#REVIEW: “TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong

This needs to be prefaced – this is a Review for a Transformers Movie. The Franchise has been nominated for several Oscars, but many have opinions if these Films actually are “great”. They are designed to entertain by having things blow up, with good and evil cars fight each other with the help of humans. Transformers: The Last Knight may be the most convoluted in the Series to date, but it was a highly-enjoyable escape, allowing me to put aside all my worries.

The Movie starts off in the Dark Ages in England, where all hope is lost and the English are bound to lose the fight unless Merlin (Stanley Tucci) can save them. Merlin is friends with the Transformer Knights who are destined to protect the staff from falling into the hands of Quintessa (Gemma Chan) who wants to use the staff to make earth the new Cybertron. However, the Transformer Knights trust Merlin and give him the staff to transform the knights into a dragon and win the war, and the power of the staff is buried with Merlin.

Fast-forward to modern day, Transformers now are seen as evil aliens on earth, the TRF is doing anything they can to destroy the remaining Autobots and Decepticons on earth and Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) is fighting to protect them. When he finds a Transformer stuck in a ship, he is gifted something that will have the knights always protecting him, which we later learn can be used to track the staff and shake earth to its core. Cade partners with Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins), his Transformer sidekick Cogman (Jim Carter), and Vivian (Laura Haddock). Can this unlikely team of heroes stop Megatron (Frank Welker) from stealing the staff and destroying the earth?

First thing is first; there is a pseudo-daughter character to Cade in the Movie as Izabella (Isabela Moner) and everything is fine until the typical Michael Bay problem arises. He over-sexualizes the character, a 14-year-old female. Some may take issue with that.

Performance wise, again this is a Transformers Movie, however two performances in particular really stand out. Sir Anthony Hopkins is in on the ridiculousness, his scenes being the best parts of the Movie. However, Jim Carter steals every single scene in which he appears, his lines and delivery just hilarious as a bit of a sociopath.  His split personalities all shine.

Transformers: The Last Knight doesn’t stride too far away from the standard story and plot points of other Films in the Series, but it ups the fun factor and explosions quite a bit.  If you need a real escape, this is the Movie for you. Autobots roll out.

Paramount Pictures Canada release TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT in theatres on Wednesday, June 21, 2017.