Autobots and Decepticons are at war, with humans on the sidelines. Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, Laura Haddock, and Josh Duhamel
Directed by: Michael Bay
Written by: Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Ken Nolan, and Akiva Goldsman
For those who grew up watching Transformers they might have mixed feeling about the franchise at this point. It’s awesome to see them transform on the big screen, and even better when they’re fighting each other. However, there always seems to be something to complain about. As for “Transformers: The Last Knight,” there’s no shortage of complaints!
The first thing to complain about is where in the hell is Optimus? There’s a short scene of him when he meets Quintessa, and is put under her command. Then a great deal of the movie goes by before he appears again. He supposedly has turned bad, but that lasts for two seconds, which makes it almost pointless. When the final battle begins he’s nowhere to be found again, and no one can give a good explanation to why he’s gone missing. He does pull off an awesome move when he eventually returns again, but it doesn’t make up for his lack of film time.
As for the other Transformers, there seems to be so many of them this time, yet not as many great fight scenes between them. While there’s a shortage of Optimus, at least Megatron gets some action. There’s a strange introduction of the Suicide Squad of Decepticons, who unfortunately don’t last long in an early fight. The Dinobots finally make an appearance, which is fun while it lasts. As for other Autobots, there are some familiar faces, but mostly just the same annoying ones. Really, it’s Bumblebee’s show from beginning to end.
Which brings us to the overcomplicated story this time around. The audience gets a little history lesson, as they discover Transformers have been on this planet going way back in time. They even have an effect in the days of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table. In present time, Cade (Mark Wahlberg) is still helping the Autobots, and becomes too much of the focus. In other words, he’s not a good replacement for Optimus! Of course he has to have a so called love interest, who is Vivian (Laura Haddock), and too much time is spent on why they play an important role in the fate of the planet.
Even with all the complaints, I’m still a sucker for Transformers. However, when they make the next film, they need to try a different formula. Many of these complaints can be said in the previous films as well. Try telling a simpler story, give screen time to Transformers that actually matter, less focus on the military please, and for crying out loud have Optimus in it for more than five minutes. With that said, sadly I generously give “Transformers: The Last Night” 2 stars.
HorrO
*There is an after credits scene*
