Characters a Focus in Transformers: The Last Knight Preview

By: Michael Demyan

After four Michael Bay directed Transformers films, the general public seems to either love them or hate them, but Bay and Paramount Pictures are trying to improve that perception by putting together a full writers room and mapping out a cinematic universe similar to Marvel and DC. The first spin-off will be focusing on fan favorite Bumblebee next June, but this summer belongs to Transformers: The Last Knight.

A roughly 30 minute IMAX preview of the film was shown for free in select cities across the country. Paramount also provided some goodies for everyone in attendance, such as posters and t-shirts. Before the footage began, a behind-the-scenes clip was shown with Bay talking about the IMAX cameras and explaining that the CGI for the film was still incomplete.

The footage itself looked promising and very different for the multi-billion dollar franchise. It focused heavily on King Arthur and the history of the knights, which of course included some Transformers who looked like knights, because anyone who has watched the movies before knows that Transformers have been involved with practically every single event in human history.

Not much action was shown other than the knights fighting in the beginning of the film. The preview was much more character driven.

Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) highlighted the returning human characters, while newcomers such as Anthony Hopkins, Isabela Moner, Laura Haddock and Jerrod Carmichael were introduced.

There was quite a lot of humor out of the clips that were shown, which leaned more toward Marvel’s recent take on cheesy jokes rather than Bay’s typical toilet humor. New Transformers characters Cogman and Hot Rod were rather amusing as well, with Cogman being a psychotic C-3PO styled butler and Hot Rod as a humorous Bumblebee lookalike with a thick French accent.

Acting from Moner was a bit of a surprise. It was uncertain if the Nickelodeon star would do well in the role but it seems like she will be holding her own throughout the film. Anthony Hopkin’s Sir Edmund Burton was not really a serious character as the trailers seemed to portray, however his oddball blubbering was actually fairly amusing next to Cogman acting as if he was a crazy old man.

The footage of course would not be complete without seeing a glimpse of the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, who was featured fairly briefly on an unknown world about to be controlled by his creator.

Overall, the brief preview looked like a positive step forward if the movies are ever going to gain any critical acclaim. Bay stated that he wanted to go out with a bang for his final Transformers film (Note that he has said the last couple of movies would be his last as well.) and it looks like he has a chance to do that.