Transformers: The Last Knight Review
The Transformers movies have always been films that have divided opinions, but were always very successful at the Box Office. I am one of the people who have enjoyed the Transformers films whilst growing up, and on many occasions found myself defending them, but sadly when it comes to Transformers 5: The Last Knight, I am unable to defend it. I struggle for words when it comes to describing the 5th instalment of the robots in disguise, but I am going to try!
The Last Knight starts off well, with it going back into the medieval days, where we see another twist on the legendary wizard, Merlin, played by Stanley Tucci, and how he came to getting his magical powers - they happened to be given to him by a Transformer who was hiding on planet Earth. This power was given to him in the form of a staff, which seems to give him the power to control other Transformers but this wasn't very clear, it just hinted that it was a very powerful item and a key part of Cybertron’s (the planet home of the Transformers) history.
We are then fast forwarded to present day, where we see that all Transformers are illegal and should be killed on sight, which is a bit mad, considering all the help the Autobots have given protecting earth, but it is in keeping with the film’s lack of sense. On top of this, Optimus takes this opportunity to leave earth to find his maker back on Cybertron. Why he decides to go when all of his friends are getting destroyed we’ll never know. Luckily for the hunted Transformers there is one person who still cares and that is Mark Wahlberg's character Cade Yeager. Cade has dedicated his life to protecting Transformers, as he is well aware that not all of them mean harm.
To keep things short I will have to glaze over a lot of intricate parts of the film, which is quite tricky, due to the fact the plot is so convoluted - I am still not entirely sure what it was about. With Cade being pro-Transformers, he finds himself getting caught up in a world ending disaster where Optimus’ maker is actually wanting to merge Earth and Cybertron together, and the only way to do this is to use the staff that was given to Merlin. Cade is not alone in this apocalypse though, he is joined by the fan-favourite Autobot, Bumblebee, as well as Anthony Hopkins’ character Edmund Burton and Vivian Wembley, played by Laura Haddock, to name a couple. God knows what a well respected actor like Hopkins was thinking taking on this role! It’s a shame that the staff didn't exist in real life so that Michael Bay could have found it and stop this film from being an absolute disaster!
To try and pick out some positives, the score by Steve Jablonsky was good, not as good as the previous scores he’d done for the first 4 films, but it wasn't disappointing. You have to take your hat off to Michael Bay when it comes to getting a shot; he is great at knowing exactly where to point that camera. As well as this, Bay is great when it comes to the blend of CGI and real life - The Transformers looked like they were genuinely part of the world the film was taking place in.
Overall, I find myself struggling to write this review, as it really is as bad as the critics have been saying. There is no soul in this movie, it was simply made to make money, and that it will. I think if they are to continue to make more Transformers films, which it seems as though they are hinting at doing so, they need to hit the refresh button with the whole cast and crew, which unfortunately means dropping Jablonsky as the composer- he who has kept his end of the bargain by creating an incredible score for all 5 films, but it is what I believe is needed for people to look at the Autobots fondly again.
Let us know what you thought of this mess of a film which was Transformers: The Last Knight....
