Review: Transformers: The Last Knight – Huge Blockbuster Hit That Falls Flat
Michael Bay brings back transforming machines Autobots and Decepticons who are on each other’s neck once again for the fifth installment of Transformers franchise, dubbed as Transformers: The Last Knight. The plot for the film tells about when humans are at war with the Transformers, and Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving the future lies buried in the secrets of the past and the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Now, it’s up to the unlikely alliance of Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), Bumblebee, an English lord (Anthony Hopkins) and an Oxford professor (Laura Haddock) to save the world. Today, on 21 June 2017 sees the premiere of the blockbuster hit, so how does it fare compared to the predecessors? Is Michael Bay finally giving us something to think about rather than serving ol’ plain action with huge moves? As one of the most awaited summer blockbuster film in 2017, Indonesia is one of the 7 countries which is chosen to premiere the film on 21 June 2017.
As we attended the screening which was held yesterday at XXI Kota Kasablanka Mall at South Jakarta, Michael Bay took us to go back in time to the middle age when all things started. It was told that when King Arthur was on the throne, the Transformers have arrived during that time and they gave the Merlin wizards a powerful wand that could turn good Autobot like Optimus Prime into evil. At this point you could still catch up with the plot right? Because it will be a whole lot more confusing as the story unfolds. That wand which has been kept for centuries would be useful for Transformers’ creator to turn Optimus Prime into evil so she could make use of him to destroy earth. The wand could only be handled by Merlins’ descendant or relatives and there is only one person left which is Viviane Wembley (Laura Haddock), an Oxford professor. The heroine Cade Yaeger (Mark Wahlberg) has to stop Optimus Prime or Decepticons from acquiring this wand, so he works together with Viviane and an English Lord played by Anthony Hopkins.
Does it feel familiar? There is a saying that once you watch a Transformer movie, then you have seen them all. That saying. which is a made up in our part, could be applied perfectly in this movie franchise. The same plot is rehashed over and over again with different details, actors, and stories. Michael Bay is consistent, and in this case he is consistently bad. However, this movie has its undeniable charm. It is the type of movie where you can leave your brains at home, but will get no problem in getting entertained by its gorgeous visual and CGI, larger-than-life action, fast-paced fighting scenes, and endless chasing and running. Once again there is a division of allies and enemies, but it’s the same thing all over again where planet earth’s fate lies on the result of their final fighting. There are also a lot of sub-plots going on which is somehow irrelevant for the big picture and we wonder why there is this scene or that scene inserted in the two hour plus film. Oh, we forgot to mention a Star Wars reference in this movie as well, where you can find a C3PO clone in the form of Transformer. As there is a gaping hole about Optimus Prime’s future, we are pretty certain about another follow up of Transformers movie. So you know who win in the end, right? Watch the trailer of Transformers: The Last Knight below and the movie has hit theaters across Indonesia starting from today!
Reviewer: Narisha Zulkaranain & Novita Widia
