Transformers: Age of Extinction

With an ominous moniker, Transformers 4 takes the same formula as its 3 predecessors, mixes it up a bit with some new actors and robots, and serves it to audiences in a jumbo-sized container of summer popcorn action blockbuster. Unfortunately, it just doesn't have the same excitement as the previous 3 (the first one at least). This is an interesting franchise. Even Michael Bay has publicly stated that he doesn't care what people think of the movies because he knows they will see them anyway. That sentiment comes across in the latest installment. Sloppy direction, incoherent plot lines, shallow and cliche characters, and worst of all, a truly deflated story. Written by Ehren Kruger, I would expect a bit more. I loved his work on Arlington Road and The Ring, but since taking the primary screenwriting role on the Transformers series, he hasn't impressed me despite a gargantuan budget, arguably the best special effects director in the game, and a fan base that proves Bay right, we will see the movie no matter what. It seems like a no-brainer opportunity to do something epic. He does not. He's already working on Transformers 5, and it's a shame. I'd like to see some new blood behind the franchise.

Set a few years after the Dark of the Moon blowout that devastated Chicago, now there is a new Black-Ops team of humans led by a perfectly cast Kelsey Grammer, and they call themselves Cemetary Wind. I would expect nothing less from Michael Bay. I was half expecting Will Smith and Martin Lawrence to get out of a car in slow motion and take their sunglasses off, but we'll have to wait a bit for Bad Boys 3. This shadowy government agency has found a way to not only find, but also defeat any and all Transformers that are still hiding out on Earth. Need I say more? What humans could beat a transforming robot? So, they are hunting and exterminating Autobots and Decepticons alike, using a pretty cool bounty hunter named Lockdown who is helping them until he gets his hands on the prize; Optimus Prime.

Meanwhile, the story gets boring as we're introduced to the new Shia LeBeouf and Megan Fox, who this time are a father/daughter duo played by Mark Wahlberg and Nicola Peltz (fun fact - she's only 19 and her dad's a billionaire courtesy of Snapple). They never gain traction or believability in their characters, and it left me just waiting for the special effects to start. Mark Wahlberg can't play a scientist or a Texan (except in Lone Survivor) and the daisy dukes, heels, and tank tops although fun to look at, aren't typical of teens anywhere outside of Michael Bay's fantasy world. It was like Michael Bay took all of the pensive gazes toward the sunset from Armageddon, The Rock, Pearl Harbor, and Bad Boys and rolled them all together into a long sequence that doesn't really have a place in the film. In case you haven't noticed, the 2 hours 45 minutes is way too long.

Cemetary Wind discovers that Wahlberg has found Optimus Prime and tries to get him to appease Lockdown by turning him over to him. Throw in a shady corporate businessman, a few battle scenes, yada yada yada, international travel to a hip film consuming locale (China), Dinobots (out of pretty much nowhere), and roll credits with another Linkin Park song.

The thing about Michael Bay movies is that there are supposed to be cool explosions, improbable situations that require very elaborate chases or escapes, and the special effects are supposed to be top notch. I felt the way I did while watching X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The effects were so much more sloppy and cheap than the previous film in the series, I truly felt cheated. The production team must be getting tired, which makes me wonder why they are working on a 5th film (oh, right, $300 million opening weekend worldwide).

I think I've said my piece about the direction. The acting, although not unexpected for an action film, was a bit disappointing. No fault of their own, it's the dialogue and characters created by the writing team. Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci, and Titus Welliver are really the only respectable players in the whole film. Everyone else is just expected to make magic out of a turd. We do get treated to some new voice talent in John Goodman and Ken Watanabe (an attempt to bridge the Asian market? Definitely paying off as T4 is the biggest opening in China's history). And yes, I know Ken Watanabe is Japanese. You can't mistake that in the film either as his character, Drift is a samurai when he's not a Bugatti.

I still love Transformers. And despite this one (and the previous 2...), Michael Bay is right, as long as these movies keep coming out, I will keep seeing them. Damn you, Michael Bay! I don't suppose I ever tire of the summer blockbuster season, and the bar is clearly being raised each and every year. I've griped before about the lack of originality in popcorn flicks, and this summer seems to be a bit weak (Planet of the Apes, Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Expendables 3 being really the only ones left). There will be some good entertainment this summer though as the Indy films make a bit of a stronger than normal showing. Maybe that's the big studio entrance into the Independent Film market a little stronger, or maybe there is just a void of quality films to fill the summer weekend slots. Whatever it is, you know you will probably see Transformers 4, but if you do, prepare for disappointment. 4/10.

All You Need is Kill

Lots of people have been comparing Edge of Tomorrow to Groundhog's Day, The Matrix, I would venture a little bit of Saving Private Ryan, and some old-school Mech-Warrior, a feel of Aliens thrown in with last year's Oblivion. It's really a new spin on the science fiction genre, and it's definitely the best sci-fi film in recent memory; maybe since Looper. It is the second best film of 2014 (Lone Survivor), and it is two hours of sheer Hollywood entertainment.

Based on the Japanese novel All You Need is Kill, Christopher McQuarrie (Usual Suspects) and Jez Butterworth pen a great sci-fi time travel loop story that is both original, and thoroughly entertaining. Say what you will about Tom Cruise, but he's still the best action star in Hollywood, even at 52 years old. He's found the fountain of youth. Maybe it's Scientology, maybe it's using twenty-something women as beards, or maybe he's just that good at his craft. I don't care, but he's in his element in this film for sure.

Cruise's Major Bill Cage is a military PR guy who is thrown into the front lines, actually Shanghai'd, for the D-Day of the alien invasion. Europe has been taken over by the "mimics", an alien race that look like metallic spiders, or the sentinels from The Matrix. They move faster than humans can follow, and as a result, the humans have turned to a sort of hydraulic exo-skeletal suit. It increases their strength, has loads of weapons attached, and may be a bit cumbersome, but are actually pretty cool. The all-out assault on the French coast is the human's last chance to defeat the alien invaders, and Cage finds himself living the day over, and over, and over again until he gets it right. He starts out as a combat coward, but builds confidence each time he faces them, and through a few twists and turns, he meets a warrior nicknamed "full metal bitch" played by Emily Blunt. She's the hero of Verdun, a battle in which she slew over a hundred of the mimics. Turns out, she was trapped in a time loop just like Cage is, and she helps him learn how to fight and learn how to attempt to defeat the alien horde.

Emily Blunt is great as the full metal bitch, Rita Vrataski, a symbol of hope and courage to the men and women who are fighting across Europe. Her poster is plastered all over the operating bases, and she carries a sword as opposed to the various projectile options chosen by the other fighters. She makes a pretty mean action star, although the traces of sexual chemistry seem forced with the elderly Cruise (21 years older). She is convincing in her toughness, which isn't always the case with female leads in these types of films, but I was impressed, and she was clearly up for the challenge.

Doug Limon is an experienced action director, having been behind the original Bourne trilogy (directing, producing) as well as the brilliant Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He's had a couple of duds lately, but he does an outstanding job with this film. It's the story, with its sharpness, not too serious but not too light that makes it so entertaining.

Bill Paxton steps into the supporting role as the Master Sergeant who drills Cage, and he clearly enjoys the role. Maybe it's his presence that reminded me of Aliens, or maybe it was the meaningless banter before the fight. The tough-talking troops who you know minutes later will be alien fodder. There's something fun and sadistic about rooting for the demise of the annoying supporting characters. Whatever the case, Paxton is a great choice for the third member of the cast. There are a handful of other supporting figures, but they aren't very relevant.

The aliens are very well done. Usually it's the creature that makes or breaks a film of this nature, and most of the time it's the latter. Although the close-ups are a bit cheesy, the idea of their composition and hive mentality is frightening. So often there is a lack of fear of the invading species, and that leads to a bit of a disillusioned letdown, but these ones inspire a heightened tension. They are fast, spidery, and merciless. There is no apparent weakness without giving away a main point of the plot, but they make the Germans look like chumps as the mechanized troops storm the French beach. It gives off an eery WWII vibe, but a clearly futuristic approach. Limon does it with a building suspense, but without taking it too far. The deaths are done tastefully, and Cruise goes through the motions time and time again with a building confidence like the great actor he is.

The exo-skeleton suits are probably the scene-stealers of the film. Clearly a lot of thought went into their role within the story, and the combination of special effects and costume designers do a fantastic job. Think Pacific Rim robots, then shrink it down. Then think about Avatar robots, then shrink it down. Think about the hydraulic lift suit from Aliens, and you're on the right track. The cool thing about them is that they are these clunky, slow moving metallic bodies, but once the user has mastered them, they are incredibly effective. I wish there was just a tad more time spent with the various weapons and ways in which they could be used. Cruise's Cage starts off not knowing how to take the safety off, to literally running circles around the enemy. The suits are cool, and although there is some realistic applications, they won't be like this in the future.

Living the same day over and over bothers me in one regard - you would have to remember exactly what you said, did, etc. and each time you go farther and die, you need to start over. I kept thinking that it is like a video game from the 80's, before there were save points along the way. He always goes back to the beginning. It's great because it raises the stakes each time through. The farther you get, the more you have to lose, but it also gets a little help from the time travel angle because the story gets to decide if he's "been there before" or if it's a fresh experience.

This is the type of movie-going experience that will satisfy your thirst for a fresh sci-fi action film. It's not perfect, but for the genre, it's pretty close. If only they had stuck with the original title, Edge of Tomorrow is too boring for this film. Great way to kick off the summer after a slightly disappointing spring. 9/10.