Transformers: Age Of Extinction Is Not For Kids

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Me Grimlock Not HorseyParamount Pictures and Hasbro keep making Transformers movies because they are highly profitable for both companies. The films have consistently made well over $700 million each without losing any steam. In fact, the most recent installment, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, earned over $1 billion worldwide. One of the reasons why these movies are so profitable is because kids love them. In that way, Transformers movies bring in the families—teenagers, and adults—but according to one of the stars of the next film, Age of Extinction, the newest entry is more suitable for mature audiences.

In an interview with The Nerdist, Titus Welliver, who plays Lucas, Cade’s (Mark Wahlberg) best friend, opened up about the film. First, he talked about going from appearing in movies and TV that are considered high drama to a big Hollywood blockbuster. Welliver then opened up about Age of Extinction’s darker tone when compared to the previous films. From The Nerdist:

How was it for the actor, best known for his roles on The Good Wife and Argo, stepping into the huge Transformers summer movie franchise?
“I’ve now won the hard earned respect of my children because I’m in a Transformers film, and I’ve always wanted to work with Michael Bay and certainly Mark Wahlberg and Kelsey Grammer.”

And what can fans look forward to in this installment?
“It’s a bit more of a darker vision of the Transformers world… It’s not a kids movie, I’ll tell you that much.”

I’m not exactly sure how dark a movie featuring a robot riding a dinosaur robot can be, but the films have become more and more violent. If you look at the last movie, Dark of the Moon, the final 45 minutes feature the complete annihilation of Chicago. Buildings were falling and people were being disintegrated. At the very end of the movie, Optimus Prime ripped off Megatron’s head, after the Decepticon leader surrendered. That’s pretty dark.

The New York Toy Fair just wrapped up this week and we saw a lot of Transformers toys. While some collectors are adults, a majority of toys are made for children, at least last time I checked. Hasbro is a company that makes toys for children. The Transformers movies are based on toys and TV show aimed for children. Make no mistake about it: Transformers: Age of Extinction IS for kids, no matter what anyone says.

Age of Extinction takes place in Chicago, four years after Dark of the Moon. The movie centers on Cade, an inventor named, his teenage daughter Tessa, and her boyfriend Shane, as they “discover a buried Transformer which sets the stage for the return of the rest of the Transformers.” The plot also includes the U.S. Government building their own Transformers based on technology found in the rubble in Chicago. The film stars Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Stanley Tucci, Sophia Myles, T.J. Miller, Victoria Summer, Li Bingbing, Titus Welliver, Kelsey Grammer, and Peter Cullen, and opens everywhere on June 27, 2014, in 3D and IMAX.