"It sounds like it's getting somewhere, even though all it ever does is spin its wheels," so says a rather harsh, but perhaps justified, review of 'Transformers: The Last Knight' from the Washington Post. The series of films about humongous robots fighting it out for control has met with scathing criticism through the years — most of which came from hardcore Transformers' fans themselves.
A 'continuing disappointment'
It seems like the fifth film is no exception, and here we were hoping the years would have helped it escape the stigma. Is watching 'The Last Knight' so bad that it can be compared to a roaring car that never really gets anywhere because it's stuck in the mud?
Well, for starters, no one seemed to like that they dragged one of the most popular Western stories and incorporated it into the core of the story. When a movie tries to take something timeless such as King Arthur and drags it to a level that's only a notch above entertaining, well, you'll know the movie is really bad.
But as it is, we get the mythical intro anyway, so there's no way to get past it but to watch. Right off the bat, we get a prologue featuring King Arthur and Lancelot as they prepare for what seems to be an epic battle.
A few minutes later, we're shown that what they're doing is actually stalling, and the main arsenal is brought by none other than Merlin (of course).
The wizard brought something huge to the party, as a peasant watching the scene ominously mutters, "This is what the end looks like."
'Transformers: The Last Knight,' all 'empty action'
After the prologue, we're treated to the usual Michael Bay fare. The director is known for exciting action (and explosions) and, in that respect, the movie delivers.
However, as per Stephanie Merry of the Washington Post reviews, the movie was aimed at audiences that simply crave "empty action." The movie was all over the place, and it was likened to a feature-length trailer, with settings and locales sweeping past long before you can get any sort of investment in them.
It didn't help that the movie had a powerhouse cast.
No one can deny that Mark Wahlberg is talented, and if you claim that Anthony Hopkins is a bad actor, almost no one will believe you. However, in this movie they found themselves racing through their dialogues, trying to finish their sentences before the camera cuts away. Needless to say, a lot of the lines got lost.
All in all, 'Transformers: The Last Knight' didn't do well enough to redeem the series of its shortcomings. But, hey, one of the best things about Hollywood is that they can always reboot a franchise. While we did not get the epic film that we're expecting, we still could hope they do better in the future.
