DVD Review: Transformers: Age of Extinction

Courtesy: Paramount Pictures/Hasbro

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Kelsey Grammer, and Stanley Tucci

Directed by Michael Bay

Rated PG-13

My Rating: ****1/2:4

The latest entry in the live-action “Transformers” film series debuted this past summer;

yet again, to highly divisive critical and audience reaction; but another massive box office take

(over $1 billion worldwide as of this writing) and a continued push of the accompanying

action figure line of the same name. By this point; it has become inherently clear that, along

with fellow blockbuster property “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles;” those not familiar with

the 1980s-onward media franchise or Michael Bay's style of filmmaking need not apply, and

everyone else knows exactly what they're in for.

While still keeping the continuity of the 2007 film; 2009's “Transformers: Revenge of

The Fallen”, and 2011's “Transformers: Dark of the Moon;” the film is also a backdoor start

to a planned new trilogy. Widowed scrapper Cade Yaeger (Wahlberg) and his daughter Tessa

(Peltz) are just barely making ends meet when Cade makes a discovery: He bought a mere

banged-up old truck? I think not! He has stumbled upon Autobot commander Optimus Prime

(voice of Peter Cullen); weathered from his many battles against the Decepticons in a new form

paying homage to his design from the 1984 animated TV series and its accompanying toyline.  

This gains the attention of a corrupt government agent played by Kelsey Grammer; who

has declared all Transformers enemies of the state, not merely the Decepticons. As such, Cade

and Tessa must travel with Optimus; as well as the similarly hardened Bumblebee. Other

characters joining the fray are aged Autobot soldier Hound (voice of John Goodman); snide

Autobot marksman Crosshairs (voice of John DiMaggio); pensive Autobot warrior Drift (voice

of Ken Watanabe), and jury-rigged Decepticon Galvatron (voice of Frank Welker). While

some knowledge is required of the events of prior films; it does make a solid launching-on point

for almost 30 years of prior mythology of previous cartoons, comic books; video games, and

other toys.

What follows is surely the most consistent encapsulation of Bay's filmmaking: what he

lacks as a storyteller, he more than makes up for in spectacle. It is highly counterproductive

to apply real-world logic in a movie where Stanley Tucci plays a scientist who reverse-

engineers technology from the corpses of Transformers (including, oddly, a Rainbow Dash toy

that turns into a firearm); and subsequently gets caught in the crossfire as things go awry.

The film is not all that different from a situation a child would imagine playing with the action

figures: in this 165-minute, $210 million blockbuster; colorful robots once again do battle with

otherworldly weapons in set pieces as big as the locales where they are filmed. The action goes

from Texas, to Chicago; to Hong Kong for the final battle that again takes up the bulk of the

film's final act. This time, it involves another mainstay from previous iterations of the franchise:

the Dinobots, led by the massive Tyrannosaurus Grimlock.

By the time Optimus rides Grimlock into battle through the streets of Hong Kong; it has

become clear that the reception the “Transformers” films have received, both good and bad; has

begun to blur together. For the reasons I have outlined, “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” by

that proxy; will be perceived wherever you stand once you finish.