Transformers: Age of Extinction Review

The Transformers movies are one of the most interesting contradictions in film history. They get very negative reviews, (the only one to reach above 50% on Rotten Tomatoes is the first one) yet each does astounding in the box office. It seems the concept of giant robots battling it out is so great that it overrides all the mediocrity. The last one, Dark of the Moon, was supposed to be the final one in this saga. The way it ends makes sense: the Deceptions are destroyed and most of Megatron had been turned to scrap. Director Michael Bay even went on record to say it would be his last one. But alas, when a film makes so much money the company doesn't want them to stop, so here we are three years later with the fourth installment: Age of Extinction. This movie is yet another example of why Bay is one of my least favorite directors. It's not terrible however, and there quite a few factors that deserve praise, such as the amazing action sequences. Sadly the writing and characters is typical Bay fare.

It's been four years since the battle of Chicago. The Autobots have gone into hiding and the Decepticons are no longer a group. Sadly, the CIA group known as Cemetery Wind is hunting down the good guys and making it seem to the public that they are actually runaway Deceptions. They are doing this with the help of a bounty hunter transformer known as Lockdown, who is neither Autobot nor Decepticon. Eventually Optimus Prime is brought back to life thanks to an inventor named Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) and goes on a mission to rally all Autobots. Things turn really bad however when Cemetery is able to make their own Transformers, one of which is called Galvatron, who contains some of Megatron's soul...

Before we get into the many negatives, let's talk about what the film does right. The action scenes are the best of the series, and probably the greatest from all movies this year. Sadly there are too many background shots of them and cutaways to what the human characters are doing, but when the camera focuses on those fights it's amazing. Gone are the days when the viewer couldn't tell what was happening because every bot looked the same. Peter Cullen delivers another fantastic voice performance for Optimus Prime, who is easily once again the primary highlight. Sadly most of the notable characters died in Dark of the Moon, so a good majority of the Autobots and all the Decepticons are new. Galvatron is nicely established, though doesn't get nearly enough screen time. Since this is the start of a new trilogy, it's forgivable.

Lockdown is the new antagonist established. Unlike Shockwave in Dark of the Moon, he's given adequate screen time and an interesting character. Aside from Prime, he was easily the most engaging Transformer. Sadly with Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave and all the other notable Decepticons dead, new characters are established. They can't talk so basically they're just a bunch of one-shots. It's been stated otherwise, but hopefully a way is found to bring back those aforementioned characters because new ones just aren't going to cut it. Interestingly, Bumblebee is given a rather small role in comparison with the previous three movies. His character portrayal is also much more annoying. Drift and Hound bring something to the table and make for a fine Autobot team. (Crosshairs on the other hand not so much.)

One of the primary things that destroyed the previous movies is the awful human cast. With Shia LeBeouf gone from this movie, some hope was that the main lead would actually be likable and engaging. Mark Wahlberg's character is definitely an improvement. For the most part he's the epitome of what a decent character in a Michael Bay Transformers film looks like. Sadly, it's the directing and writing that kill what could be a very good character. The film's tone is half comedy, which is a real shame and typical Bay-fare. Too often in these movies the story revolves around the humans with the robots in the background; it should be the opposite. (For a great example, check out the Transformers Prime TV show, which is more competently written than all four movies combined.)

Perhaps the worst thing about the Transformer films is the heavy reliance on sexual appeal. Megan Fox wasn't there for her acting skills in the first two movies, and Rose Huntington-Whiteley might have even been worst in Dark of the Moon. (There's something wrong if the very first scene with a lead actress in a movie that is supposed to be about a robot conflict is barely dressed.) This time however instead of being an adult what we have is a 17 year old senior in high school. Nicola Peltz's character (Tessa Yeager) could have been okay if this movie was from a different director. Her very first line to her friends, "After school girls in the summer we're going to get wasted whoohoo!" destroyed any chance of her being likable. From there forward she's displayed as some sort of super model. (Keep in mind again that in-movie she's underage.) Then we have her boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) who is one mediocre character. "I'm not helping you save your daughter, I'm helping you save my girlfriend." "I like to be fresh when I'm making out with your daughter." The writing in this movie needs some serious help in producing likable characters and competent dialogue.

