The plot isn't something unseen or unheard of. On the one hand we have Mark Wahlberg is portraying a very protective father called Cade Yeager, who tries to invent and repair things in order to earn a living. His daughter Tessa(Nicola Peltz)is trying to go to college. Jack Reynor embodies a character named Shane Dyson - Tessa's secret boyfriend. There is also Lucas a kind of friend and employee of Cade.
On the other hand Joshua Joyce(Stanley Tucci) is presented to us as the scientist, who claims to have found a new element of the Periodic table he names "Transformium". There is also Darcy Tirrel (Sophia Myles) - the sort of assistant of Joshua. There is also a member of the Secret Services who helps them(or at least we are let to believe so) called Harold. And the Transformers are, of course, here.
The movie starts off with Cade finding a truck and then being attacked by the government because of it. It chases him because the truck is, in fact, Optimus Prime. After a series of events Shane meets Tessa's father under bad circumstances. In the end they team up for the sake of saving Tessa. There was some humor in this film and wasn't as dry as it used to be before. So I am happy for that.
The first hour and something of the film takes place in Texas and Chicago. Afterwards it moves to Beijing and Hong Kong.
Speaking of hours, the film's length is around the two and a half hour mark. The official running time is 165 minutes but they include the ten-minute credits. It didn't feel as long to me as I've heard from others. I will lie if I say that it isn't dragged at some scenes but that's not too noticeable.
Regardless of what people say about Michael Bay's direction I liked it. Quite a lot, in fact. Yes, there were quite a few lens flares and an enormous amount of explosions but that's just his approach. And I am not ashamed to say I liked it.
Speaking of direction I simply cannot not mention the special and visual effects, which were astonishing. I did find Prime looking differently in this installment. He was looking better. Same goes for all the autobots.
The sound was incredible. At least to me. I saw it in DOLBY ATMOS and I was just blow away or dare I say magnetised upwards. The sounding was fascinating. There was a setain scene were objects were magnetically dragged upwards and the sound just kind of... shivered me. I could feel so many vibrations and it was just incredible experience. Mentioning sound, the soundtrack is really well-done. "Imagine dragons did thair job rally well. The music was a perfect fit for the scenes.
Speaking of autobots, Prime and his fellows are not welcome on Earth anymore. At least not by the government because they are now considered dangerous. We are introduced to the new, "improved" versions of the transformers. They have been artificially created by the humans from the remains of the killed decepticons. They transform in a different way and are more durable. They are harder to kill/destroy.
And lets face it, you want to know about the dinobots. Yes, they do transform but I can't say anything else without giving too much away. Just a hint - they do not transform into cars. The dinobots were on the screen around the last 40-60 minutes.
And last but not least the acting was definitely better. I liked Mark's expression and everything. Tessa overacting sometimes but, oh well, which blond in Bay's film doesn't? Shane's actor was really good at showing emotions too.
All in short, Transformers: Age of Extinction is overall the best installment in the quadrilogy and franky, one of Bay's best films. Of course, it has its flaws like not really clear plot but it was very entertaining movie with a few moments that leave you on the edge of your seat.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
The next film of the franchise is heading for a 2016 release date.
If you like this sort of thing, then it's going to be a near-masterpiece. If not, then it's going to be a bit of a grueling watch. Good review Denis.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I fall for Sci-Fi/Fantasy stuff so it was good. Thank you for the kind words. They really mean a lot to me. :)
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