Film Review: ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ Most Tolerable of Series

Submitted by PatrickMcD on June 26, 2014 - 9:33pm

CHICAGO – I’ll say this for “Transformers: Age Of Extinction,” it’s the most tolerable Transformers movie Michael Bay has ever made. The substitution of Mark Wahlberg for Shia LaBeouf is a big part of that – and for its first two hours at least, Bay realizes less is more.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

This stripped down reboot disguised as a sequel finally allows the Transformers themselves to get a word in and actually increases their effectiveness. There are far fewer Transformers, a simpler story, and a better actor in the central roll. However in the last hour of this nearly 3 hour onslaught of mechanized mayhem, Bay succumbs to his worst instincts and pummels the audience with a headache inducing barrage of destruction that’s both numbing and just plain boring.

Picking up some time after the events of the third Transformers movie, the Deceptecons have seemingly been defeated in a battle that turned Chicago into a war zone. The Autobots have officially been placed under government protection and the U.S. Military has officially ended their partnership. But behind the scenes a sinister C.I.A. Director (Kelsey Grammer) is systematically hunting down and killing each and every transformer left on the planet with assistance from an intergalactic bounty hunter with a hidden agenda.

“Transformers: Age Of Extinction” opens everywhere on June 27 in 3D, IMAX 3D and regular 2D. See local listings for show times and theaters. Featuring Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, and John Goodman, Screenplay by Ehren Kruger. Directed by Michael Bay. Rated “PG-13”