Review Transformers: Age of Extinction film review by G. H. (Gman)

I find myself rating Michael Bay's films on a curve these days. Even with that curve I struggle to praise much about his fourth and latest Transformers outing. I admit to enjoying pieces of the consumer friendly movie, but turning my brain off to be assualted by 165 minutes of digital effects and explosions proved to be an endurance test I dare not repeat. There are moments of magic in the movie.

The 'calling all Autobots' scene brought back images of the fantastic arrival to earth from the first film. And I appreciated Frank Welker's Galvatron; an unexpectedly large subplot I thoroughly enjoyed.

Indeed Transformers: Age of Extinction is, more than the previous films, a masculine fantasy. While the modern day status quo may cite that as a negative I'm actually fascinated by Bay's worship for overdramatic characters and sexy women amongst deadly destruction. On the one hand it prompts the film's better moments to speak loudly to anyone who was a ten year old boy. On the other hand it goes to extreme measures to objectify Nicola Peltz's character-- a seventeen year old girl allowed to date older guys under a Texan law. It practically forgives hormonal audience members over eighteen for wanting to sleep with her.

Ultimately the runtime is what slaughters the film. Had fifty minutes been cut from the movie I could see a more enjoyable, albeit, braindead action flick. Bay just can't seem to leave the fluff on the cutting room floor. There's a likable movie buried somewhere in the 165 minute timeframe; you might be able to find it if you can withstand the barrage on your senses.