'Transformers: Age of Extinction'… what went on here?! It’s surprising to me that I genuinely liked a movie from this series, honestly. The film was written, directed and produced by the same creative team, though I wouldn't have thought so while watching it. This felt quite different from the previous films in the franchise, even with those familiar names attached. The first 45 to 60 minutes were particularly enjoyable; there are a few moments where it falters, but overall I had a good time. For the first time, I found myself invested in both the robots and the human characters. It’s a new cast of humans this time around, and despite not being a fan of Shia LaBeouf and his companions, I thought this group was a significant improvement – it also gave the movie a fresh feel. Mark Wahlberg is excellent as the lead, Stanley Tucci and T.J. Miller are welcome additions too. Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor were the weakest links among the actors, though even with them, I remained somewhat interested in their stories. Kelsey Grammer, despite playing a fairly typical villain, did well, as did Li Bingbing in a smaller role. Peter Cullen, John Goodman and Ken Watanabe also stood out through their voice work. When I began writing this review, and still now, I was having trouble finding anything negative to say. Perhaps the nearly three-hour length should be considered a flaw, but it really isn't, which is rather strange. The most significant criticism I can offer is the excessive product placement. I hadn’t yet looked at how audiences received this film, and I hoped my opinion wouldn’t be an anomaly in a sea of disappointment. I would have guessed it received average ratings like its predecessors, at worst. However, that isn't really important because I enjoyed it, and that’s all that matters. It’s not something I expected to say! *checks reception*: Well. Apparently, I am an outlier. Although, 12,000 others on Letterboxd share my rating (and it still made a billion dollars at the box office, apparently), so perhaps it isn't as bad as it seems. Some doubt has entered my mind, and I’m reevaluating it in comparison to other films I’ve rated similarly… but there's no question about it. It’s quite something.

Source on TMDB