Cinema Reviews

Transformers: The Last Knight Review

• 21st Jun 2017

Transformers: The Last Knight sees the alien race here on earth, along with some choice humans, search for a long lost artefact which could destroy the human race/the Transformers/Cybertron. They face adversaries in the form of the Decepticons and the American government, though neither of those parties see eye to eye either.

That may have been a pretty vague synopsis of the most recent iteration of Transformers on the big screen, but only because it’s important to note that this film has basically the same blueprint as all the others. What’s notable of The Last Knight is that it is much, much worse than what we’ve seen before. On the scale of Transformers films, it’s a major step down in quality and story telling.

Somehow convoluted and basic in parallel, the major downfall of this film is the lack of actual Transformers. We are brought around the globe, following human interactions as they talk on and on about the Transformers. Even the most famous, Optimus Prime, is absent for most of the first two acts.

Part of the appeal of The Last Knight was the promise of Optimus Prime turning evil; ultimately this was a brief at best. Most of his turn to the dark side is seen in the trailers, and what ultimately brings him back goes against pretty much one of the few canon aspects of this film series, and without explanation.

At the crux of it, this is a Michael Bay film. Explosions, etc. are always on the agenda, and with this being shot in IMAX, you would imagine that they would come across with more gusto and umph than we’ve seen in the past. This is Bay doing what he’s good at, but the overuse of slow motion, coupled with so much going on in each one that there’s no where to focus, just leave the shots looking laughable (a particular one involving Mark Wahlberg and an overuse of white light comes to mind).

But there is a lot more here which could be retained as embarrassing; the racial washing of some of the Transformers, the inclusion of our aliens in every monumental moment in human history, or the image of Anthony Hopkins – pardon, Sir Anthony Hopkins – sticking his middle finger out the window of a car speeding through London. You give Hopkins a past for all he’s accomplished in his life, but ultimately this act taking place on screen can sum up the film; brazen and pointless.

The build up to the final act seems to go on and on, and sadly the pay off isn’t worth it. Just as with the rest of the film, there’s too much going on to take anything in; there’s a dog fight in the atmosphere while trying to knock off a gun while also the government are aiming a nuke (again) at our incoming threat. And when we’re finally giving a point of focus, it comes and goes in a moment.

A film without consequence outside of it being 150 minutes long, The Last Knight also comes without a worthwhile conclusion. And yet you are able to come to your own conclusion, about whether you want to watch Transformers the fifth and help maintain a bloated franchise. Transformers: The Last Knight really has nothing more than meets the eye.