Hey Movie fans!
I have to admit... I'm an old school Transformer fan. I can remember very clearly the amount of joy that I had watching the original cartoon as a kid, and even reading the comic book. So, despite having seen the previous Transformers movies, I was still looking forward to Age of Extinction. You see, in the first movie, there was a scene when Optimus first speaks, and says his name... and I'll be dammed if that didn't give me the chills. So now, like a drug addict, or a slot junkie, I keep coming back, time and again hoping for that same thrill.... but I always walk away feeling a little dirty.
In the fourth film of the trilogy, the autobots find themselves on the run. After the events of the last film, the U.S. Military, ran by Frasier Crane himself, Kelsey Grammer, is hunting down transformers of all kinds in the name of protecting human lives. As I've stated before: I hate it when sequels simply crap all over the happy ending of the last film. I understand why... .but it still bugs me.
Enter Mark Wahlberg, an inventor so down on his luck, he apparently had to move from Boston to Texas. He, his funny sidekick buddy, and his hot young daughter find an injured Optimus Prime and try to help fix him.
Soon, the government shows up...and bad things start happening. We trade out funny sidekick for the daughters hot boyfriend, meet up with some other Autobots, and uncover a secret plot that's way to complex to explain in a single sitting. I mean, it's not "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" or anything... but there really are a LOT of side plots, and extra characters, and times when all the bad guys sit around and wait for the good guys to have some exposition.
Thankfully, I can say this: "Age of Extinction" finally pays some attention to the Transformers themselves. We actually get to see the story behind the robots, and see how they develop. Sadly, the film makers still wanted to make sure we had all the human plot lines... so we end up with three hours of movie, and lots of scenes where Marky Mark is trying to tell his daughter, you gotta believe.
This review seems to be meandering ... just like the plot of the movie.
Anyway... Hey, this is a Transformer movie. As i've said before, this is the FOURTH Michael Bay transformers film. Seriously. At this point, if you walk into this film, you have to be OK with the fact you're walking into a theater to watch a movie, based on toys, about giant robots, directed by Michael Bay. If you're expecting more, then you really only have yourself to blame.
So, keeping that in mind, this film isn't that bad. The special effects are really cool, the action scenes have lots of really great sequences, you root for the good guys, and you cheer when the bad guys get blown up. And yes, when the Dinobots show up, it's pretty cool... even if there is nearly NO Explanation about what they are, why they're there, or even their names.
The 3D effects are pretty good in a couple scenes, but they're not mind blowing. I'm pretty sure there's a couple of scenes they simply put in just so they can show off the 3D effects. I don't mean, like scenes with explosions. I mean, scenes where ash is drifting around, or where people are looking at a long drop. That kind of stuff. If you love yourself some 3D, then go for it, but if you're looking to save a couple bucks, don't worry about it.
The only real complaint I have is that this movie is so freaking long! Three Hours! A Transformers movie does NOT need to be three hours long. and it's not like there aren't things they could have cut. There's all these random, time consuming scenes involving humans, and even extra characters that simply don't need to exist! at one point, it seems Bey is just throwing out attractive women like they're slow motion explosions... they're only there to keep us distracted.
That was my real complaint... my unreal complaint: These Autobots are a lot, and I mean a LOT darker than the ones from my childhood.
On a related note: Parents, Bey actually makes this film even more violent than the last. We see some pretty violent deaths of not only some robots, but of Human's as well. Most of them are the kind of deaths you just don't think about unless you're me, but at least one is a big, emotional, human death that could have younger kids upset.
Wrapping this up, I think the ultimate point I'm trying to make is: This is a Michael Bey Film, based on the 1980's Toys about giant robots.. but it's darker... and three hours long.
Wow, I could have started with that and saved myself a bunch of time.
Anyway, that's it for this week. I may have to take a couple weeks off due to personal stuff, and the fact I'm not paid to do this. So, see you later movie fans!
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