Giant fighting robots that can transform into hot wheels at the drop of a hat- hey, that is my kind of thing, even though Michael Bay has a lot to do with it. The first Transformers movie introduced us to the Autobots and the Decepticons- two eternally warring sides that, over three films, made earth their own devastating battlefield. Transformers also heralded a whole new breed of cinema- destruction porn- a PG13 rated CGI infused spectacle that believed that the level of on screen destruction was directly proportional to audience enjoyment and box office collections. Critically reviled, but universally loved- the first three movies made over USD 2.7 billion!
To be fair, the human angle in these boyhood fantasy films was always the weak link, especially the last two movies that did more damage than good to the Transformers brand, and hence it warranted a reboot. In came new stars in Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Pelz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci and Kelsey Grammar, and new writers who penciled in fan favorites- dinobots in addition to creating new villains, in a all new storyline. So is the fourth film necessarily better than its predecessors, even though it is just an uninvolving, blown up 3D summer blockbuster? Not as good as the first I say, but certainly better than the last two.
The movie is set 5 years after the demolition of Chicago in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Much like what we saw in X-Men: Days of Future Past, the US government have deemed all Cybertronians as threats, and elite CIA units are secretly hunting down and annihilating the remaining bots. In this pursuit, they are helped by Lockdown, a Cybertronian bounty hunter. At the start, we are treated to a genuinely shocking moment, where Ratchet gets torn to bits. Slowly.
Naturally so, the Autobots are in hiding, and resentful of humans. Meanwhile, business tycoon Joshua Joyce (Tucci) and government agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammar) have unholy intentions- to build an army of Transformers which they can control. Galvatron here is not Unicron infused Megatron as it is in the books, but a human made transformer, created from Megatron's remains. But is the Decepticon leader really dead? Is Joshua really in control of his army?
Walhberg is Cade Yaeger, a failed robot inventor, who comes across a beat up truck, which turns out to be a bitter and injured Optimus Prime. Cade helps him recover, and also helps restore Prime's faith in humanity. Optimus rallies his remaining Autobots- Bumblebee, Hound, Drift and Crosshairs and unleashes a group of legendary warriors- the monstrous, fire-breathing, Dinobots to defend mankind yet again from the mayhem unleashed Joshua's creations, and Lockdown's minions, including his super cool space-ship mounted magnetic weapon that lifts up massive metal objects from the ground and sea and drops them on targets.
The good- stunning action set pieces throughout. The entire last hour is one long action shot. I have always liked the way Michael Bay focused on the mechanics of the Transformers- a whirring clockwork of gears and moving metal, but earlier the depictions have been too busy. In this movie, he has slowed these transformations further down, as a result the visual style is clean and uncluttered, every movement easily understandable. The script has some amount of humor, the music is good, and this star cast is definitely better than the previous one. These two factors should ensure a billion dollars at the box office.
Dig deeper though, and the movie is as hollow as any of Bay's other movies.Fast cars and chases, lots of explosions, big guns, racial stereotyping, character stereotypes, and loads of American patriotism, in addition to doffing its hat and devoting almost a third of the movie to the 2nd largest movie market in the world- China. At 2.5 hrs run time, it is overlong by at least 20 minutes, and towards the end, the incessant action does get kind of exhausting.
But hey, this is my kind of movie, I did not expect too much and as a result did enjoy it. Towards the end the 19 billion year old Optimus Prime again drapes on his overprotective clothes and flies off on an yet again solo, foolhardy mission to take on his "creators".
I can't but wait for the next installment- 7/10
To be fair, the human angle in these boyhood fantasy films was always the weak link, especially the last two movies that did more damage than good to the Transformers brand, and hence it warranted a reboot. In came new stars in Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Pelz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci and Kelsey Grammar, and new writers who penciled in fan favorites- dinobots in addition to creating new villains, in a all new storyline. So is the fourth film necessarily better than its predecessors, even though it is just an uninvolving, blown up 3D summer blockbuster? Not as good as the first I say, but certainly better than the last two.
The movie is set 5 years after the demolition of Chicago in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Much like what we saw in X-Men: Days of Future Past, the US government have deemed all Cybertronians as threats, and elite CIA units are secretly hunting down and annihilating the remaining bots. In this pursuit, they are helped by Lockdown, a Cybertronian bounty hunter. At the start, we are treated to a genuinely shocking moment, where Ratchet gets torn to bits. Slowly.
Naturally so, the Autobots are in hiding, and resentful of humans. Meanwhile, business tycoon Joshua Joyce (Tucci) and government agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammar) have unholy intentions- to build an army of Transformers which they can control. Galvatron here is not Unicron infused Megatron as it is in the books, but a human made transformer, created from Megatron's remains. But is the Decepticon leader really dead? Is Joshua really in control of his army?
Walhberg is Cade Yaeger, a failed robot inventor, who comes across a beat up truck, which turns out to be a bitter and injured Optimus Prime. Cade helps him recover, and also helps restore Prime's faith in humanity. Optimus rallies his remaining Autobots- Bumblebee, Hound, Drift and Crosshairs and unleashes a group of legendary warriors- the monstrous, fire-breathing, Dinobots to defend mankind yet again from the mayhem unleashed Joshua's creations, and Lockdown's minions, including his super cool space-ship mounted magnetic weapon that lifts up massive metal objects from the ground and sea and drops them on targets.
The good- stunning action set pieces throughout. The entire last hour is one long action shot. I have always liked the way Michael Bay focused on the mechanics of the Transformers- a whirring clockwork of gears and moving metal, but earlier the depictions have been too busy. In this movie, he has slowed these transformations further down, as a result the visual style is clean and uncluttered, every movement easily understandable. The script has some amount of humor, the music is good, and this star cast is definitely better than the previous one. These two factors should ensure a billion dollars at the box office.
Dig deeper though, and the movie is as hollow as any of Bay's other movies.Fast cars and chases, lots of explosions, big guns, racial stereotyping, character stereotypes, and loads of American patriotism, in addition to doffing its hat and devoting almost a third of the movie to the 2nd largest movie market in the world- China. At 2.5 hrs run time, it is overlong by at least 20 minutes, and towards the end, the incessant action does get kind of exhausting.
But hey, this is my kind of movie, I did not expect too much and as a result did enjoy it. Towards the end the 19 billion year old Optimus Prime again drapes on his overprotective clothes and flies off on an yet again solo, foolhardy mission to take on his "creators".
I can't but wait for the next installment- 7/10