. But about halfway through we are introduced to new characters and a new overarching enemy that ups the stakes and slowly the audience realizes that the film is nowhere near being complete. This second half isn't bad per say, just incredibly average and by this time there have already been so many climaxes that the audience doesn't much know exactly why things are still going on. It's a shame because had Bay split this up into two films, at least this first one would have been really, really fun. But as Michael Bay usually does, and subsequently it's also MY biggest complaint about him as a director, he over indulges. Just sitting here writing this I can easily think of 20 minutes to take off and I know that at least an hour could have been removed. I stated in a previous review this year that long movies need to earn their length with the audience. Age of Extinction does not do that.

Ok but seriously these special effects are insane.

The Transformer series is one that I urge people to ignore the critics and make up their own mind on. I've met many who abhor them and many who adore them. As always, the art of film is fairly subjective. But if you want the opinion of someone who always gives the franchise a fair shake and has been both disappointed and impressed by it then here it is:

Transformers: Age of Extinction is not the best of the series. It's not even the second best in my book. But it's certainly not without its merits of an improved cast, less childish humor, and a well constructed first half. It's just a shame that Bay had to...well...be Michael Bay and over do it...again.

But hey, I bought the ticket. I knew what I was getting into.

CONS:

• Just So. Damn. Long. It's a shame too because without the second half of the film this probably would have been the best of the series
• Bay's sexist/racist side still shines through from time to time. Makes me laugh personally, but I know it shouldn't
• The bombastic destruction of Chicago was so impressive last film that the destruction in the finale in China this go around felt rather "meh"
• I feel like every plot of this series is the exact same. Time to get some new material Mr. Bay
• Action scenes in the latter half of the film are way over edited. Frames change every half second and Bay rarely lets the camera just stay put and capture the action
• I couldn't tell you what happened in the plot past the halfway point or how half of what was going on got started
• A fairly poor script, especially by that third hour. Also skips any mention of characters from the first film
• The dinobots are horrendously shoehorned into the film. Same with Megatron
• Bay's inability to produce inventive action this time around shows either a lack of ambition, waning interest in the material, or a combination of both
• Did I mention it's too long?

PROS:

• An improved human cast. Wahlberg is enjoyable as always and Peltz did fine. Tucci is fun to watch and Grammar was a well-cast villain. TJ Miller provides some brief comedic entertainment that has been better than past films
• The newest Transformer, Lockdown, is an awesome addition and is part of what makes the first half so much fun. He is truly badass and menacing
• The first half is fun, slower in terms of action, funny, and focuses mainly on the humans vs. Transformers aspect. Way better than the second half
• I liked how the film mentioned the destruction aftermath from the previous film. More films need to start taking responsibility for their previous iterations' consequences
• Amazing special effects. Especially impressive in IMAX 3D
• One explosion in particular was incredible and Bay really shows off his talent behind large staged set pieces
• As usual, the film has a pretty good original score and soundtrack. No Linkin Park this time is a plus!
• The Transformers films are all about spectacle. This one has it in spades and fans of the franchise won't be disappointed



Rath's Review Score: 6.5/10