When you go into a Transformers movie, you should already know what to expect: robot on robot action, a two-and-a-half hour runnning time, quick-cut scenes, hot women and slow-mo hero shots. It’s a SUMMER ACTION MOVIE. What do we expect from popcorn filmmaking or at least a movie titled “Transformers” directed by Michael Bay? You’re not going to get Birdman or The Artist (thank God), you’re going to get some fun, if you let it be fun.
Transformers: The Last Knight opened June 21st and the movie is no different from the previous sequels. In this installment, the franchise dives deep into King Arthur/Merlin mythology showing that the Transformers have been around a very long time. Optimus Prime is taking a siesta out in space (and out of the movie for a lot of the running time) the Autobots are hunted by the military, Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg, closely sporting his Dirk Diggler ‘do) is now a fugitive and the Decepticons want to come out and start some shit.
Those fuckers never learn.
As you can tell from the trailers, Optimus breaks bad and it’s up to Cade and Bumblebee to save the world. That’s basically the movie in a nutshell. Were you expecting anything more?
Michael Bay tries things a bit differently this go around, especially with the action. Yes, there are still some quick edits here and there but there are also some shots that hold onto the action a lot more than his previous movies; like he watched John Wick and realized action can benefit with keeping the camera still. Hopefully he’ll hold onto that and maybe make a small movie like Wick that will blow us all away with what he can do with a tighter script and a lower budget. Bay is also not using women in this movie as sex objects like Megan Fox or Rosie Huntington Whitely, this time they are actually crucial to the plot of the movie, so hooray for Bay on that.
There’s still problems with The Last Knight that could’ve been fixed, like the convoluted plot that has plagued the franchise since the beginning, the tacky (to some) product placement placed and the plot holes big enough for Optimus to drive through. Those problems can be easily ignored if you have fun with it and embrace The Last Knight for what it’s trying to be – just a fun, summer movie. Nothing more.
Hit us up on Twitter @official_FAN with your thoughts on The Last Knight!
You can find Mando on twitter @manbat33 when he’s not recording the Talented Slackers Podcast.