There are a few other notable (in a bad way) characters. We have Cade's assistant Lucas who is there just to provide comedy relief. (Thankfully he dies early on, I wonder if that was supposed to be a sad scene because I can confirm no viewer was feeling emotional.) There's Joshua Joyce, who's a decent character until after the middle where he replaces Lucas for comedic relief. The acting is extremely over the top, no one would be acting like this considering what's going on. The human antagonist would be Harold Attinger, who is definitely one of the best human characters, maybe even the best. Moving on to arguably the most hyped aspect of the film: Grimlock and the Dinobots.

For some odd reason, the word 'Dinobot' isn't used and none of them are referred to by name. If the viewer isn't a long time fan, how will he or she know who they are? The actual portrayal is decent. The CGI is absolutely stunning and the rampage into the city destroying the bad guys was easily one of the film's highlights. Sadly, they seem to lack the personality which is present in almost all other continuities. Grimlock in particular if you read some of the comics can see that he was one of the most engaging Transformers. (Hopefully this is fixed in the sequel.) The soundtrack is pretty strong, having plenty of great themes and even some emotional ones when appropriate.

Overall, Age of Extinction suffers from many of the same problems the previous three Transformers movies has. It does improve in some areas, such as action scenes and plot progression. Optimus Prime is the highlight once again, and Lockdown ranks as one of the most interesting antagonists of the movie series. The human characters are very miss, which is in big part due to the mediocre writing. (The day Michael Bay actually has an engaging female lead in one of these movies will be a day to remember.) It's still a pretty fun film for the most part, and might be the best of the movie series aside from the first one. (Not that that's saying much of course.)

2.5/5

Week in Review: Transformers: Prime Season Finale and Look-Back

Airachid: "You have something to say, Soundwave?"

Soundwave: "....."

Airachid: "I command this vessel, you will resume your post!"

Soundwave: "....."

I don't know about you guys, but I've been dying of anticipation to watch this episode all week. Once I saw the preview, it was one of those "freeze and jaw on the floor moments." I had high expectations for this episode. Now that I've watched it, (and again on YouTube) I'll give you a review, and even a look-back at the first season, talking about the characters, and what they got right and wrong. Minor spoilers approaching.

The plot continues as Optimus and the Autobots follow Megatron into the core of Unicron. Meanwhile, aboard the Decepticon vessel, Airachid claims that Megatron is lost, and that the Decepticons should move on with her in charge. Soundwave has something to say about that....

Wow. That was the one word I thought while watching it. After, I was speechless. This episode is by far the best in this show yet, and one of the most exciting episodes of ANY show I've ever seen. Amazing writing, epic fight scenes, and just had a very cinematic atmosphere. I found my myself getting supremely excited over some scenes, (SOUNDWAVE!) which I hardly do.

There are some really big pay-offs in this episode. We get a very nice flashback of Optimus and Megatron before they were hated enemies. Very in-depth and helps newbies understand. The biggest pay-off (for me anyway) was Soundwave taking a stand against Airachnid. Seriously, I have been waiting for this guy to make a move, I'm glad the writers understand that he's not just the computer guy, he knows how to fight. (Megatron did make him his chief among his followers.) That scene with Airachid getting humiliated automatically gets five stars. 

The Unicron plot finishes, though fans might be disappointed at how fast the "Chaos Bringer" loses. To be honest, this arc lacked pizzazz, he wasn't fully fleshed out. Optimus and Megatron, them being the central characters of the show, have some great scenes in this episode. Hated enemies, but have their backs in honor. The other Autobots don't really do much, but that's to be expected. Jack and the rest of the pitiful humans are thankfully nothing but side-characters. (Jack's mom says that they should play a game to ease the tension. I mean really?) Also, that important Cybertron card Optimus gave Jack? He's tapping it against a rail casually like it's some credit card. And that ladies and gentlemen is why we need more mature main characters. And I have to wonder why Bulkhead was the only one effected by Dark Energon. 

Overall, fans will be disappointed at how fast the Unicron plot finishes. On the other hand, this episode is packed with thrills, not a dull moment. (Excellent music by the way.) Soundwave finally shows Airachnid who's the real person in charge, I'll never forget that moment. (Seriously, I've been waiting for that.) When they said a mind-bending ending, (saw what I did there?) they weren't joking, even I was caught off-guard by how ambitious it was. You are not going to want to miss this.

