“Transformers: The Last Knight” marks the 5th “Transformers” movie in 10 years. At this point, what haven’t we seen? For moviegoers wanting to watch a film filled with loud and expansive action sequences, you’re going to get your money’s worth.
Best known for his towering special effects achievement, director Michael Bay ups the ante again by using the same formula – loud and big spectacles. The film’s weakness, however, lies in the scattered plot, which makes little to no sense.
If there’s one thing to be said about Bay is his consistency. The man loves incorporating old myths and hidden wonders with the franchise. While previous instalments told us that the Egyptian pyramids were used to hide an ancient weapon and that the Transformers were responsible for the moon landings, this outing explores the legend of King Arthur.
In ancient England, the wizard Merlin stumbles upon a Cybertronian ship and asks the Transformers’ help to defeat a Saxon army. That discovery and subsequent alliances changes the course of history. However, their identity has been kept secret by a group called the Witwiccans.
Fast forward to the present day, Transformers are being hunted down by the Transformers Reactionary Force (TRF). Cade Yeager (played by Mark Wahlberg) and Oxford professor Dr. Viviane Wembly (played by Laura Haddock) find themselves racing against time in order the save Mother Earth from the evil Quintessa.
Quintessa, who’s also the maker of Optimus Prime, wants to revive the home planet Cybertron by sucking the life from Earth. Only one thing stands in her way – Merlin’s last living relative, Viviane, who possesses the ability to retrieve and wield the ancient staff, given to Merlin by the Transformers centuries ago.
To quote Movie Web writer Julian Roman, the plot for “The Last Knight” swings like a boomerang between different characters and locations. There are way too many plot holes that it’s almost impossible to keep track of what’s going on. After awhile, it’s probably best to just shut off your thought process and enjoy the senseless fun of alien robots battling each other.
At one point there’s even an attempt to integrate emotional moments with a father-daughter subplot (Wahlberg’s Cade Yeager and Isabela Moner’s Izabella) and romance (Cade and Viviane). Unfortunately, the characters fell flat due to the lack of chemistry onscreen between the actors.
Despite being overstaff mythology and big-budget fireworks, “The Last Knight” fails to leave an impression. Having said that, diehard fans will be pleased to know that this instalment serves as a bridge to a wider Transformers Universe.
Last we heard, Paramount is currently developing 14 more “Transformers” films. The next story will be a “Bumblebee” spin-off.
“Transformers: The Last Knight” has been released in cinemas nationwide.
For more information, hit up the movie’s website.
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