Let me first confess that I actually like Michael Bay’s films. I know he is not everyone’s cup of tea. His movies are loud, destructive and the storyline, if you can find one, is choppy at best. Movies are as much about entertainment as they are about being thought provoking discussion pieces among film aficionados. I look at films like I do any other form of art, some love abstract paintings while others can only appreciate paintings from the renaissance. Because you may not paint within the lines doesn’t make it any less of a painting, it’s all subjective. Warning, spoilers ahead…
Now lets discuss Age of Extinction, the fourth installment and my least favorite in the Transformers series. Gone is Shia LaBeouf ‘s Sam Witwicky and enter Mark Wahlberg as failed inventor Cade Yeager. AoE picks up roughly 5 years after the events of the third film where now Optimus Prime and his Autobots are considered enemies and are being hunted by a CIA operative played by Kelsey Grammer who uses robots from outer space with transforming abilities as his hunters. By the way, they are not to be confused with the Decepticons.
When Wahlbergs’ Yeager does some scavenger hunting at a local theater for things to fix and resale, he discovers a beaten down truck and brings it back to his farm. This truck turns out to be a nearly destroyed Optimus. With all the pieces now in place, the plot of the story moves forward with Grammer and his henchmen played by Titus Welliver going in for the kill. Joining Grammer quest against the Autobots but with a different agenda, is Joshua Joyce played with great humor by Stanley Tucci. Joyce turns out to be an industrialist who discovers the metal of the Autobots and improves on it in an attempt to clone its transforming technology and create his own transformers.
The rest of the film is Michael Bay being Michael Bay. Which means, heavy on action, ear popping sound effects and a destruction level that would make Man of Steel envious. Like him or not, one of his greatest strengths is his visual direction. He knows how to set the mood.
With a running time of nearly 3 hours when you factor in the trailers, AoE is probably anywhere from 45-60 minutes too long. From an acting standpoint, Grammer was your typical black ops, keep the President in the dark type of bad guy and Wahlberg is a far more believable hero that you can root for. The supporting cast led by Tucci and newcomer Nicola Peltz as Wahlberg’s daughter Tessa, does a good enough job that you’re never really distracted by bad, chessy dialogue. Then there is Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime who is always a joy.
The biggest disappointment for me beyond the running time was the Dinobots. So much was anticipated and so little was actually done. They don’t appear until the final act and I don’t even recall the name Grimlock ever being used. Which is a real downer for any fan of the Transformers. The films ending suggest at least one more if not a couple of more sequels to come. I chalk this up as your standard summer blockbuster popcorn film. I just wish it were a tad shorter.
*** (out of 5 stars)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
