Transformers: Age of Extinction SPOILER FREE movie review

I have one question. One, singular question…. why is this movie getting bashed and hated? It seemed fine to me!

No, it’s not perfect. I have a few little gripes, but nothing major that could bring this movie down a whole lot. I will say one thing though: if you haven’t liked the last 3 films, you’re not going to like this one. So if that’s the case, don’t go see it. Nobody told you you absolutely need to see this, whether you’re a normal moviegoer, or a guy with a blog/reviewing site like mine. If you don’t want to see something, and you know you’re not going to enjoy it, then don’t go into it with that attitude and come out whining like a little baby of how much you think it sucks. That’s just stupid. And that’s the only reason it’s getting all these bad scores and bashed on blogs and videos, because people knew they wouldn’t like it, yet they saw it anyway, with those same expectations, and come out whining. That’s ridiculous.

As for me, I happened to like the last 3 films (how dare I like something by Michael Bay?!) and I went into this one with some hopes of it being enjoyable. In my eyes, (since reviews always have some sort of bias, no matter what) it was pretty freaking good! The action and effects are great, and that goes without saying. But the characters and story were very solid.

Without spoiling anything, the story takes place 4 years after the events of Dark of the Moon. Harold Attinger and other government officials ordered the termination of all Transformers. Whether they’re Autobot or Decepticon, they’re dead. The others, including Optimus, have been in hiding, and someone has a price set on Prime’s head. Somehow, Mark Wahlberg’s character gets into the mix, and he ends up helping the Autobots out in discovering why humans are hunting them all down.

This has to be the most interesting plot of the movie series. It paves the way for sequels, and introduces a lot of cool ideas. If you read my review of Dark of the Moon, you’d know that I cried at the death of Ironhide, my favorite character. Well, some more robots from the first trilogy get killed off, and it is absolutely heartbreaking. I was on the verge of bawling when one of my other favorite characters were killed. It was sad, and a REALLY dark turn! This movie is definitely serious, and the comedy bits don’t detract from it.

One thing I was glad to see was more screentime for the robot characters. While it’s still focused on humans, they get a lot more time to shine and interact with each other. They’re a lot more memorable than the Arcee sisters from Revenge of the Fallen, or Jolt from the same movie. I liked Drift, I loved Crosshairs, and Hound stole the show. I couldn’t get enough of Hound! He is officially my new favorite character from the live action film series. And if you read my reviews of the previous movies, you’d know that Ironhide was my favorite. Well, since he’s kinda dead, that spot was open, and Hound took it. It’s John Goodman as a Transformer. Unless they really tried, there’s not much to go wrong with there.

The Transformers have personalities again, like actual characters instead of tools for destruction sequences. This is the Autobot Dream Team right here. As for the Decepticons, they all died a long time ago, they don’t have a big presence until the final act when something… spoilerish happens. Just remember that Galvatron is a key player, and is also sort of the main villain… along with Lockdown.

The big villain everyone was anticipating was the bounty hunter, Lockdown, who’s after Optimus. Why? Well, I couldn’t tell you if I wanted to, because it’s never explained. Either way, Lockdown is the villain that we deserve. Megatron was always a tool for someone else, and though Lockdown is hired by some mysterious ‘creators’, he’s still his own guy in charge of his own agendas. He is the best villain the live action series has ever had to date. I love him.

The direction they took with Optimus Prime’s character is something that hasn’t been done before. He’s lost his cool before (especially in the tie in comics), but he is freaking pi$$ed off at the humans for how big of jerks they’ve been! Some fans are complaining that it’s not like Optimus to hate humans or even shoot at them, but I respectfully disagree. If you look back at how much this incarnation of Optimus has been through, you’d be like him, too. He doesn’t want anything to do with humans anymore. I like that he’s unsure of who to trust now. He’s more than just a guy that gives speeches. He’s been through a lot, and it can change a person, no matter if they’re a Prime. It may go against what the ideal Optimus stands for, but this isn’t the ideal Optimus. He’s not perfect, he’s not some boy scout trooper guy. He’s deeper than that.

