Movie Review: "Transformers: Age of Extinction" an end or a new beginning?

"Transformers: Age of Extinction" has been getting a lot of mixed reactions from Transformers fanatics in different social media. There have been numerous blogs and reviews saying that it was a big disappointment. A handful of articles also were praising the movie. As a fan myself, I'll try to discuss some good and not so good points that I have noticed in the recent franchise of the film.

The visual effects and 3d rendering of the whole film is stunning. The new settings across the globe added more flavor to the cinematography of the film. The action sequence with the Transformers and alien ships were superb. The seamless rendering of CGI with actual scenes involving the actors were made in highly defined realism. The over-all designs of the new and old Transformers were breathtaking. The Dinobots appearance and transformations were beyond expectations. The savagery of robotic destruction whenever the Transformers got into their fights would make every fan filled with unexplained emotions. It would be very hard to deny that "Transformers: Age of Extinction" is still one of the best if not the best action/sci-fi film of this year. (Oh, I can still remember the part when Optimus rides Grimlock - EPIC!)

The plot on the other hand, falls secondary to all the technological breakthrough of the film. They have chosen a small but memorable cast. The action scenes between Cade Yeager (Mark Whalberg) and James Savoy (Titus Welliver) in Hongkong/China were absolutely heart-pumping. Another remarkable performance was the long chase for Su Yueming (Bingbing Li) and Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci) by the antagonists. I just felt that the new human characters were not developed properly in "Transformers: Age of Extinction". If the human part of the film was executed to be as powerful in impact comparable to the CGI prowess of the film it would have been flawless.

As humanity picks up the pieces, following the conclusion of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," Autobots and Decepticons have all but vanished from the face of the planet. However, a group of powerful, ingenious businessman and scientists attempt to learn from past Transformer incursions and push the boundaries of technology beyond what they can control - all while an ancient, powerful Transformer menace sets Earth in his cross-hairs. The plot of the film is similar to the recent sequels where the Earth and humanity needs to be saved and the only way to do it is for Transformers and humankind to cooperate. This was the plot that was said to be repetitive on the whole Transformer franchise. But when you think about it, the film promised action at its best and on that criteria- "Transformers: Age of Extinction" nailed it pretty well!

Michael Bay's "Transformers: Age of Extinction" might be a signal to end the franchise.Nevertheless, it also encourages/challenges other production teams to try and reboot it to a better film, like what happened to the recent X-men franchise. For a Transformer fan like me, I enjoyed every moment of "Transformers: Age of Extinction", try to catch it in 3D!