Transformers:The Last Knight(2017)

[mr.negativity]

The summer tentpole is counting on a strong run overseas, where it opened to a rousing $48 million on Friday, the third-best start of all time for a foreign title.

[Henry88]

i can only guess but i think many people are quite happy about this.

[O.Supreme]

This is a little misleading however. Some TF films have opened mid-week, and others on Friday. Comparing TLK Wed-TH to AoE's Fri-Sat really isn't the same at all. Also something really weird is going on with Boxofficemojo. It is currently Saturday morning, and usually they have a new weekend article by Friday, currently they still have last weeks article still up. Its as if they absolutely refuse to write an article about how TF5 is #1 this weekend, or maybe they are just afraid to? or don't know how to?

As a life long Transformers fan, I have been very public about my lukewarm reception to the live action films. The first one I still believe is genuinely good, the rest are just all flash and no substance. I neither love them, or hate them, but I do plan on seeing TLK in the theater. I just think that the general public is going bonkers with this series more so than with many others (even Pirates of the Caribbean) . They just cant seem to fathom how a series perceived as *so awful* can keep making films and being a financial success, to the point now that they start berating not only people who like the films, but people like myself who just casually and go see them.

I plan on seeing this tomorrow morning at a Matinee, but am I going to be greeted by a mob of angry protesters telling me I'm an idiot just for spending $7.50 for 2 1/2 hours of mind numbing entertainment? Based on reactions I've seen online, it kind of feels that way...and that is sad.

[mr.negativity]

[O.Supreme]

[O.Supreme]

Well thanks to my wife, and some rearranging of my personal schedule we were able to see this late yesterday afternoon. I'm posting my comments here rather than in the recently watched movies section because I figure if anyone cares they'll post here, and I'd rather frankly have zero reaction than a couple of snarky comments about how awful the movie is by people who have no intention of seeing it.

All that being said however…where do I begin? I’m just not sure even how to react to this film, is it the worst thing ever? I don’t think so…is it a good story? No, not at all. Some things I enjoyed…Dragonstorm looked cool for what little time he was onscreen, same with Infernocus. Cogman oddly enough was probably the most enjoyable new character in the whole film, although, as was referred to one time, he never showed off his ability as a Headmaster onscreen.

Now there are literally dozens of nitpicks, and some very big problems I could point out for this film, but this does not stem from any hatred of Michael Bay, or *lazy writers*, or poor acting, it stems from my enjoyment of Transformers in general. You see I have been a Transformers fan since day 1 (May 1984). The first film in 2007 I genuinely enjoyed, I saw it in the theater 4 times. Many people say each sequel has gotten worse, where I tend to see an up-and-down effect, but TLK is definitely on the downward side of things. Here we are five films in, and continuity has basically been thrown out the window. Some fans may feel that occurred long ago, but for me at least, I could, in my own head, make sense of all of it up until now. There were just too many things that happened in this film that made no sense. I’ll just try to list a few of them…

1. If Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins) was the last of the last surviving member of the "Witwiccan" order, what happened to Sam and his father?
2. There was literally no explanation as to how Megatorn came to be in his present form (previously was reborn as Galvatron manufactured by KSI) * one fan online says there was a line of dialogue providing a vague reference but I did not hear it
3. This *may* have been the first Transformers film with no significant Autobot deaths (a couple of generics and knights die, but none of the main characters)
4. Unfortunately aside form Megatron and Barricade, the rest of the Decepticons have very little character development, a few have a funny little shtick, then are quickly dispensed with.
5. Quintessa looks nothing like the organic “creators” as seen at the beginning of AoE
6. In reality I know this is just a case of lack of forward thinking, but one wonders…If Quintessa had always been around why did she not prevent the destruction of Cybertron in the first place? What would be her relationship to characters such as The Fallen, Sentinel Prime etc… Also in the comics, The Fallen was a worshipper of Unicron, so it’s likely he would have known Earth was Unicron in dormant form, why would he have tried to destroy it?

I have many more questions, but basically my takeaway is…I see a lot of hate for the franchise in general at this point, from fans and non-fans alike. I’ll admit, I don’t really like where its headed, all the news we heard about a collaboration and a room full of writings outlining a whole “Hasbro” shared universe wasn’t really set up. I’m not sure if further Transformers sequels, or spin-offs as well as MASK, GI Joe, ROM, Action Man etc… will all translate well on film. Honestly, I don’t even like how it’s being handled in the IDW comics. I hear fans calling for a *reboot* to make it more like the original animated series, and I honestly don’t think that’s the answer. I think the franchise just needs to go away from the silver screen for a while. Jurassic park took a 15 year hiatus after the lukewarm reception of the 3rd film, And came back in a blaze of glory (if you don’t agree critically, you can’t argue financially). I think Transformers should do the same. The only part about this that saddens me is that staples of the characters such as Peter Cullen and Frank Welker aren’t getting any younger. I would rather continue to hear them lend their talents to the characters in animated form, but that’s just me. I still think that Hasbro should look to Warner /DC as an example. They have been producing 3 animated films per year for the past decade that for the most part are quite enjoyable. Transformers has a 30+ history from numerous comic book series, and animated series to draw from, investing in direct-to-home lower budget animated films would be a great direction to go in IMHO.

[Dai]

[O.Supreme]

^ Hound, Drift, & Crosshairs are basically the same as they were in AoE. Grimlock is now Cade's pet dog, but he's in all of two scenes totaling about 2 minuets. Optimus is basically the same , and so is BB.

There are a Bunch of new Random Autobots that only appear onscreen a time or two. Cogman really is the only one that kept me somewhat entertained, in fact I may be wrong, but he may have the most dialogue and screen time of any Autobot in this film. Hot Rod was a complete waste.

It is assumed that all the Human-Made KSI Transformers (The Transformium blocky-style ones) were destroyed at the end of AoE, save Galvatron, who's reappearance as Megatron goes without explanation (I am told by some fans that there is a line of dialogue or a visual clue subtly referring to this in the film, but if so I did not notice it).

[mr.negativity]

[mr.negativity]

[Dai]

Wasn't Age of Extinction's strong reception in China just the result of it being one of the most egregious cases of China-baiting in Hollywood history? I don't think I've ever seen an American movie stroking off another country to such a cringe-worthy extent as AoE, with its just-happens-to-be-in-Hong-Kong climax and, "The Chinese government cares about j00" rhetoric.

[klen7]

[Benjamin Haines]

[lhb412]

^Both of those articles were very interesting, thanks!

[mr.negativity]

[O.Supreme]

[lhb412]

Maybe if they're smart the Bumblebee movie could be a stealth reboot to swing the franchise in a different direction?

They want to do the Hasbro extended universe thing anyway, right? I can't really see Jem and the Holograms showing up in the Michael Bay universe... ugh, just imagined what he'd do with those characters for girls. *shudders*

[mr.negativity]

[mr.negativity]

[mr.negativity]