As for the human characters, to me, they’re not terrible. Mark Wahlberg is ASTRONOMICALLY better than Shia Labeouf in every conceivable way. In the final battle, he actually picks up a gun and shoots the bad guys! The other humans also help the Autobots win the day, and I was so glad to see that they were more than helpless idiots.

His daughter is alright. There were a lot of people complaining about her being a damsel in distress (which she kind of is) but it’s not annoyingly so. Besides, if you were a 17 year old teenager like she was, and YOU got caught in an alien net? You’d be panicking and screaming “Help me, Dad!” as well. She also wears extremely short shorts, and of course people were saying “That’s sexualizing and demoralizing towards women!” Well, guess what? I’ve seen a lot worse on the street from teenagers younger than her, so this is pretty accurate to how a teenage girl would dress and act. I didn’t buy that her makeup stayed perfect through all that, but it’s a movie. What are we really going to do? On top of that, she helps out Optimus in the final fight, and what she does is pretty important.

Not the best actress by far, but do you really expect Oscar worthy performances from Transformers? She’s a lot better than Megan Fox. Same with the boyfriend, or as Mark likes to call him “Lucky Charms”, due to him being Irish. I’ve already seen people saying “That’s racist!” but they’re blowing things out of proportion. I’m part Irish. I took no offense to that whatsoever. Besides, that isn’t even close to racism. Why are people so stupid? And why do they keep saying everything in this movie is racist? Because everyone hates Michael Bay, and if they can’t find a reason to hate his next movie, they pull one out of their @$$.

I still don’t hate Michael Bay. I might not be too excited for Ninja Turtles, but he’s still not a terrible director. If this were Shyamalan we were dealing with here, then we could bash the movie all we want. Why? Because he is a legitimately bad director, who makes unbelievably bad movies, and unlike Michael Bay, there is not a millionth of a percent of enjoyment in a single one of his movies, other than maybe the Sixth Sense.

Anyway, the human characters still aren’t bad. T.J. Miller was alright, Titus Welliver was awesome, and Kelsey Grammer killed it as the human villain. Stanley Tucci is always enjoyable in everything he does. I could see that he was becoming a character similar to Simmons from the first trilogy, but a LOT better. Basically, this is the only Transformers movie aside from the first where I can say “I enjoyed all the human characters.”

There are some ‘Michael Bay-isms’, as people like to call them, sure, but nothing worth getting angry over. The shaky cam in a few of the intense human scenes was a bit much, but not like Hunger Games at all. Of course, there are the explosions that always look nice. The Transformers themselves were well designed and were brought to life better than the previous films. The final battle indeed felt shorter than Dark of the Moon’s, but there was plenty of robot action in it, other than human military guys doing everything. I can’t describe how great the cinematography for the big scale parts were. See it in IMAX. It’s the way I saw it, because it’s the way the filmmakers intended it to be seen.

My favorite part was when the Autobots snuck onto Lockdown’s ship. That was full of priceless moments between them, and the interior of the ship is so interesting to me. There’s so much in it, but it’s never answered exactly what it all is. It’s mysterious and designed perfectly. The ship was never destroyed, so I’m wondering what they’re going to do with it in the future.

I only had two problems with it.

1. The humor at the beginning was a bit off, but not as awkward as Revenge of The Fallen.

2. The Dinobots are just… there. They aren’t as pointless as the Rhino from The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and they do provide some astonishing action, but they aren’t given personalities. I’m not complaining that they aren’t the original lineup of Grimlock, Swoop, Sludge, Snarl, and Slag (instead it’s Grimlock, Slug, Scorn, and Strafe), I’m just disappointed that they aren’t actual characters, and more like animals. Cybertronian Knights... but animals. They just show up, have no lines of dialogue, eat guys, and earn their freedom, then go off to who knows where.

Either way, I’m still glad we got the Dinobots on the bigscreen. I’m pretty sure they’re coming back for the future films, and I hope they get lines of dialogue. And those two reasons are the only complaints I have with Age of Extinction.

