Sticks to the traditional “Transformers” film recipe, adds an all-new cast, and for better or worse, ends up with the same product. Despite the almost three-hour running time and mediocre plot and characters, the movie doesn’t really drag as much as you would expect. Strong performances by new cast members Mark Wahlberg (who still seems to have his “Pain and Gain” muscles), Kelsey Grammer and Stanley Tucci help make the non-action scenes entertaining. However, Nicola Peltz doesn’t do much more than look pretty in short-shorts and yell for her dad, while Jack Reynor has zero charisma. The returning Peter Cullen again voices Optimus Prime, bringing an underrated performance that keeps the Autobot leader sounding like the wise and compassionate character that he needs to be. By this point, Bumblebee’s speaking via audio clips has completely lost its charm and seems corny, and the remaining transformers are just caricatures that barely become interesting. The silliness from the previous films seems toned-down a bit, and the most comedic character is barely in the film. The action is all over the place, with the end become a giant CGI-mess of explosions and giant robots (and giant dinosaur robots), although there’s some really cool action beats. The finale also ran into the problem of not having a clearly defined main villain. Is it the evil humans, the new Transformers or the ones just hinted at? I didn’t even realize that I was watching the final battle until the smoke cleared and the credits were ready to roll. As usual, the 3D added nothing to the film.
**1/2 out of *****