10 Great Movie Stories Wasted On Terrible Sequels
2. Transformers Have Always Defended Earth & Optimus Goes Rogue - Transformers: The Last Knight
The Michael Bay directed Transformers franchise had suffered a bumpy road before this fifth release, with strong box office returns in spite of what could best be described as mixed reviews. While the first film was well received by the public and critics, the franchise seemed to be running out of puff by the time of the fourth entry, Age Of Extinction.
The Last Knight though looked intriguing, with the trailers teasing some new and exciting plot points, including the Autobots assisting human kind throughout history. The thought of watching Transformers taking down Nazis and helping King Arthur was a cracker, and had the potential to set up a number of exciting sequels.
The story for the film also had the exciting premise of Optimus Prime turning to the 'dark side'. The trailers seemed to place our formerly incorruptible Autobot leader facing an impossible dilemma, having to choose between obeying his creator or following his heart. The idea of Bumblebee involved in a battle to the death with old pal Optimus further whet the appetites..
Unfortunately the film turned out to be a clear lowlight for the franchise and a complete and utter mess. Characters with supposedly important story arcs literally go missing for hours at a time, while the exciting Transformers helping mankind throughout history storyline is largely wrapped up in the space of one Anthony Hopkins exposition dump. The long runtime, annoying characters and racism are all back, but sadly the thrills are all gone.