The expression “Seen one, Seen them all” could have practically been invented to describe Michael Bay’s “Transformers” franchise.  Each film gives you pretty much the same thing: state of the art special effects, explosions, poor screenwriting and mostly uninteresting human characters.

“Transformers: Age of Extinction” takes this formula to the extreme, including in running time as the movie clocks in at nearly 3 hours long.   While Mark Wahlberg is definitely an upgrade from Shia “My Career is Imploding” Labeouf, he isn’t entirely believable as a struggling inventor/ repairman who is barely keeping his head above water.  Still, he’s the only interesting human in the film (at least until Stanley Tucci begins to get more and more screen time).  Tucci is clearly above this material.  He steals the show in the second half of this overly long “epic.”

The plot this time around revolves around a government conspiracy to eliminate ALL Transformers (Autobots & Decepticons) while learning enough about their DNA and power source to create their own homegrown Transformers (which is where Tucci’s character comes into play).  Throw in an alien bounty hunter (Lockdown) for good measure, and you pretty much have it.

The much-hyped Dinobots only appear in the movie’s final hour and they don’t really get to do very much, though they are visually impressive.

How you feel about this film will greatly depend on how much you enjoyed the previous three.  While I’ve never loved any of them, I did think “Dark of the Moon” was the best of the original trilogy.  “Transformers: Age of Extinction” feels like a big step down in the wrong direction though.

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