Transformers: Age of Extinction

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I am nowhere close to being a Transformers fan. I thought the first movie was pretty decent, the second was laughably terrible, and didn't bother to watch the third. But I bothered with Age of Extinction, and for the most part, I'm glad I did. Critics are slamming it (and I agree with most of them), but if you put aside the shaky plot, stereotyped characters, and Transformer dino fights that last almost an hour, you've got a fairly enjoyable movie. If nothing else, Transformers: Age of Extinction is fun to watch.

After the gigantic fight in Chicago, the government is cracking down on Transformers, killing any they can find. Cade Yeager, a broke inventor with the coolest name on the planet, happens to find an injured Optimus Prime and semi-nurses him back to health, earning the Autobot's eternal gratitude and the government's eternal hatred. Meanwhile, the government has discovered the secret to the Transformers' transforming ability and has created an entire army of Transformers. Unbeknownst to them, Megatron has infected the army with Decepticon metal.

From there, you can kind of guess how things go down. Cade, his teenage daughter, and his teenage daughter's boyfriend round up the Autobots, and much giant robotic fighting ensues. And man, is it fun to watch. It's like you've died and gone to sound-effects heaven.

It's also like you've died and gone to plot-hole hell. The plot isn't set up very well. The human characters are saved again and again by convenient and unoriginal plot devices. Most of the time, I felt like it was just too much for a Transformers movie. No one wants an elaborate, intricate plot. We just want to see giant robots and cool cars, please. Without crazy, barely-believeable, and time-sucking story points, Age of Extinction could have nicely wrapped up every subplot and still had time for special effects overload, instead of leaving gaping holes in the plot everywhere and devoting a third of the movie to the final showdown.

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Despite the cast being much better than previous Transformers installments (I'd take Mark Wahlberg over Shia Lebeouf any day), they're given stereotypical roles to play that don't do the film any favors. My biggest bone to pick is Tessa Yeager, Cade's daughter, and her boyfriend. I wish some movie would feature a teenage girl who's biggest problem isn't that her dad doesn't allow her to date. Tessa does a gigantic disservice to teenage girl-dom and feminism in general as she spends the entire film hiding behind her boyfriend, wearing tiny shorts, and getting trapped in all sorts of places and needing rescue. However, the film slightly redeems itself with all two other remaining female characters; one a brilliant scientist, the other a lawyer/businessperson/ninja.

I definitely enjoyed Age of Extinction more than I've ever enjoyed a Transformers film (although that doesn't say much), and it's a fun ride, if you're willing to overlook some things. It certainly seems like Michael Bay has created something bigger than himself. Age of Extinction has already made about $600 million, and now holds the record for biggest opening in China of all time. Despite negative reviews, you just can't ignore the lure of fighting robot alien car things.