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

[Omega Metro]

We'll I am currently in the cinema waiting for it to start. Should be even better the 2nd time around.

[sideswipes brother]

Just saw it. What a pile of Baypoop!
I LOVE transformers but this was the very first movie EVER i considered walking out on at about the 2 hour mark. The only thing which kept me in my seat was the waiting for the dinobots.

[Robzy]

Haven't seen it yet (to be honest, I had no idea it was even out this week I only found out by accident on facebook). I gotta say, it's interesting how many bad reviews and '1 star out of 5' ratings it's getting. Who knew that Shia was the best thing about this franchise? lol The only positive stuff I've read about it was on the US sites by the usual suspects.

Guess I'll save my money from what I'm reading in this thread and elsewhere.

[kurdt_the_goat]

I enjoyed it and think it's probably the best of them, sure a few of the things people have mentioned i agree with, but i just consider them minor niggles overall. Some stuff i don't know why people complain... Drift transforms into a helicopter cause it looks cool and lets them do a cool tower rescue sequence. It's just not worth thinking too deeply about.

What are the gaping plot holes i seem to have missed? All i noticed was that there was pretty much no need for Lockdown to make a deal with the humans if he only wanted Prime? He could have taken on anyone in his way no probs!

Also it seems i'm the only one who liked Prime taking off into space, reminded me of God Ginrai in Masterforce... Along with the finding a truck story being similar. I think they do a pretty good job referencing some obscure parts of TF history like that.

[AJ_Prime]

I really enjoyed the movie too. Lots of nods to the original franchise. Would like to see them explain Drifts character a bit more, ie his history but maybe next movie...

The dinobots being the "knights of Cybertron" explains the knight look of their movie toys.

Plenty of loose ends for further movies to explore. I'd definitely recommend it. Plenty of robot action. Also locking forward to a Zhonda/Stinger toy.

[GoktimusPrime]

Saw this movie for the second time tonight. It was more enjoyable, since I knew what to expect. It is a good action popcorn flick that is visually exciting to watch.

What are the gaping plot holes i seem to have missed?

* When Optimus Prime scanned the Western Star truck, he not only acquired a new alt mode but became instantly fixed. Even my Kindergarten-aged daughter noticed this! So why didn't he do this sooner instead of having Cade try and semi-repair him in his barn? He could've just asked Cade to drive his truck to the barn door then scan that. If all the Transformers can do this, why didn't Ratchet scan one of Cemetery Wind's vehicles which could've restored his leg and allowed him to escape.

* Optimus Prime can Superman fly! I say Superman Fly because it's not just any ordinary flying, he can actually fly into space which requires a massive amount of energy. This is why rockets and shuttles have huge fuel tanks attached to them which break off during take off. Not even Megatron or Starscream seemed able to sustain long range high speed flight in robot mode, only in their jet modes. If Optimus Prime can Super-Fly, then why bother transforming and driving around places in truck mode? It's surely faster and easier to just fly everywhere. We see him driving away from Lockdown and Cemetery Wind... why not just fly away? When Optimus Prime was being dragged up by Lockdown's magnetic device, why didn't he try to fly away (it worked for Strafe, and he was only using winged flight!)? Why did Optimus Prime bother riding Grimlock? Why didn't he fly back as advanced reinforcements? There were just so many moments where he could've moved so much faster with flight rather than rolling or riding to his destinations (or away from enemies). And is this flight ability newly acquired or has he always had it? If it's the latter, then a LOT of other moments in the first three movies retrospectively don't make sense now. Why did Optimus Prime crash on Earth as a protoform asteroid? Why not transform to robot mode and land? Why didn't he fly after the Ark and save Sentinel Prime when it got shot on Cybertron? Why didn't Optimus Prime fly to the moon instead of taking the Xantium? Ratchet could've come along later aboard the Xantium to retrieve Sentinel Prime and the pillars after Prime did a solo recon mission. Why didn't Optimus Prime fly away from Sector 7 forces in TF1 instead of running around in robot mode? All of his fight scenes would've been different if he could've flown -- he wouldn't have needed to sacrificially combine with Jetfire in ROTF nor bothered to even have the Jetwing in DOTM. And the fatal jungle battle might've ended more favourably if he could've flown. It really felt like the writers wanted to have Optimus Prime leave the Earth in order to protect it - which is fair enough - but then realised that they hadn't conceived of an idea of HOW he would actually do this, so they wrote, "Optimus Prime flies into space." It's like one of those, "a wizard did it," moments.

* I still don't understand why the Knights of Cybertron transform into robotic approximations of dinosaurs.

All i noticed was that there was pretty much no need for Lockdown to make a deal with the humans if he only wanted Prime? He could have taken on anyone in his way no probs!

It was an alliance of convenience. More hands make light work, and he was essentially enlisting the aid of the CIA and KSI and hunt down Optimus Prime. Lockdown had a job to do, and if siding with some humans can help him get the job done sooner and easier, then why not?

[klystron]

^ Am I the only one that thought OP changed when he drew the sword?
Damn, I must've be wrong on that one...

[Paulbot]

^ Am I the only one that thought OP changed when he drew the sword?
Damn, I must've be wrong on that one...

No, I remember some panel shifting going on as he pulled the sword and I remember anticipating more of an upgrade was about to be seen (but wasn't).

[CBratron]

All the above is why you need to leave your brain at home when you go out to watch these movies.

The WTF moment that stuck most in my mind is after Crosshairs leapt off the gunship he was piloting in Chicago. Bee flew it for a but but at some point the rear gunpod sheared off with the humans inside. This metal pod fell from the sky bounced several times down the street before coming to rest on a car. With no sign of human sized harnesses or any kind of cushioning, they survive and Cade is so unfazed that he proceeds to argue insurance with the car's owner.

[GoktimusPrime]

No, I remember some panel shifting going on as he pulled the sword and I remember anticipating more of an upgrade was about to be seen (but wasn't).

Yes, this is true. When Optimus Prime takes his sword's handle, we immediately see panels forming which makes his robot form look more "knightly," especially the forearms which bear a greater resemblance to gauntlets.

All the above is why you need to leave your brain at home when you go out to watch these movies.

Yes, also true, but we shouldn't have to. The Transformers franchise and Transformers fans deserve better than this IMO.