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'Transformers: The Last Knight:' Another Disappointing Installment of the Franchise

Film Review

By Christina BPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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Transformers: The Last Knight [Credit: Paramount]

You'd think that after the third installment of a film franchise that if the general reception of the film starts to decline that the studio would decide to just leave it at that. But if the franchise is still turning a profit no matter how badly it is received by critics and viewers, why should they stop producing films that are continuing to make the studio millions of dollars?

The era of film that we are stuck in seems to be filled with a majority of reboots, sequels, and remakes to films that have already exhausted the magic they brought to the screen originally. This doesn't mean that all the remakes, sequels, and reboots are all failures. We've seen films, such as Beauty and the Beast,Alien, and Star Trek that have been very successful in recreating and re-imagining the classic films and franchises they are based off of. If only Michael Bay and Paramount Studios would have decided to re-imagine each film or at least come up with a plot that is actually engaging for the audience and has a bit more substance to it.

'Transformer: The Last Knight'

The fifth installment to the Transformers franchise, Transformers: The Last Knight brings us practically the same film as its predecessors, except we have different actors and a somewhat different plot to the other four films. I would have liked to have seen more of a focus on the actual Transformers than the humans in the film, as the films are supposed to be about the Transformers themselves. Instead we get wrapped into a story focused on the humans defending themselves from the threat of the Decepticons, the evil race of Cybertronians. There was, maybe, a total of 20 mins of the film that we actually got to see Optimus Prime speak and his part of the story, which the film seemed to have been marketed about, but then clearly focused on the main money making aspect of the film: Mark Wahlberg along with over the top CGI effects.

I was really hoping this would be the last film of the franchise as well as they have not lived up to my expectations for the past other three films of the franchise. But no, instead Michael Bay and Paramount would rather keep making the same film over and over again, instead of putting their time and money into creating films with actual substance.

Over the Top CGI

We get it, Michael Bay, you're known for your exaggerated slow motion scenes in the midst of the action, over the top explosions, and continuous action scenes, but try not to forget that there needs to be some sort of structure and story to keep the audience engaged with the film. The amount of times that there was a slow motion action scene accompanied by explosions in the background kept me from taking the film more seriously than I could have. It was already hard to keep focused on the film when the plot had no real substance at all. Don't get me wrong, the action is fun to watch, but I don't need an explosion and another fight every couple of minutes.

Transformers: The Last Knight [Credit: Paramount]

Also if the films are supposed to be about the Transformers themselves then why am I seeing more action-focused scenes centered around the human characters than the Transformers?

Where is the Story?

I had some expectation that this film would finally give more of a story centered around the Transformers and their background, but again, it just felt like the first film except with different actors and a few different twists. Again, it's the two Cybertronian races fighting against each other, this time centered around the origins of their world and how to rebuild their home. The film is then centered around the same typical male protagonist who has some hidden clue or power that will help the Autobots fight and win. The only difference this time is a different actor with a slightly different background.

Another aspect of this film and the franchise overall would be the over-sexualization of its female actors, no matter how old they seem to be. I was really hoping that the 14-year-old girl we see in the The Last Knight would have had a bigger part in the film with also a better representation. But unfortunately, after her brief introduction she gets tossed to the side for an older and more attractive female counterpart for Mark Wahlberg's character to associate with. Just like the first film, the male protagonist's female counterpart is only there to look good and support the protagonist in very few ways.

Transformers: The Last Knight [Credit: Paramount]

Who Still Watches These Films?

After the first two films, I lost basically all interest for this film franchise. If you are looking for a film with cool action scenes and over the top explosions and CGI usage and nothing else, then this is the film for you. It seems to me that the demographic for this film would be for the teenage mind as they wouldn't have to pay close attention to the film since the plot is not very engaging and essentially nonexistent, while enjoying all the over used effects this film has to offer.

I've now classified watching these films as part of a bad movie night where my boyfriend and I overly criticize the film and only pay the slightest attention to what is happening on screen.

Another Open Ending

Yet again we see the film end with Optimus Prime narrating the final scene summarizing the final moments.

"A dangerous secret is buried deep inside the Earth. There is more to this planet than meets the eye." –Optimus Prime

Cut to the dessert where we see a mysterious woman is seen outside a scientific outpost by one of the robotic horns sticking out from the Earth. She states that the robotic horn does not like to be touched and tells the unidentified uniformed male that she will show him how to kill it 'him.'

Transformers: The Last Knight [Credit: Paramount]

The studio really didn't want to put a final end to the franchise and has left it open to perhaps the idea of future Transformers films yet to come. Unless there are some serious changes to how these films are edited and finally a story worth engaging with, then don't expect me to spend any time or money watching the next installment, if there is one.

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About the Creator

Christina B

Cinephile. Also obsessed with anything anime or television related.

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