Apr 18, 2015 09:33 PM
3009 Views
(Updated Apr 18, 2015 09:34 PM)
After 165 minutes of nonstop relentless smashing of everything in sight by giant metallic robots that thrilled the kid in me, it is hard to decide if Transformers Age of Extinction should be pardoned for an absolute lack of depth and texture in its story telling. Then again, considering the previous films in the series especially the B.O. shattering Dark of the Moon I sort of knew what I was getting into wasn’t it? This reboot aimed at a trilogy redefines a blockbuster, literally.
The story begins 5 years after an apocalyptic face off between the Autobots and Decepticons. Both are now being targeted and systematically killed(or harvested as we later discover) by CIA in cahoots with KSI, an engineering tech corp that is making human built autobots modelled on the now dead Megatron.
In one swift move, director Bay gives the series a new “seed” of life, there is a spaceship sent in from the “creators” who leave behind a “seed” bomb to destroy earth. Megatron gets a reincarnation as Galvatron. Optimus Prime finds a purpose in the end beyond saving the human friends on earth towards the end signalling where the next edition in the reboot might head to.
And there is a visual reinvention of the film- the machines transform in more elegant and seamless fashion in 3D that immerses, putting you right in the middle of all the shattering on screen. Mark Wahlberg leads the new Human cast in this series. Despite his decent attempt at adding layers to a pretty straightforward character with little arc, the humans are mostly left to supporting cast status.
It is Optimus Prime who takes centre stage yet again, giving the film is moral center and soul. He is the actual hero of the enterprise and along with BumbleBee and the rest of the Autobots, makes you wonder if the humans are needed in the scheme of things in the first place. Director Bay decidedly ups the ante with action. Optimus arrives a good half hour into the film and till then we are fed an interesting edge of the seat car chase. Once the bots kick in, there is no stopping the mayhem.
From USA to HongKong to China, the locales are beautiful and the destruction unleashed in there unbelievably humungous. Introducing a new set of machines to carry the fun on in the next editions, we also see dinobots, who spew fire and eat other machines off for breakfast. In Imax 3D the effects are scintillating, every action sequence multiplied and amplified to the max.
What does irk though is the 30 minute long climax that is energetic but a test on the patience levels at the same time. There is a lot of action, fast paced action on screen, and surprisingly(thankfully) the 3D addition does not cause blurry eyes and strain induced migraine. Shot in smaller Imax 3D cameras for the first time, the action sequences are a delight to watch with every synchronised move of the machines captured in detail.
I particularly liked the cubed transformation of the manmade machines; it was unique and added a nice touch to the now familiar transformations in the film. The other really fantastic part was the rousing back ground score. In one sequence, a large dinobot with bumblebee on it and the three principal human leads along, bangs into a skyscraper in Hong kong to a beautifully composed piece of dubstep beats with an oriental touch. Though a lot of the music is drowned in the action overkill, whenever the music takes centrestage, it delivers. With so many plusses, one just wishes Age of Extinction was written better as well. A stronger storyline would have made the reboot that much more exciting. A reboot was an opportunity to take the film to the next level, to make the franchise more than just a glorified destruction marathon that it always has been.
This is clearly not the intention though as Bay and his team have singularly concentrated on satisfying the fans waiting for the machines to go all hammer and tongs on each other. That they do, pretty darn well, and hence this edition too has all the signs to wreak havoc at the B.O. smashing more records across the globe.
Did we need another Transformer movie? No. Does this one make me want another one? No. Does it take the story any further or into any new territory? No. Would I then ask you to miss this one? No to that as well. Go have fun and forget it soon after.
