• ALL
  • NEWS
    • GAY MOVIE/ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
    • GAY FILM TRAILERS
    • GENERAL MOVIE NEWS & TRAILERS
  • GAY SHORTS & SERIES
  • REVIEWS
    • GAY FILM REVIEWS
    • CINEMA REVIEWS
    • DVD & BLU-RAY REVIEWS
  • BGPS BLOG
  • COMPS
  • ABOUT
    • Contact Us
    • Join The Team
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Gays On Film – A Short History

Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Transformers: The Last Knight (Blu-ray Review) – Robots and explosions, what did you expect?

October 21, 2017 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Laura Haddock, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Duhamel
Director: Michael Bay
Running Time: 149 mins
Certificate: 12
Release Date: October 30th 2017 (UK BD/DVD), Out Now (VoD)

People often complain that the big Hollywood movies have no story. If nothing else the Transformers movies have attempted to do something about that. Rather than having no story, they have all the stories, non-stop, simultaneously and accompanied by never-ending explosions. It’s never mattered whether it made any sense or if it’s managed to contradict itself in the same sentence, as long as something is going on that appears to be a plotline.

That continues with The Last Knight, which is moderately more coherent than Dark Of The Moon, and slightly less pointless than Age Of Extinction – and yes, that is damning it with faint praise, but it does mean those who’ve liked what’s gone before, will probably enjoy this one.

In The Last Knight, the human population of earth has essentially banned all Transformers from the planet. They keep coming though! However, it turns out humanity may need the Autobots when it’s discovered an all-powerful staff is hidden on earth, which could be used to help restore Cybertron – at the expense of our planet, of course.

The only hope to prevent the destruction of earth is Mark Wahlberg’s Cade Yeager, a British professor called Vivian (Laura Haddock), Anthony Hopkins and the Autobots. Add in a Transformers goddess, Bumblebee fighting the Nazis, Optimus Prime turning evil, the return of Josh Duhamel and John Turturro, a secret history that stretches back to Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and you’ve certainly got plenty going on.

The movie tries to broaden out the mythology, but it quickly becomes difficult to follow the intricacies. Anthony Hopkins is drafted in to help with the never-ending exposition, but while he does his best, he can’t help that it’s a film – like its predecessors – that’s trying to do too much too quickly, and so the story quickly becomes an overblown blur amidst a non-stop parade of special effects and explosions. The effects are impressive and it does at least ensure you know what’s supposed to be important at any given moment (which is better than some of the earlier films did).

It almost seems churlish to review the movie, as by now you’re gonna know if you like Transformers films or not. This is yet more of what has gone before, so if you liked – or at least tolerated – the earlier instalments, you’ll probably enjoy this one too. I have to say, overall I didn’t think it was too bad. I still have no idea exactly what happened, and/or why Mark Wahlberg is The Last Knight (other than so there’s an excuse to have him in the movie), but it was still quite fun. It’s kind of like a baby’s toy but for grown-ups – there’s lots of bright lights and colours to hold your attention.

Purchase from
Amazon.co.uk
It also seems Michael Bay might have finally listened to critics of how he treats women. While this is still a film largely about men (and male robots), the main female character is a professor who’s actually treated with some respect. The likes of Megan Fox, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and Nicola Peltz in earlier movies were treated as irrelevant eye candy, with the way Bay filmed them often feeling uncomfortably lecherous and objectifying. Thankfully there’s more respect shown to Laura Haddock’s Vivian, who may not win any awards for most well-rounded female character of 2017, but is streets ahead of the women in earlier Transformers movies. If nothing else, she’s actually vital to the plot.

If you buy the film on disc, there’s a pretty good bonus disc, full of interesting special features. A lot of the featurettes are really good, giving an intriguing insight into the logistics of mounting a movie on this scale – and how some of the things you might have assumed were CGI effects, were actually done on set.

Overall Verdict: It’s too late to be expecting a Transformers masterpiece, but The Last Knight is a step up from Age Of Extinction. Unfortunately it’s still overblown and confusing – the action is good though.

Reviewer: Tim Isaac

Special Features: Merging Mythologies,   Creating Destruction: Inside the Packard Plant,   Climbing the Ranks,   Uncovering the Junkyard,   The Royal Treatment: Transformers in the UK,   Motors and Magic,   Alien Landscape: Cybertron,   One More Giant Effin’Movie

OVERALL RATING:

Wanna share?:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Flipboard
  • More
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • WhatsApp

Related

Filed Under: DVD and BLU-RAY REVIEWS, Top Posts

Leave a Reply (if comment does not appear immediately, it may have been held for moderation) Cancel reply

Search this site:

We're Needy, Be Our Friend

RSSTwitterFacebookStumbleUponMySpace

E-maily Stuff

Get the latest in our daily e-mail

Most Recent Posts

Young Hunter Trailer – First teen gay love takes a dark turn into blackmail

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Trailer – The hit gay, drag West End musical is coming to the screen

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 3 (Short Film Reviews)

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 2 (Short Film Reviews)

Iris Prize Festival LGBT+ International Short Films 2020 – Part 1 (Short Film Reviews)

The Scottish Queer International Film Festival 2020 Has Opened, & It’s Online Across The UK

The Iris Prize LGBT Short Film Festival Returns Next Week, & It’s Online & Free!

An Apology From Big Gay Picture Show

Win The Miseducation of Cameron Post DVD & Book!

Seventeen Trailer – The vagaries of teen romance erupt in the lesbian-themed film

My Best Friend Trailer – Gay romance flickers between two teen boys

New Sauvage Trailer – The gay prostitute movie that divided Cannes is coming soon

Copyright © 2023 Muser Media · Powered by WordPress & Genesis Framework · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Read More Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT