OVERALL: It’s Transformers people! I want to be Optimus Prime when I grow-up. Granted I didn’t go in expecting great theater. I did go in expecting action/adventure and lots of big machines transforming into other big machines. I got it and it was great. 🙂

POINTS: It’s Transformers people!! Plus Mark Wahlberg, well done. You sir carried the movie. Yes you had help but your energy and charisma carried this movie and gave it its Spark.* 

Also, LOL, there are Transformer dinosaurs. Ok, when they appeared I thought “This is so over the top.” It was. And it was darn fun and good too.

PITFALLS: It’s Transformers people! Which means you are going to get improbable scenes and reconstituted dialogue and speeches. 

FEMALE CHARACTER(S): Wow this is a big FAIL. I am surprised by this too. We had Megan Fox who was a mechanic and helped save a Transformer. Then we had Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who at least had some brains and helped talk a bad guy into doing something bad for him. Cool. So I was expecting something like that here as well. Nope and good grief *headdesk* Nicola Peltz as Tessa Yeager is a complete whiny idiot who can’t step up to help herself or others. Ok, finally at the end she has one moment but really? See the women in the past did their best to survive and cope with their surroundings. Tessa was just a damsel in distress and that really bugged me. Thank goodness we have Sophia Myles and Bingbing Li to supply some intelligence to their characters even though they weren’t on screen long. Also thank them for helping this movie pass the Bechdel Test (See below).

CULTURAL PITFALL(S): I am really sick to death of parents freaking out over teenage daughters dating. Just effing tired of it. The underlying subconscious nonsense is that of course teenage daughters will have sex and get pregnant. Newsflash people. If you raise your daughters to value themselves and NOT plan their lives, value, and identity around a men, AND teach them about birth control and responsible sexual behavior, they won’t get pregnant. It is offensive and degrading that girls are constantly being monitored and boys are not. Girls are also insulted for their sexual activity or even expressing their desires and that nonsense pissed me off so much I think I will stop here before I really get into a rage. 

HIGH POINT(S):

1.) Transformers. OMG if you don’t love watching big machines turn into more big machines and lay some big machine smackdown then goodness sake don’t see this movie.

2.) Optimus Prime. I want to be him when I grow-up. I don’t care if I’ve already written that.

3.) Follow Him Scene. I love it when Ratchett voice by Robert Foxworth, after hearing Optimus Prime give His Big Speech, look at another Transformer and say “You just wanna die for the guy.” Then wearily follows his leader into battle. LOVE IT! That is when I informed my husband I want to be Optimus Prime when I grow-up. (Note: He actually prefers me the way I am!)

BECHDEL TEST (Website): 3 of 3?!! Well cool! And that was a fun scene.

RACIAL BECHDEL TEST (Website): Uh maybe .5 of 5 due to IMDB listing a PoC person as a convertible driver. Yeah, fail on that one.

IMDB: Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

OFFICIAL MOVIE WEBSITE:   Transformers: Age of Extinction

DVD/BLU-RAY WORTHY:  Yes.

LION PAW PRINTS:  3 of 5. It’s got Transformers!!

*I could say I’m sorry but I’m not. 🙂 Spark explanation.