Movie Review: Transformers- The Last Knight

Courtesy: Paramount/Hasbro


Starring Mark Wahlberg, Isabelle Moner, Laura Haddock, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, with John Turturro, Stanely Tucci and Anthony Hopkins
Directed by Michael Bay
Rated PG-13
My Rating: ****/5

"Transformers: The Last Knight" is the latest installment of the live-action adaptation of the animated TV series and Hasbro toyline of the same name. While the film may not be the best installment in the 10-year-old series, it is arguably the most insane installment that Michael Bay has directed since 2009's "Revenge of the Fallen."

This time, the story involves the Transformers having been involved in events such as the legend of King Arthur and WWII. The opening battle in medieval times features a Merlin portrayed by a drunken Stanley Tucci and enough explosive action to rival the madness of Guy Ritchie's "King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword."

In the present day, Cade Yeager (Wahlberg) is helping keep watch over the orphaned young girl Izabella (Moner) and her companion Squeaks, who resembles an urban version of BB-8 that turns into a small scooter. He also discovers an enchanted talisman that leads him on a globetrotting journey across South Dakota, London and Stonehenge to unlock the secrets of their history with Sir Edmond Burton (Hopkins) and Oxford Professor Vivian Wembley (Haddock). At the same time, Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) searching for his creators has left him under the influence of Quintessa (voice of Gemma Chan), corrupting him into the evil "Nemesis Prime" as Megatron (voice of Frank Welker) tries to strike a deal with corrupt government agents to unleash a new threat of Decepticon soldiers and an ancient evil within the Earth's core.

If the previous paragraphs read like total nonsense, you'd be right. Much like the previous installment, "Age of Extinction," this film has settled into its comfort zone of chaotically fast-paced, effects-driven storytelling; and those who go to the films at this point know exactly what they're getting into. Bay has never really practiced the same craft with machines as James Cameron did in the first two "Terminator" films, to the point where seven editors were credited in trying to condense an apocalyptic threat into 149 minutes of screentime. In many ways, it's analogous to a child dumping all his Transformers out of his toy box and knocking them together while shouting at the top of his lungs. This may be the end result if that child grew up and was given a camera and a record $217 million budget to work with. Even though the product placement may not be as transparent as previous films, it still makes a big case for how closely filmmaking and product positioning have gotten. Bumblebee, who has a planned spinoff slated for next year, is once again being sold in every from from a $5 figurine to a $30,000 Chevrolet Camaro.

Even though the film has hit new lows critically and commercially, the diversion still proves to be another cog in the machine Paramount and Hasbro have built over the past decade. While Michael Bay intends to move on after this film, as does Mark Wahlberg; the film is the first of many planned installments in Hasbro's answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are 14 films planned for the future, including a crossover with the GI Joe series. While not an outright flop, the film's box office take does leave room to wonder about how viable it might be ($128 million in the US and $569 million worldwide as of this writing). 

Amid all the flurry of characters such as Hot Rod (voice of a French-accented Omar Sy), a motorcycling Decepticon known as Mohawk (voice of a foul-mouthed Reno Wilson) and Cogman (voice of Jim Carter, doing his best impression of C3P0), "Transformers: The Last Knight" is easily the symbol of explosive "Bayhem"and studio excess 10 years running. When promoting the film, Anthony Hopkins, in the face of all the negative reviews (15% on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing) referred to Bay as a "genius." In his own way, he's right. There are few directors who can get an actor as distinguished as Hopkins to talk about Transformer knights without even a hint of irony. Whatever lies ahead, maybe it's for the best that this is Bay's last film for the series. Whether there will be a franchise reboot or Hasbro gives the OK to the new venture of films, it's clear that this film is a totally bonkers and merchandise-driven adventure with lore that may very well be more than meets the eye.