Transformers: Age of Extinction 3D (12A) review
I’ve never really understood the hate often directed at director Michael Bay and the direction he’s taken the big screen version of the Transformers franchise.
Regular negatives seem to be that the scripts ‘aren’t believable’, that Bay ‘indulges himself too much with explosions and/or destruction’ and that the films are simply ‘too long’ to enjoy.
Personally, I don’t imagine any script involving the accepted existence of giant alien robots will ever be believable. But I enjoy strapping myself in for over two-and-a-half hours of stunning action sequences that don’t really take my mind to task.
With that in mind, Transformers: Age of Extinction (the fourth entry into the series) delivered exactly what I expected – and indeed wanted – from my trip to the cinema.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with the original trilogy of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox fame, this is the start of a new story told in the same universe.
The battle of Chicago in 2011’s Dark of the Moon still looms large, with humans now hunting both the hostile Decepticons and friendly Autobots in an apparent bid to ‘take back’ earth.
That has forced the Transformers into hiding – but everything changes when robotics engineer Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) and his best mate Lucas (TJ Miller) find a beaten up Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) when clearing out an old building.
Naturally, that alerts those hunting the Transformers, with the villainous Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer) dispatching a government hit squad – led by Savoy (Titus Welliver) – to retrieve the Autobot leader at all costs.
That leaves Cade, his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz) and her boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) caught in the crossfire – and their story goes from there.
Meanwhile, Attinger has commissioned tech tycoon Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci) to create man-made and controlled Transformers, via his company KSI.
He’s also in cahoots with the quite simply bad-ass Lockdown, a Transformer that pledges no allegiance to the two traditional factions.
But, while facilitating the extinction of the earth-bound Transformers is their number one goal, Joyce and Attinger have no idea that their actions threaten the future of the human race too.
That forces Optimus and Cade to seek out Bumblebee, Hound (John Goodman), Drift (Ken Watanabe) and Crosshairs (John DiMaggio) in a bid to save the day.
As a big fan of the original trilogy, I’m happy to say that Age of Extinction is comfortably on the same level. I watched it in 3D – and the special effects were simply mind-blowing.
Yes, the human element of the story is cheesey at times – especially Cade’s caveman like attitude towards Tessa’s love life. Wahlberg does prove a decent pick as the lead overall, though.
But let’s be honest, it’s all about the CGI Transformers – none more so than Lockdown, who probably tops Megatron for fear factor with his ruthless nature.
KSI’s ‘man-made’ models also look incredible, while the epic level of destruction on show is mind-blowing.
Also impressive are the ‘Dino-bots’ that you’ve probably seen in the extensive trailers, but sadly you’ll have to wait a while to see them in all of their glory.
Overall, Age of Extinction carries a much darker tone that its predecessors – and you may be surprised by the direction the series seems to be heading by the end.
Far from a thinking man’s film, you’ll not enjoy this if CGI and all-out action aren’t your thing.
For those of you – like me – that embrace Bay’s bombastic ways, this is a real blast.
Rating: 4/5 (Watched at West End Cinema, Boston)
