MOVIE REVIEW - Transformers:Age Of Extinction

Here comes the latest Micheal Bay made, Transformers movie and another 100 million dollar opening weekend.  Or roughly 1 dollar for every minute this movie actually is. 

Transformers:Age Of Extinction is long, overblown, and just overall too much, even for die many hard Transformers fans.  In this franchises defense, it is amazing that a toy, and a simple cartoon from the mid 1980's has blossomed into this monstrosity 20 plus years later.  Also, it still amazes me that people 40 years old are still holding on to their plastic toy fantasies and continue to support this over and over.  The argument will be made that it is for younger people too, but it's not. Kids won't understand much of this, except the endless robot battle scenes.

In this installment, the Autobots have defeated the Decepticons, and now are being hunted by the humans.  You see, the CIA has gone rogue, and in concert with the huge defense and oil contractors are trying to make Transformers of their own, so they don't need the Autobots anymore.  Even though time and time again, Optimus Prime and the Autobots have sworn to protect the humans on Earth from other alien predators.   But, that's not enough for the humans.

The CIA is hunting down Optimus Prime, as he is their main target.  He is discovered in rural Texas, and the hunt is on, and so are the arduous battle scenes.  There is much more to this, but really what's the point?  Everything else is simply filler for hours of battle and fight scenes.  And for me, I'm not buying the made for younger people thing.

There is some troubling stuff here if you are taking your kids.   In addition to the battle scenes, there is much dialogue from the robots, that is hardly kid friendly.  "I'm gonna kill you"  (over and over).."I feel like killing something today"  "It's been a while since I've killed someone".   And that's a bit disheartening.  Plus, the CIA, the USA government pinning a pretty 17 year old girl on the ground, and holding a huge gun to her head, so her father will to tell them where Optimus Prime is.  That scene is long, uncalled for, and inappropriate for kids, as it is graphic, and too real. Shame on them.

But there effects are amazing, there's just too many of them.  Also, the best thing in this movie, (from an acting perspective) is the wonderful performance from Peter Cullen. Cullen is the original voice of Optimus Prime from the TV show cartoon, and has been the voice of the gentlemanly, fearless leader of the Autobots in all of the Tranformers movies. Prime, has been developed well, and has the best dialogue of any character in all of these movies.  And Cullen delivers, and brings Prime to life as a real character with soul and values, and not simply a robot. Easily the best character of all, human or not in this entire franchise.  He is sensational.

The rest of this, is a long, effects laden fest of battles, Spielberg humor and an attempt to bring new characters into the fray.  Word is, this is the start of the next trilogy, and this is certainly set up for more.

Transformers: Age Of Extinction.   at 2:50...entirely too long.   Overdone.