I got to meet up with some friends from high school to go see this and we had a great time hanging out again not seeing each other in 3-4 years. And while my friends did like this movie, I begged to differ.

Now one of my friends actually really enjoys the Micheal Bay Transformers films with the exception of the Last Knight and I’ve never gotten why. Really the only live action movie I actually liked was the only 2018 spin-off Bumblebee. Some of the reasons why to put it briefly are:
1. It was not directed by Bay
2. His movies are notorious for their crassness and raunchy humor and although that is present in Bumblebee, it’s at least toned down significantly
3. I actually really loved the story and the heart it had (partially by how shockingly amazing of a performance Hailee Steinfield gave for her role as the protagonist)

Unfortunately I feel like this movie kind of equipped itself with the components of what I despise about the Bayformers. Don’t get me wrong this is nowhere near as bad as those ones but it still bothered me because they are very juvenile pandered to teenagers because it’s filled with a lot of lame jokes and obnoxious quips since they try way to hard to be able edgy. It’s strange too because 90% of Transformers properties are aimed at kids and some shows like Transformers Prime are ironically more mature (with certain moments that credit their audiences with intelligence) than the live action Transformers movies.

I actually do get after seeing this what some people were saying about there being too much focus on humans when Bay directed his works in the late 2000s and 2010s. And the first hour was a slog to get through but thankfully wants Noah escapes with Mirage it slowly but sure increases from usually live action Transformers awfulness to something that can be considered average. Dare I say I overall thought it to be a mixed bag.

The movie works during the parts where it takes itself seriously and as the movie progresses they tone it down with the bad jokes. Now despite being a supposed follow up to Bumblebee it actually has nothing to do with its predecessor outside of a single line of dialogue when Optimus Prime questions the reliability of Noah and Elena. When I was watching the trailers I actually kept forgetting that it wasn’t supposed to stand on its own because it sure as heck feels like it’s own feature - especially with the edition of the maximals and terrorcons.

I actually really enjoyed the maximals and terrorcons as characters with how the former feels burden about the loss of their planet and the latter pose as a great threat. Not to mention that all of the transformers have fantastic actors and of course Peter Cullen once again reprising his iconic role. Noah does start out kind of bland as a protagonist but he really warms up to you as the movie progresses especially with how strong of a bond he has with his little brother Chris and how they both look out after each other. Noah is trying to get a job working for the government to help cover Chris’ illness and they both convince each other never to give up and even if they are on opposite sides of the world they still find a way via Mirage to maintain contact. Speaking of Mirage I feel like part of the problem with the attempts to be edgy and adult stems from a majority of his lines. Sometimes it can be chuckle worthy with how his attitude is pretty cheeky like in the original 1984 Generation 1 series. I actually was excited that he and Arcee were finally having an appearance and prominent role in a Transformers movie because I don’t believe they have ever showed up before. Not to mention that it was nice change of pace having Mirage be the main autobot companion for the main human instead of Bumblebee for a change.

In addition, the visuals and character designs have improved from Micheal Bay’s series. Don’t get me wrong they still look ugly but this and Bumblee upped their game on the CGI. The action scenes are definitely some of the best choreographed out of any transformers movie. And the score as well as even the 90s hip hop (which I really dig) fit perfectly with the fights when the Autobots and Maximals square up with Unicron’s lackees.

The climax was bonkers. Correct me if I’m wrong but outside of that one episode of The Transformers G1, I cannot think of a single instance where a human morphs with parts of a Cybertronian to become a human-like autobot. It took me by surprised so: “Well played Transformers! Well played!” And let me just say it was awesome watching the final battle and it actually had you on the edge of your seat. Granted I knew all the good guys were going to win because y’know of course they will. Even so it was intense with Unicron nearly kilometers away from devouring all of earth.

I guess, not that’s among stiff competition but this is the second best transformers movie behind Bumblee. I’m glad it at least got to the point to where it could be considered average and what helped is that the story was actually pretty straightforward and not unnecessarily convoluted and all over the place. I guess all can say is I can’t wait for the upcoming GI Joe and Transformers crossover movie!

6/10