Transformers: Age of Extinction

Transformers: Age of Extinction is certainly the best of the long running series with Michael Bay deciding a semi-reboot was needed.

He's pushed the series five years on from the events of the last movie and replaced Shia La Beouf's screaming comedy relief Sam with Mark Wahlberg's more traditional action hero father character.

This is a good move (although Sam not having a single mention is a bit of a shame) and you believe a lot more in the motives of the character.

In fact the human characters in this movie, on the whole, are much better, especially Stanley Tucci's mad, business-owning scientist trying to copy the Transformer's designs, although some are left at the fringes for far too long.

However, there are plot holes galore (to be expected in a three hour movie I suppose.) There's just no need for the length, the Transformers themselves are not at all memorable (I challenge you to remember the name of just one that isn't Optimus or Bumblebee) and a waste of voice talent (I'm ashamed to say the cheesy one liners which blighted the first three films are back in force)

Once again, Bay has to invent some sort of 'earth destroying device' to actually give the plot meaning (this time metal bombs called 'Seeds') but these weren't mentioned at all previously and the Dinobots are not introduced properly or even explained at all.

I could nitpick all day and that's just not good enough in an era of incredible sci-fi films.

Come for the action (especially in ear pummelling IMAX) but Bay's going to need to introduce a hell of a lot of talking in the next one.

3 stars ***