By Darlene
Donloe
To save the
future, you must unlock the past. That is the concept and mission of Transformers: The Last Knight, Michael
Bay’s latest installation in the franchise - out nationwide Wednesday, June 21.
It’s been three
years since the last Transformers: Age of
Extinction film. It was a hit!
In this latest
edition Optimus Prime is back and badder than ever. No, he’s really bad! He goes rogue and the world may end as a
result. You don’t want Optimus Prime on
the side of the enemy.
The film opens
with a raucous human vs. Transformers fight that is no-holds-barred and massive.
The main players
are back. Mark Wahlberg, as Cade Yeager, is not only the “chosen one,” he is still
protecting the Transformers. Josh Duhamel is still a military man. The always
wonderful Anthony Hopkins adds class to the proceedings returning as Lord
Edmund Burton, who is out to help save Earth by exploring the history of
Transformers on the planet. John Turturro is back as Agent Seymour Simmons.
As always, the
Transformers, with their distinctive, hilarious personalities, move the film
forward. Their repartee is clever. There’s the popular Bumblebee, Cogman (Jim
Carter), Hot Rod (Omar Sy) and Drift (Ken Watanabe). Sqweeks (Reno Wilson), who
is about a rickety as they come, is a new autobot who is a great addition. The artists lending their voices are
impressive. Frank Welker is Megatron,
Erik Aadahl is Bumblebee, John Goodman is Hound, Steve Buscemi is Daytrader,
John DiMaggio is Nitro Zenus/Crosshairs, Steven Barr is Volleybot, Tom Kenny is
Wheels and Jess Harnell is Barricade. But, the fans of this franchise would
riot if Optimus Prime wasn’t back. He is – in all his glory.
This time there
are a couple of new additions. Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show) plays Jimmy, a car junkyard employee – who is
really there to make sure the Transformers fugitives have everything they need. There is
also Laura Haddock, who plays a classy and knowledgeable Oxford Professor, who,
for some inexplicable reason walks around in six-inch heels at the most
ridiculous times.
The film starts
off back in the day – like, literally back in the day - during the age of
Camelot and King Arthur and Merlin, played firmly and with wit by Stanley
Tucci.
This is the
story: Humans are at war with the Transformers, and
Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving the future lies buried in the secrets
of the past and the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Now, it's up to
Cade Yeager, Bumblebee, an English lord and an Oxford professor to save the
world.
The special
effects are state of the art. Michael
Bay does what he does – and he does it well. It’s just that, this time, it feels very
familiar. Even though the battles are bigger and the film is louder, it still
feels the same. There was no WOW! Still, Transformers fans will probably eat
this up.
At 2 ½ hours
long, the film is about 40 minutes too long. The film becomes redundant, but to diehard fans it will probably still be a lot of fun!
Transformers: The Last Knight, directed by Michael Bay, stars Mark
Wahlberg, Laura Haddock, Jerrod Carmichael, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins,
Isabella Moner, Stanley Tucci, John Turturro and Tony Hale. Optimus Prime is
voiced by Peter Cullen.
On the DONLOE
SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likeable), O (oh,
yeah), E (excellent), Transformers: The
Last Knight gets an L (likable). The film is RATED-PG:13
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