THE other day, Master 5 and Master 3 wanted to watch the latest Transformers instalment. We had seen a preview earlier and wondered if it was too “violent” for the little ones to see at the cinema.
But the two boys insisted on watching this film because their favourite “Bumblebee or Bee” was in it. Or was it Optimus Prime. I can’t remember. Anyway, plans were set until the very last minute when we got a call from their mum that Master 5 had suddenly fallen ill from having one too many chocolate bars so they both couldn’t come out for the day. That was a bummer.
We were already dressed by then so we headed for the cinemas anyway and managed to squeeze into one of the last few seats available at the jam-packed VMax cinemas at Damodar City Centre.
Of course you’d expect the cinemas to be full on a Sunday and by some luck we were seated in the fifth row, not too bad.
Now, if you’re going to watch something as epic as Transformers, the cinema is the best place to do just that. Or if you have a really good HD copy of the film playing on your flat screen with your very own surround sound system then that works too.
But it’s not just the comfy seats, surround sound and calories galore from the wide range of candies and cinema treats that make you feel so relaxed, it’s the wide screen experience that just comes right at you.
If you’re watching in 3D, you’re probably ducking from the fights going on left, right and centre.
Ok so fast-forward through the coming attractions, and you’ll find yourself engrossed in Transformers: The Last Knight, roughly about two hours and 29 minutes.
According to IMD.com, the film is directed by Michael Bay and sees the Autobots and Decepticons at war, with humans on the sidelines. Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving the future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth.
Honestly, I wouldn’t say I’m a diehard fan of the whole Transformers series. I like the plot, not so keen on the fighting bits, so I don’t get all super-excited when a new Transformers flick comes out. The Accountant or John Wick series, now that’s another story.
Back to Transformers: The Last Knight. It had a very interesting take on the “secrets of the past” and from the title itself you kind of get a hint that it’s about the history of knights in medevial England.
There are a lot of surprises in store about things we thought we knew about the great wizard Merlin and the Knights of The Round Table, medieval tales about King Arthur, dragons and whatnot, all linking up to the powers behind those tales — alien machines.
Transformers fans would love it. Some would fall victim to memory loss like I did, trying to recall the previous instalments and characters but it was fun seeing familiar faces, Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yeager, Josh Duhamel as Lt Col William Lennox and Anthony Hopkins as Sir Edmund Burton.
I had wondered what happened to Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) from the first three instalments when I caught a glimpse of him in the film. Anyway, he’s is a long story and Google can tell you all about it.
But Transformers: The Last Knight is a tad bit humourous especially Cogman — Sir Edmund’s butler who is a human-sized “headmaster” (a Transformer fused with an organic life-form) who transforms into an elegant silver Aston Martin. According to IMDb.com, he’s polite and proper, but rumour has it, he has some unresolved anger-management issues. Keep an eye out for this guy because he is just too funny.
The usual characters are back in play, Megatron, Drift, Hot Rod, Hound, Crosshairs and Barricade. Also watch out for villainous Quintessa and her quest for domination.
She’s basically after this magical staff that Merlin used to wield power from a Transformer to aid King Arthur in battle.
Spoiler alert: According to IMDb.com, a Bumblebee spin-off, directed by Travis Knight, is scheduled for 2018, and a sixth film is to be released in 2019. The series has been distributed by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks.
