Movie Review - Transformers 4 : Age Of Extinction (spoilers)

[ILikeSoundwave]

Loved it! Lockdown was the greatest villain in the movies by far!

Finally a Transformers movie where there was nothing hidden on Earth (or the moon) that no none knew about.

Couple minor nitpicks, but I did not see the dance scene which was rather disappointing for me.

[Defcon]

I rated the movie excellent because overall I enjoyed it more than the previous 2 movies. The main reason is Lockdown, what a great villain. Also the inclusion of the Dinobots, mention of the creators, and Galvatron. Lastly a new human cast.

It had much less cringe worthy humor which was a big plus, however it was replaced with excessive product placement which really is a distraction and useless.

some points already mentioned all negatives!!

- Transformium, oh crap as soon as I heard that, I thought that should be Cybertronium! hopefully someone in the future will correct that.
- The morphing dots shifting effect was terrible
- The new design for Optimus I just don't like it, I prefer the design with all the shifting parts. This new one doesn't seem authentic.
- Optimus flying off into space, what now is he superman or neo from the matrix, I just found this absurd why didn't he use this ability throughout the movie, I really glad he didn't!!
- The dinobots introduction scene was overly short and happened way to quickly, would of much preferred more depth there. I'm serious it was like the blink of an eye when compared to other far less important scenes in the movie.

[Jinto]

A few things bugged me during the film. Firstly what's wrong with the perfectly good word "cybertronium"?

I was secretly hoping for Transmetal.

Secondly why did Drift turn into a helicopter at all (and a stereotype)?

I don't think Bay can do non-caucasians as anything but stereotypes.

And my biggest issue: the mighty morphin prototypes.

Made me think of Beast Machines every time.

[M-bot]

The most interesting thing for me was the increasing subversiveness of the films. Plenty has been written about the casual sexism and racism of the previous movies, but this film introduced what I think is the first TF film F-bomb and more than a hint of some almost-hentai action towards the main female protagonist, Tessa. Optimus Prime is more homicidal maniac in this film than noble protector. I am increasingly suspicious that Michael Bay is not himself racist or mysoginist or homophobic or a gorehound, but revels in pushing these things into what could (should?) be a family friendly film just to see if he can get away with it. I was reminded of the piece of stand up done by the late George Carlin regarding joking about rape and whether it is ever appropriate, and I wonder if Bay is of much the same opinion.

Regarding the ridiculously OTT, unsubtle and overt product placement, there's a sense of irony there in that the original cartoon was essentially just one big advert to sell the toys.

A very interesting film indeed.

[theshape]

Yeah it was violent. Im surprised how violent the "PG-13" comic book movies are becoming now (not that i mind it).

Prime just shooting that bloke? That is sure to piss off some hardcore Prime fans?

Every Asian character in the film can do martial arts?

[Paulbot]

Lockdown was a star. Did anyone think that his extraction of Ratchet's spark was going to come back later in the film?

There were a few little homages to the original Bay film too I thought. Uncle Bobby B's cousin. Some setting sun problems in the farm showdown scene - I was expecting sudden nighttime but nope daytime again.

Finally a Transformers movie where there was nothing hidden on Earth (or the moon) that no none knew about.

No, but we did learn that the Transformers' "creators" killed the dinosaurs to make the Transformers (allegedly).

but this film introduced what I think is the first TF film F-bomb and more than a hint of some almost-hentai action towards the main female protagonist, Tessa.

Don't forget Soundwave's tentacles in DOTM.

In a recent episode of the Simpsons Lisa pointed out that a PG-13 word could include one swear. Since she said that I've noticed that's true, they can get away with one f word with out the rating going up (see also the recent X-Men films).

[GoktimusPrime]

Depth?! The Dinobots never even SPOKE! Some of the Constructicons from ROTF had more characterisation than the Dinobots! I cannot think of anything remotely likable about the Dinobots as characters... they were purely treated as set-pieces.

IMO the appearance of the Dinobots went like this:
"Dinobots, come and help! No? BAD DOGGY! BAD!!"
<repeated.smacking.with.newspaper>
"Giddy-yap! Go get those bad guys! Sick 'em boys! Sick 'em!"
<commanding.whistling>
"Who's a good boy? You're a good boy! Now go return to the wild!"

And I agree with what others have said about the sub-part visual effects. I noticed that quite a few of the transformations were only partially shown. Like when Lockdown first transforms, we hear him transforming off screen, then a shot of the Lamborghini Aventador with a few last panels sliding into place etc. -- it seemed like there were a lot less clear, unobscured and open shots of Transformers showing us their full transformation, which is of course another money-saving measure.

I still don't understand why Optimus Prime can not only fly, but fly into and through space. Even Megatron and Starscream were only able to do that in their jet modes, and Sentinel Prime and the Fallen had to use massive space cruisers. It really felt like a "A wizard did it!" moment.

Loved it! Lockdown was the greatest villain in the movies by far!

Not that there's much competition in that department.
But yeah, I thought Lockdown was well done and actually reasonably faithful to his original namesake, right down to his collection room which the Autobots hijacked. I felt sorry for him when he found out what had happened.

Finally a Transformers movie where there was nothing hidden on Earth (or the moon) that no none knew about.

Except for Transformium deposits.

As for the name not being Cybertronium, I thought the story explained it well enough in terms of it being product name that 'tests well with focus groups.' It would've been strange for humans to refer to it as Cybertronium... however it also would've been neat if the Transformers themselves referred to it as Cybertronium (why not? In the 1st movie the AllSpark kept on switching names from "AllSpark" to "The Cube" ). Having said that... why did the humans call Galvatron "Galvatron" when they were desparately attempting to replicate Optimus Prime and not Megatron. It would've been better if they gave him another name like "Motormaster" (not Nemesis Prime though, considering that they did want to make it a 'consumer friendly' product), and then later when awakening, he would refer to himself as Galvatron.

