"Transformers: The Last Knight" premiered on June 21. It is the fifth and final installment in Michael Bay's "Transformers" series. As is typical of a Michael Bay movie, it is action packed. Of the two with Mark Wahlberg, this one was definitely the best. Although there may be other "Transformers" movies down the road, this will be the last one done by Michael Bay.
It's a pretty straightforward plot
The movie opens with Chicago destroyed. The Autobots and humans are no longer fighting against the Decepticons, and both are considered illegal. The only place where the Autobots are now welcome is in Cuba where they are allowed to enjoy the sun on the beach.
Mark Wahlberg is back as Cade Yeager, and he's trying to help the Autobots. He ventures into Chicago where he meets the latest addition to the cast, Izabella, a new character, portrayed by Isabela Moner. She is a 14-year-old girl who has befriended the Autobots after her parents were killed in the destruction of Chicago. Cade extracts her from Chicago when he goes into the city looking for Autobots. Although he tries to get rid of her, she sticks around because the Autobots were the only family she had left.
Cade ends up at the English estate of Sir Edmund Burton, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins after he receives a talisman from one of the 12 knights who came to Earth. They left Cybertron to escape Quintessa, a sorceress who claims to be the maker of the Autobots and Decepticons.
She is actually looking for her control staff, which the Knights stole and took to Earth. They gave the staff to Merlin, and he used it to help King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to defeat their enemies. This begins the story of the relationship between the Autobots and humans.
Now Optimus Prime, who left Earth to find his maker, has found Quintessa, and he pledges himself to her and to the task of retrieving the staff.
Prime returns to Earth to retrieve the staff and fight the humans since he believes that the staff is the only thing that brings Cybertron back to the planet it once was. Quintessa also reveals that Earth is actually Unicron, an ancient enemy of Cybertron and that in order to bring Cybertron back to its former glory, Earth must be destroyed.
Cade meets Sir Edmund Burton and he tells him the story of the relationship between the Autobots and humans. It involves Merlin calling upon the Autobots living in a crashed aircraft and asking them to help King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table save Camelot. Now Cade, as the Last Knight, must work together with Vivian Wembley, a professor who is actually a descendant of Merlin in order to stop Quintessa from succeeding in her plans. Vivian is the only one capable of wielding the staff to defeat Quintessa and stop Cybertron from crashing into Earth. Cade's talisman becomes the sword Excalibur, and the 12 Knights of Cybertron defer to Cade when they seek to save Earth. Cade persuades Optimus Prime to change sides and help to save Earth.
Strong action and a fast moving plot make it worth watching
The action and special effects are definitely on par with what fans can expect from a Michael Bay movie. What makes this such a great addition to the "Transformers" films and definitely one of my favorites is that it finally reveals how humans and Autobots became friends. Bay weaves the details of the relationship into the film so it doesn't interrupt the action. The pace is very fast and the action is definitely non-stop. The movie itself is about two and a half hours, but moviegoers won't notice because of the pace. The details of the history of humans and Autobots add to the action, and Merlin, as a drunk, is really quite hilarious.
My favorite part of the movie was when Bumblebee finally spoke. Bumblebee has never spoken in his own voice throughout any of the movies. He always has a voice box he uses to speak in different voices but never his own. When he finally does speak in his own voice, it is a very touching scene with Optimus Prime. Optimus says that it is the first time that Bumblebee has spoken since Cybertron was destroyed.
Bumblebee also has a new design, and it's definitely more sporty. The humor he brings to the movie, as well as the comic relief that is injected into film really makes this movie a lot of fun to watch. Cogman, Sir Edmund Burton's mechanical butler, is absolutely hilarious as he adds comic relief to the story when Sir Edmund tells Cade and Vivian the story of how humans and Autobots became friends.
The humor mixed in with good storytelling switches up the pace, and it gives moviegoers a chance to breathe as the action will definitely set them on edge as they move quickly from scene to scene.
The least interesting part of the story was the Trans Reaction Force (TRF), which is tasked with hunting down the Autobots. They're just not interesting, and they really don't hold up their end of the plot because they're completely unsympathetic as characters. Overall, it's a wonderful movie to watch with lots of action, well done special effects, and everything moviegoers would expect from a Michael Bay movie. The end is something of a cliffhanger. The movie is still in theaters, and it's definitely worth it to see it on the big screen.
