Technical assessment: 2.5
Moral assessment : 3
MTRCB Rating : G
CINEMA rating : V14
Four years after the epic battle between
the Autobots and the Decepticons, an elite CIA unit called Cemetery Wind is set
up to hunt all Transformers on earth. The unit is headed by Harold Attinger (Kelsey
Grammer) and his bounty hunter transformer, Lockdown. Meanwhile, in Texas, Cade (Mark Wahlberg),
a struggling inventor, buys an old truck with the intention of stripping it
down to parts. When he discovers the truck is actually an injured Optimus
Prime, he decides to help him despite objections from his partner and his
daughter Tessa. It does not take long before Cemetery Wind storms Cade’s home
so they can capture Optimus. But Optimus attacks the operatives and manages to
escape with Cade, Tessa and her boyfriend Shane. Later, Optimus rallies the
remaining Autobots while Cade discovers that Cemetery Wind is working for KSI—a
techno-corporation who was able to gain access to the Transformers’ main
composition, transformium, and is now building its own version. Joshua Joyce (Stanley
Tucci), head of KSI, envisions a progressive society where humans control their
own Transformers. His prized creation is Galvatron which unfortunately is
Megatron reincarnated. As the Autobots team up with Cade to fight Galvatron and
his human made army of Decepticons and stop Joyce and Attinger from releasing
the seed to create more transformers, Optimus must fight Lockdown and avoid
being reclaimed by the Creators.
There is one word to perfectly describe Transformers: Age of Extinction—LOUD.
Loud because holding together the very flimsy and obscure storyline is one
explosion after another. Loud because punctuating every nonsensical dialogue is
a building toppling down or metal slicing through something. Loud because
Michael Bay decided to extend as long as possible every chase sequence with a
blast every 10 seconds or so. There is a valiant attempt to humanize the story
with multilayers of revelations and twists but they are presented in such a
fragmented manner that it is so hard to keep up. Performances are pitiful
because the robots show more emotions than the humans. The only articulated
scenes are those with Tucci in them. Of course, the animation is impressive but
this is not a video game where a sensible narrative is necessary. The magic of
the Transformers franchise is the ability of the bots to magically morph from a
cool vehicle into a colossal robot and back. But this magic cannot sustain a
near three-hour running time, especially again, without a succinct plot to
justify it.
Greater good resounds loudly in the movie
as Optimus, Cade and Joyce realize that in their innermost beings lives the
desire to protect the innocent. While each of them had self-serving motives,
disappointments and unscrupulous intentions at first, the movie shows that
change of heart is always possible for those who recognize that the greater
good matter more than personal gain. However, Transformers, aside from its
action being a little too intense for kids also has several disturbing attitude
from Tessa and her boyfriend. Why Transformers:
Age of Extinction merited a G rating from the regulatory board could baffle
discerning viewers. The plot is too confusing and the violence too upsetting
for children. The producers must have pushed for an Admit All
Ages rating to allow them to sell their merchandising.
