Movie Review -- Transformers: The Last Knight

Today we have the fifth installment in the Transformers franchise by Michael Bay. Is it worth your time? Let's find out.

The story picks up some time after the last film. Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) is missing out in space, and no one knows where Megatron (Frank Welker) is, so the Transformers on Earth lack leadership. This is especially troubling since they're still being hunted by humanity.

Meanwhile, Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) has become an outlaw for his efforts to protect Autobots from the TRF--the military outfit hunting Transformers. One day he saves a group of kids who have wandered into the forbidden zone of Chicago looking for alien souvenirs. One of the kids, Izabella (Isabella Moner), turns out to be an expert mechanic, so she stays with Cade to help out. 

Unfortunately for them, the TRF has formed an alliance with Megatron and they launch an assault on Cade's base. Cade ends up running into a miniature Transformer who works for Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins) who has ties to Sam from the first three movies. Burton shares Earth's secret connection with the Transformers and reveals Cade's heroic destiny. Burton also nabs Oxford professor Vivian Wembley (Laura Haddock) because she, too, has ties to all this.

Elsewhere, Optimus meets his maker and is given a sinister mission to carry out: Destroy the Earth to save Cybertron. How far will he go to accomplish this, and will he ever be the same?

After Transformers: Age of Extinction, I wasn't excited for another entry in this series. The Last Knight, sadly, does little to restore my faith in said series. At 2 1/2 hours, it goes on for far too long, has too many obnoxious characters, and presents predictable action. If you liked Age of Extinction, you'll like this one. Everyone else will fight an uphill battle to stay awake.

If Bay would shave a half hour off the running time, get rid of the annoying Transformers like Mohawk, and mix things up a little, I think we'd have a far better film on our hands. As it stands, I can't really recommend this one.