Speaking of crass commercialism, this must be the first summer blockbuster to so blatantly attempt to appeal to Chinese moviegoers (the largest audience outside the US). Not only does a portion of the film take place (for no good reason) in China, but the sight of Stanley Tucci holding Chinese products up to the camera is just... just... wrong. Or maybe it was right, because Age Of Extinction was the biggest foreign hit of 2014 at the Chinese box office. In order to give Chinese audiences a figure of identification, Bingbing Li (Resident Evil: Retribution) appears as an ass-kicking babe who helps our heroes escape and defeat Kelsey Grammers goons. When a film that has just dedicated a good portion of its 165 minutes to selling you stuff begins courting a communist country, doesnt that, you know, make you uneasy? Perhaps it will have a silver lining: if Bay abandons Hollywood for Hong Kong, itll leave multiplexes free for filmmakers with stories to tell. Agree with this article? Or is Bay underrated? Share your opinions down in the comments.
Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'
