Transformers: Age Of Extinction Changes The Rules With TV Spots And A First Clip
This article is more than 2 years old
Now that Edge of Tomorrow is in underperforming in theaters everywhere, the next major sci-fi movie release on the docket is Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction, a soft reboot of his billion-dollar franchise. David Michod’s The Rover opens June 20, and Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer opens the same day as Age of Extinction, but neither of those post-apocalyptic adventures will provide anywhere near this kind of spectacle. To pump you up, Paramount has released a new TV spot, an extended ad, and the first clip from what is sure to be one of biggest movies of the summer.
This extended clip is all kinds of ominous. You don’t evoke images of Judgment Day if you think that things are going to go smoothly and work out for the best for everyone involved, you bring that into the discussion when you expect many people, or giant robots, you care about to die in the process. Optimus Prime does seem to be rather weary in this trailer, like he has the weight of the world on his metal shoulders.
Though this video contains a decent amount of new footage, it will most likely feel familiar to many of you. There’s lots of running, explosions, and robots making a mess of the city, like in every spot so far. But there’s also star Mark Wahlberg saying things like, “Good move, B,” to Bumblebee, one of the main Autobots. It’s like he’s screaming, I’m still hip and relevant!
This shorter TV spot plays like a compressed version of the first video, and features much of the same action. The inclusion of the Dinobots is one of the things that fans are most excited to see in Age of Extinction, and both of these offerings make a point of showing them off, at least in lightning fast bursts.
Wahlberg obviously has big muscles and is very strong, but he’s human strong. So you have to wonder about how he appears able to fend off an attacking Transformer, which he does in both. We’re talking about giant mechanical beings that routinely pick up large items like ships and smash through buildings, but he doesn’t appear to have much trouble fighting one off from his back. At least he’s holding his own. Maybe he’s on performance enhancing drugs.
It’s readily apparent that this first clip is intended to be chilling, Wahlberg and Kelsey Grammer are talking about murdering a teenage girl after all, but it just comes off as comical. It all builds up to that moment where Walhberg’s character Cade dramatically pulls off those awkward glasses—which make him look more smarterer—in what plays like a spoof of an Oscar clip. I sound like I’m ragging on Wahlberg, who I actually like, but what he really needs to do in this clip is close his mouth, he just looks surprised the entire time.
Transformers: Age of Extinction opens everywhere June 27 in IMAX and 3D.
