Movie · 2014 · Science Fiction, Action, Adventure · 2h 45m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 0.3/10 (652.6K ratings)
This is not war, it's extinction.
Overview
As humanity picks up the pieces after the battle of Chicago, a shadowy group reveals itself in an attempt to control the direction of history…while an ancient, powerful new menace sets Earth in its crosshairs. With help from Cade Yeager, Optimus Prime and the Autobots rise to meet their most fearsome challenge yet.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.3/10
IMDb: 5.6/10
Letterboxd: 2.21/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 18%
Metacritic: 32
TMDB: 6.0/10
Director
Michael Bay
Production
di Bonaventura Pictures, DeSanto/Murphy Productions, Ian Bryce Productions, Paramount Pictures, Hasbro
Cast
Mark Wahlberg, Peter Cullen, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Frank Welker, Sophia Myles, Li Bingbing, Titus Welliver, John Goodman, Ken Watanabe, John DiMaggio, Mark Ryan, T.J. Miller, James Bachman, Thomas Lennon, Charles Parnell, Erika Fong, Han Geng
Where to watch
Hulu, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
Curator Review
Verdict
A maximalist, noisy, effects-driven sequel that doubles down on product placement, bloat, and absurd action set pieces. There are flashes of Bayhem spectacle and a few viewers may enjoy it as a trashy excess machine, but the film is overwhelmingly long, repetitive, and narratively incoherent.
Best for
Viewers who enjoy huge, bombastic blockbuster spectacle regardless of plot
Fans of ironic or so-bad-it’s-good viewing
Audiences looking for relentless action and visual excess
Skip if
You want coherent storytelling or character development
You’re sensitive to product placement and corporate branding
You dislike long runtimes and repetitive destruction
Overview
Michael Bay turns the dial past reason and keeps going, delivering a sequel that feels less like a movie than a three-hour assault of metal, fire, and brand names. The scale is undeniably huge, and there are moments where the sheer absurdity becomes almost impressive, but the film is so overstuffed that any momentum gets buried under noise.
Worth noting
What lingers most is not the robots but the texture of the thing: the shameless commercialism, the endless chases, the blunt-force jokes, and the sense that every scene is trying to outdo the last in volume rather than invention. For some viewers, that extremity is the appeal; for most, it’s exhausting.
Bottom line
If you approach it as a spectacle of excess, there’s a crude entertainment in watching a blockbuster eat itself alive. But as an action film, it’s bloated and repetitive, with too little wit or emotional weight to justify the runtime.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Matt Singer (0.5★) · 1270 likes
This really might be the worst $200 million movie ever. And if it’s not, I pray to God I never see the movie that is.
davidehrlich (3★) · 925 likes
Michael Bay is officially my favorite Werner Herzog character.
an invaluable & grotesquely accurate self-portrait of corporate America. Bay is way too sloppy, but Mark Wahlberg plays an inventor, so...?
not *nearly* as cinematically interesting as the last one (adjust accordingly), but it sure is weirder. and sillier. and TUCCIer.
P.S. worth noting that Mark Wahlberg’s character's family lives in Paris, Texas. this is obviously Michael Bay’s touching homage to his hero, Wim Wenders.
PointlessHub (0.5★) · 894 likes
Mark Wahlberg goes beast mode.
Matt Singer (0.5★) · 719 likes
Suggested Transformers: Age of Extinction Drinking Game:
-Any time a robot transforms, take one sip.
-Any time someone says “transformium,” take one sip.
-Any time there is an American flag visible in the frame, take one sip.
-Any time there is blatant product placement, take one sip of an ice cold Bud Light™ while rocking out to your Beats™ portable Bluetooth speaker.
-Any time Mark Wahlberg gets angry about his teen daughter’s budding sexuality, take one sip.
-Any time Michael… more
Evan (1★) · 627 likes
I'll start off by saying, I went into this with zero expectations and the hope I would come out liking it. Transformers: Age of Extinction is truly a horrible movie. I almost can't even put into words how bad this film was and how much I hated it. The dialogue is horrendous; I was dumbfounded at what was coming out of these people's mouths. The script is embarrassingly bad. For example, "Put your hands on my stick; she's got the… more I'll start off by saying, I went into this with zero expectations and the hope I would come out liking it. Transformers: Age of Extinction is truly a horrible movie. I almost can't even put into words how bad this film was and how much I hated it. The dialogue is horrendous; I was dumbfounded at what was coming out of these people's mouths. The script is embarrassingly bad. For example, "Put your hands on my stick; she's got the… more