10/10. PERFECT score.

So the first season of this show is over. Transformers has had a lot of incarnations in the past. G1 is still, and always will be, the most popular and recognized by fans. There's the infamous Beast Wars, the anime trilogy, and Animated. (Which was pretty horrible by the way.) Prime seems to want to appease both fans of G1 and the movies.....and it succeeds wonderfully. It takes the good stuff about the franchise, and just puts a hint of the movies in. (Like Bumblebee not being able to talk.) The show succeeds in having that cinematic atmosphere, having superb voice acting, great animation, amazing fight scenes, (more hardcore than you would think from a Y7 rating) and spectacular writing. There are many standout scenes, such as when Ratchet became powered up and entered the Decepticon base. Megatron laughs, saying he isn't a threat. Ratchet then punches Megatron to the ground, with the ladder getting up and saying "Alright then." Another great moment was when Megatron entered the Autobot base, saying "So this is where the magic happens. Quaint." Those are just a few of the amazing dialogue pieces. Now I will examine the character re-designs. 

Optimus Prime is the same as always. Voiced by the ever great Peter Cullen, he brings a certain calmness, putting the atmosphere at ease, even with certain death impending. Megatron has his look more akin to his movie incarnation, but with the famous Frank Welker as his voice. He is definitely his most evil yet, none of that cheesy "Decepticons, RETREAT!!!!" nonsense. Bumblebee completely resembles and acts like his movie incarnation. I don't mind, he was never a major character to begin with. Fans of Arcee may be annoyed at her color change. But really, I can't picture an all pink bot running around. Bulkhead, a character first introduced in Animated, (though technically his name was first used in Energon) is portrayed as the strong, but not very bright type. So take that as you will. Now, for Soundwave.

Soundwave's re-design is by far the most diverse, sporting a completely different look. The major change that had us fans scratching our heads was that he doesn't talk, he's silent. His new ability is being able to record anything through computer, and play it. (Heh, I still remember when he played Arcees's recording way back in episode one, and everyone thought he was a girl.) We're so used to his awesome computerized voice, this wasn't welcomed. However, after episode one, I began to appreciate this re-design. Him being silent, (though he could talk, according to producer Duane Capizzi, he just chooses not to, how awesome is that?) made him unique in this show, and his look is by far the coolest. The only gripe is that he was underused, way too underused. He was absent for some major episodes, and sometimes all he would do is just making a standing appearance, it was like the writers didn't know what to do with him. The season finale finally gave him a fight, (seriously, up until that point, he hadn't fought once) and truly established his character. He's not this quiet computer whiz you push around, you mess with the order of things, you better watch out. This Soundwave is by far the coolest of his incarnations, my favorite character. 

I almost forgot to mention Starscream. He's like his campy G1 self, but at the same time, cunning. (He is voiced by all-star Steven Blum, which helps.) He was surprisingly absent for the Unicron arc, then again, what could he do? Nothing, he's not exactly the brightest or strongest. Original character Airachid brings something new to the table. (She might be a Predator wannabe, but she's cool anyway.) Her story and rivalry with Arcee is a very good dynamic, especially with the flashbacks. Knockout and Breakdown are good, they bring some genuine humor. There's this evil human group called MECH, I forgot about them throughout this arc. Let's face it, they are NOT INTERESTING. I don't see why they were added in the first place, they really bring nothing to the table.

Some things I have to mention, good and bad. A bad thing was when Megatron came back to the living, he didn't destroy Starscream, even though he knew that the ladder would have destroyed him in space. I didn't get that, after that fiasco, I would have expected him to completely eliminate Starscream. The humans are just plain annoying, the episode where they are absent or side-characters are always the more enjoyable ones. Seriously, I want to see a whole arc without these guys. The show succeeds in giving each character a diverse personality, something G1 was lacking. (I love the scene where Soundwave sends Laserbeak to monitor Starscream, it's those little moments that make this show stand out.)

Overall, if you haven't been watching Transformers: Prime, what are you waiting for? Old and new fans alike will greatly enjoy this show. Season Two is coming soon, so catch up with the episodes. The series has been good with keeping the episodes exciting and non-filler, the only episode I didn't care for was the one with those Scraplets. The two things this show needs to do are: Give Soundwave a much bigger role in things, and.......destroy off Miko, I don't know how, just do it.