One thing I was worried about was the soundtrack. Since this is a half sequel-half reboot, I was worried the themes I loved from the first trilogy, like Arrival to Earth, would be gone. This movie taught me to never doubt Steve Jablonsky. Not only was the new score awesome, but he brought back the Arrival to Earth theme for one scene. That made my day. The score goes just as well with the scenes here as it did with the previous ones.  

Imagine Dragons replaced Linkin Park as the featured band of the films. The song made specifically for Age of Extinction is “Battle Cry”, and it’s used so effectively. Never before have I heard a pop song like this be used so well in the right places. I liked the use of “Iridescent” from Dark of the Moon, but “Battle Cry” is much more fitting and done so much better.

No matter what critics say, I stand by my opinion when I say Transformers: Age of Extinction is the most fun I’ve had at the movies this summer. Definitely one of my favorites this year. I love all the characters a lot more than I did the last two movies. They’re memorable, fun, and are probably the best Autobot team next to the one from the Transformers: Prime TV show. I thought the story was pretty darn good. I don’t get it when people say it’s nonexistent when it’s right in front of their face! You know, along with all the destruction. I guess Michael Bay tries to make a story out of an action sequence rather than make an action sequence out of the story. It still flows well. Not a lot of super plot holes that I noticed on the first viewing.

As much as I loved Dark of the Moon, Age of Extinction is FAR superior to it. It’s tied with the first in the spot for favorite Transformers movie. I know I loved it, but I’m not so sure about everyone else. If you didn’t like the others, don’t bother. If you did, check it out. If you’re not sure, wait until DVD. Don’t let the critics influence you though. Decide for yourself. Me? I’m not a critic. I’m a normal moviegoer which just happens to have a reviewing blog so he can share his opinion and viewpoints on movies with the world. And it is my strong belief that Age of Extinction is worth the score I gave it below.

FINAL RATING: 45 / 50

STORY: 4 / 5

ACTING: 3 / 5

CHARACTERS: 4 / 5

CG/EFFECTS: 5 / 5

ACTION: 5 / 5

SOUNDTRACK: 5 / 5

TONE: 4 / 5

ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5

REWATCH VALUE: 5 / 5

OWNING VALUE: 5 / 5

I honestly don’t see what’s got every critic’s panties in a bunch. I thought it was fine.

This is basically the setup for two more movies. “How horrible! They’re still going to make these abominations to the cinematic experience? NO! It’s not like I have a choice whether I’m going to see the next two or not, so I’ll be tortured again! Oh, the humanity!” - says every critic and hater ever.

Yes, to many people’s dismay, there are going to be two more. Age of Extinction will make its money no matter what critics say. I am personally excited to see what they’re going to do to continue it. I’ll be there, and if you’re one of the people who don’t like the Transformers movies, then you don’t have to go. The people who do enjoy them will be better off without you spoiling the fun.

(slight rant ahead)

I’m really questioning the integrity of other critics, and even some honest reviewers. I just cannot believe all the stupid, overboard, ridiculous stuff critics are saying about this movie because they don’t like it. This is why I don’t like them. They’ll make some stupid reasons to hate and yell and cry and throw a fit over… even the tiniest things! I’ve seen people say it has bad CG and special effects, but they are dead wrong. Just because they don’t like a movie because they think the story and characters suck doesn’t mean they get to take a crap all over it. They need to give credit where credit is due, no matter how bad they think it is. They didn’t review this movie, they just complained about it, and exaggerated why they didn’t like it because negativity always gets them more views on their websites and blogs. I see nothing majorly wrong with Age of Extinction. It’s not perfect, but it’s the most fun I’ve had at the movies this summer!

Remember the Amazing Spider-Man 2? Again, not perfect, but it’s still a solid movie. There were a few things that didn’t settle right, but overall it was a good, fun time. Critics took those few little flaws and blew them up into a whiney fit that they happened to call a review. I will agree that some movies do get me a little disappointed, and maybe a little angry, and sometimes I will bash them, but I always give credit where it’s due.That Spider-Man movie and the reasons why critics bashed it is exactly what I mean when I say “I don’t trust movie critics.” Sometimes I’ll share a few viewpoints with them, but for the most part, I just ignore them.