by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
It’s men and aliens again fighting together to save the world.
Optimus Prime has left the planet in search of his creator so the Transformers are left without a leader. Meanwhile, the Decepticons continue to fall to Earth and the Autobots continue to fight them. As a result, damage to the Earth is massive and the world declares all Transformers as outlaws. Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) is named as a Transformer sympathizer and is wanted by the government. The TSF, a specially outfitted military agency, is on a continuous watch for any and all Transformers and their compatriots with orders to imprison or exterminate.
Unfortunately, Transformers and the Earth are inextricably linked. Going back to the time of King Arthur, Merlin is introduced as a charlatan and drunkard who has no real magic. However, he does have the ability to bargain with one of the early Transformers, a Knight who serves the purpose of protecting Unicron. Merlin convinces the Transformer Knight to allow him the ability to control a Transformer dragon to wage war for King Arthur. The Knight gives Merlin a staff with powers that far exceed controlling just the dragon and could control the fate of the world.
Transformers: The Last Knight is the latest over-the-top extravaganza directed by Michael Bay and as usual, it is chocked full of action and explosions. The gang is all here as well, Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Stanley Tucci, Nick Tuturro and even Shia LeBeouf, in a picture (As it turns out, Sam Witwiccky was a member of the legendary order of the Witwiccans whose job it was to protect the legacy of the Transformers).
So if you love the Transformers series, you will love this movie. If you don’t like the series, you won’t like this movie either. The Last Knight is full of the same madcap and frenetic action that is typical of the Transformer series. Lots of explosions, fights and peril for humans are typical in this series. You would think that the humans would learn and just stay away from the warring factions or at least remember that the Autobots are good and the Decepticons are bad. Personally, I think two and a half hours is too much and that the movie could be better with some streamlining.
Rated PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of sci-fi action, Transformers: The Last Knight is silly but fun. Beware the 3D however, while the movie was shot with 3D cameras, the whole movie is not in 3D. The scenes that are in 3D are pretty engaging, though. Additionally, all those advertisements that cite The Last Knight as the final chapter of the Transformer series must mean that it is this movie is the start of the final chapter as will be clearly evident by the end of the movie.
Grade: C-