So it looks like Mark Wahlberg isn’t the only one who’s found a Transformer, you guys. As the latest installment in Michael Bay‘s robotic movie franchise, “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” hits theaters, Optimus Prime and his buddies have gotten the once-over from film critics. You know, in order to help you decide whether or not the nearly 3-hours-long (really) robot epic is worth your dollars and time.
Eschewing the Shia LaBeouf-iness of installments past, the newest iteration finds Wahlberg in the hero’s seat (one of the main reasons the sequel got made), with the likes of Stanley Tucci and Kelsey Grammer along for the ride. After a mega-battle has left a once-great city in utter ruins, a new form of evil steps up to the plate in an attempt to change the course of history and take over the world. Thanks to Optimus Prime and the other Autobots (alongside Wahlberg, too, of course), a war of good versus evil is fought in the name of saving the planet.
Still the question begs: should you see it? Well that’s what critics are for — to help inform your opinion before heading out to IMAX it up. Whether you do is up to you, but we’ve rounded up a few opinions in the meantime to help you make up your mind.
Mark Wahlberg Does the Heavy Lifting
“Mark Wahlberg proves again that he has wonderful comedic timing and delivery, on top of serving as a good action hero and having an earnestness to his delivery that makes him come across as a likable, ordinary guy.” — Mark Hughes, Forbes
It’s All Over the Place…Literally and Figuratively
“Scrambling from rural Texas to a sleek techno-fabulous HQ to the skies of Chicago to Hong Kong, ‘T4′ can never decide, from one moment to the next, whether to go scary or jokey — ‘Dark Knight’ or ‘Looney Tunes.’” — Kyle Smith, New York Post
There’s a Lot of Branding
“‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ feels less like a movie than a product of the cinema-industrial complex: it’s loud and stupid enough to be easily translated into every language on the planet, it’s got overt product placement for everything from Oreos and Bud Light to Asian bottled water, and the final act takes place in China for no apparent reason except that, as the man said when asked why he robbed banks, that’s where the money is.” — Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
The Robots Steal the Show
“[I]t’s the robots — endowed here with character-rich physicality and almost human-scaled facial features — who give the film its emotional heft. Optimus Prime’s charismatic leadership of his team, as well as his unwavering compassion for the humans, again makes him the movie’s moral anchor. … Still, the character most likely to be beloved by audiences, especially tykes, remains Bumblebee, whose mischievous personality brings much-needed comic relief.” — Maggie Lee, Variety
It’s a Michael Bay Film Through and Through
“Those who don’t care for (read detest) Bay’s take on the Robots in Disguise will be far happier if they remain miles away from the IMAX 3D endeavor, as it serves up triple doses of the director’s brainless lavishness. Audiences who are game to board the extravagance train will find that Age of Extinction hits all the notes that a Transformers movie ought to. Bay’s signature elaborate explosions and remarkable effects work are on tap, of course.” — Roth Cornet, IGN
Transformers: Age of Extinction opens June 27th.
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