What I don't get though is, if you don't like something. If it be Bay, plot holes, problems with the actors, the transformations. What ever it be. Why even go see it? I never understand why movie after movie some people just find it rubbish, yet somehow go back every time.

This post isn't directed at anyone, or me attempting to be rude to people. So I'm sorry if it comes across that way

Because we don't know if we'll like it or not until we've seen it? And to be fair, I haven't seen any criticisms here that seem unjustified, such as: "Galvatron should've been an orange barreled space cannon!" etc.

I actually though Galvatron was great. We now have a great villain once again for TF5.

I felt he was underused. Seemed like he was more of a plot device to animate an army of Vehicons rather than a serious antagonistic contender. Lockdown and Kelsey Grammer's character were the real antagonists in this film IMHO.

Drift was very annoying.

Yes, but not nearly as annoying as he could have been. But he certainly was a more cheesy stereotype than his original namesake. I cringed every time he referred to Optimus Prime as "Sensei." Huh? Since when was Prime ever Drift's teacher or mentor?? It would've made more sense for him to call Prime Shireikan (Commander), which is actually what the Autobots typically call Prime in the Japanese version of the G1 cartoon. If they're concerned about audiences not understanding it, then just call him "Commander" in English (then the Japanese dub can translate it as 'shireikan' and appease the G1 fans there ).

Please no more silly spaceships.

The ship made sense for Lockdown though, since the original character did have one (Death's Head).

I was secretly hoping for Transmetal.

I was hoping to see an origin story for the Dinobots that was similar to IDW's in that the Dinobots were originally on prehistoric Earth with proper beast modes, but something happened the tore off their superficial flesh, exposing the robotic dino modes beneath. No such luck. But they didn't seem to offer any explanation that I can recall as to WHY they have saurian-esque alt modes. Alright, they're ancient legendary knights... so what?

I don't think Bay can do non-caucasians as anything but stereotypes.

Heeey, that's not fair. He did poke fun at the Irish "Lucky Charms" boyfriend. Stereotypes for all!

Made me think of Beast Machines every time.

No, Beast Machines wasn't that bad. Yes, they did morph, but they didn't scatter-morph! Oh gawd... you know things aren't good when you make Beast Machines look good. Speaking of making bad stuff look good, I also feel that purely in terms of visual entertainment, Revenge of the Fallen was better. ROTF has a rubbish story/plot, but is visually quite spectacular. AoE feels like a movie with a sub-par story and somewhat ordinary effects. :/

Prime just shooting that bloke? That is sure to piss off some hardcore Prime fans?

While it was shocking, I can accept that because it was in the middle of combat, and Grammer's character was about to kill Yeager. The fact that he also sanctioned the hunting down and capture of Autobots also didn't help. But he was about to kill Cade, and Prime killed him to save Cade. I find it a far more acceptable act than when he executed Scavenger in cold blood in Revenge of the Fallen. In that scene, Scavenger was a defeated and completely incapacitated combatant -- he was no longer threatening anyone when Prime shot him. Grammer's character on the other hand had a gun pointed at Cade Yeager and was about to kill him. So it wasn't a cold blooded execution, it was a decision that Prime made to save his friend's life.

No, but we did learn that the Transformers' "creators" killed the dinosaurs to make the Transformers (allegedly).

I need to pay more attention to this when I watch the film again. We had several families with young children in the cinema, despite being a nighttime screening on a school night (sigh), including one baby who was making loud noises - so I might have missed the explanation for the Dinobots' alt modes.

[M-bot]

And I agree with what others have said about the sub-part visual effects. I noticed that quite a few of the transformations were only partially shown. Like when Lockdown first transforms, we hear him transforming off screen, then a shot of the Lamborghini Aventador with a few last panels sliding into place etc. -- it seemed like there were a lot less clear, unobscured and open shots of Transformers showing us their full transformation, which is of course another money-saving measure.

I'm certain it was a cost saving measure. There's what should be an epic transformation scene, from memory it is in ROTF where Jetfire's body merges with Optimus's and just as it gets going an American flag slowly drifts down between the viewer and the action. I can remember thinking in that part "would someone get the freakin' flag out of the way? I can't see!".

Another example in this film is the first battle between Prime and Lockdown occurs mostly off screen, on the peripheries of a car chase. Wasted opportunity, I thought.

In the directors commentary by Joss Whedon on 'Serentiy' he mentions about the CGI effect shot during the climax costing a certain amount of money for every second it is shown; in order to fit into the film's budget, he had to be cautious how long and how often he lingered on that shot. Bay's choice of shot selection with respect to more costly CGI was a lot more clumsy in this film than previous ones.

[Skullcruncher]

I rated it as a must see (well for anyone who is a fan), my wife really enjoyed it and the goldclass staff said it was awesome when we chatted to them before we went in.

The great
- Dinobots - played their part - didn't want them to speak and they didnt which got my tick of approval.
- Transformation of the human made bots - again awesome as it differentiates them from the 'real' transformers but I can see how the haters will go on about this forever.
- Lockdown was awesome
- Drift - Triple Changer - best thing ever!
- Humans - best effort so far
- Loved it when Bumblebee? mentioned KO's
- Hound was pretty great too, pleased that he made it through the movie.

The odd
- Where did brains go?
- The scene at the beginning, sure they found a dino in the snow, now what did they do with it?
- A couple of scene shifts were a bit too fast for me to take in what exactly happened.

The other
- Far too much product placement
- It made me almost want to buy some movie toys!
- Thank goodness that bumblebee dancing scene got chopped. That was lame as anything.

[Penetrator]

one thing to add...

it may be really interesting in nolan takes up the project instead of bay...