Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Transformers: Age of Extinction Review - 2½ Stars

Large, long, loud and it blows up a bunch of stuff, including several major cities.  What more do you want from a summer blockbuster?  “Transformers:  Age of Extinction” takes the blockbuster formula to ridiculous new heights.  The plot hasn’t changed much.  The good guy autobots hide themselves in hot cars and transform when needed.  Optimus Prime, who sounds like my grandfather when he was mad, leads the good guys.  As usual, certain humans have decided to wipe out the alien good guys  The excellent actor Mark Wahlberg gets the plot rolling when he buys a junk truck which happens to hold Optimus Prime.  Kelsey Grammar arrives as a black ops government guy, intent on wiping out the friendly aliens.  He’s in league with Stanley Tucci, a Steve Jobs style industrialist who thinks he has the formula to replicate the transformers and make zillions in the process.  Pretty soon the bad transformers go after the good ones and blow up most of rural Texas and Chicago in the process.  Then they move on to the far east including Shanghai and Hong Kong — the better to make this a global story, and blockbuster. They also throw in some dino bots — prehistoric transformers right out of “Jurassic Park.”   The special effects look great.  The sound rattles the walls.  The movie runs almost three hours and feels like it.  Directors and producers with $$$ in their eyes plan two more of these gigantic things.  If you wanna go, take two aspirin and don’t blame me.  Does it deliver what it promises?  Fan boy blockbuster bigger, and louder than ever. Is it entertaining?  Great special effects but way too long.  Is it worth the price of admission?  For those who like their blockbusters super sized.