Review: Michael Bay's criticproof franchise returns with another Bayhem galore-a non-stop clink-clicketty-clank-bang-boom juggernaut slugfest-in what's dubbed as Bay's final Transformers film, The Last Knight. The final result though-after decade with five installments so far-offers no new insight to the storyline but bunch of same day, different spectacles.
Starting off as an expanded myth of Camelot, where ancient transformers assisted King Arthur and his knights of round fighting Saxons, The Last Knight immediately leaps sixteen centuries ahead. While Optimus Prime has left the earth in search of his home-planet, Cybertron, other transformers keep coming to earth and are declared as threat; therefore, a counter-transformer task force called T.R.F is deployed to exterminate them. That's when Cade Yeager from Age of Extinction encounters a versatile kid, Izabella (Isabella Moner) and 'get chosen' to partake in an ancient myth.
As the old transformers' myth embarks, it triggers Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins) to fulfill the last knight prophecy. He assembles the protagonist party members, which include Cade, Izabella, an Oxford professor Vivian Wembley (Laura Haddock), a humanoid transformer, Cogman, and all the Autobots. Meanwhile, Megatron reassembles a team of Decepticons in a corrupted trade with T.R.F, preparing for the awaited behemoth war. It takes the whole hour for this threesome war between Autobots, Decepticon and T.R.F. launches. And, when it does, the party-pooper comes in form of Optimus Prime, whom upon ambition to save his hometown, decides to return to earth for one last folly skirmish. Sounds over-stuffed? Don't worry; you have 150 minutes to digest this exhilarating mess.
Michael Bay presents his robo-opus with 98% IMAX footages, which vary in aspect ratios but guarantee vibrant visual panache that can, will, and must only be made by Bay alone. Seamless CGI-fest are stitched up to Bayhem's grandiosity marked with the trademark shots and actors make pretend with real explosions in all the Transformers way. Yet, it's the patchwork editing that becomes the culprit. Quick cuts and jumpy transitions, instead of making the picture more dynamic, make the final result untidy. Even, that messy edit sacrifices the films' best set-pieces (which escalate too quickly and go off more quickly) as well as the emotional drive, which makes The Last Knight a barren action dumber.
To add into Transformers' list of sins-after that dull, over-stuffed narrative with thinnest characters, superfluous lengthy duration, exhausting presentation, underused characters (condolences to all the Dinobots again), and all the camaraderie- The Last Knight adds whacky humors into it. Who would buy utter nonsense delivered by Laura Haddock's self-styled professor? Or a puny pun-laden scam named Merlin along with his lineage called Witwiccan? Even if it's a self-mockery, that's cringeworthy.
At a good point, The Last Knight might be slightly better than Age of Extinction in some ways. But, if you ever hear news that it might be last Transformers film, you shouldn't believe it. The film's minute-long mid-credit scene has done you a favor exposing that big scam. The only possible thing you should believe is: it might be Michael Bay's Transformers film, but to whom he'll inherit it? Devil may care.
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Directed by: Michael Bay Written by: Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Ken Nolan Starred by: Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Hopkins, Laura Haddock Runtime: 149 mins Rated PG-13