Hasbro's toy system got a life on-screen in 2007 when Michael Bay decided to tell their story with lots of explosions and fun-filled action. A franchise was born then, panned by critics but loved by the young fans. Never had any film marked a greater divide between the reviewers and the fans before Transformers (yes, not even the Furious rides). A ballistic ride in 2007, the latest instalment, The Last Knight, feels like a burdened watch, with unnecessary action dominating its front, turning a rather interesting story into an overstretched, boring and predictable plot.
The story revolves around Cade, now a fugitive, helping out a fiery and naive Izabella, disclosing that now all the bots (good and bad) are under government's scanner. The fight between the Decepticons and Autobots is still on, but there isn't any order because there isn't any Optimus Prime. Prime is in fact at his home planet Cybertron, making deal with alien sorceress Quintessa, to bring life back on his planet by sucking it out of Earth. Yes, Optimus Prime has now become Nemesis Prime (Don't know if one should laugh or roll their eyes, but this is just the beginning).
There is, in addition, a medieval back-story that returns us to the days of King Arthur, but even this potentially stodgy premise is staged in a heavy-metal Stonehenge-meets-bloodshed way that puts the dark back in Dark Ages. This part is where the story lies and gives you major Dan Brown feel, with legend and myth meeting modern-day science. However, sadly enough, director Michael Bay failed to tap into the story completely and somewhere in the middle lost it to the humongous brainless-action image of the franchise.
The plot of the film takes forever to get established and the giant loopholes in front of your eyes are too hard to be covered from all the reckless blows and blasts. There comes a moment when you just want to get up and leave the theatre because your heads start aching due to innumerable eye-rolls you do throughout the film. Five films, two lead actors and one complete plotline change later, the film still feels stale and predictable. One never expected great things out of Transformers, but it just pinches more when you could see the potential in the storyline yet have to bear the nonsense, the makers tried to focus on more, instead.
The actors have done a decent justice to the roles given. Mark Wahlberg, is well, Mark Wahlberg with stone-cold eyes on an always anxious face. His Cade is the lead of the film and takes maximum screen time (even Optimus Prime's). Laura Haddock, as Viviane is gifted with a good screen presence. Her character is shown as strong-headed and independent, with rationality taking a priority until the legend unfolds. However, there is zero chemistry between the two and it would've been better if makers wouldn't have tried to bring in a romantic angle in-between. It feels forced.
Anthony Hopkins as Sir Edmund Burton, an elite astronomer who guides the events, but is really hands-on as a kind of ageing mascot of the happily unhinged. He is, as his own bot says, 'the coolest secret keeper of their society'.
While the actors try to do justice to a plot, there is the hurtling slovenliness to it. The actions are too dramatised, and the story is reduced to just 20 minutes in an Excruciatingly long film. There is a mid-post credit scene in the film, setting the base for another sequel and it just made us gulp in fear that there is another torture coming our way. It is time makers should realise that the series is all dried up and they can't keep making nonsense on-screen in the name of popularity. It's time to wrap up and send the bots back home. Us, mere mortals, have had enough! Have mercy, Dear Transformers.
Ratings: 1.5/5
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