No Amount of Spectacle Can Save This Excruciatingly Dull Sequel

Rating: 2/10 (10 May 2020)

Michael Bay has always been known as a filmmaker who puts style over substance. While it worked to a certain extent with the first entry in the Transformers franchise, which was an enjoyable summer blockbuster, this follow-up doesn't add anything remotely new to the series.
At 2 hours and 30 minutes, the movie is far too long. The extended action scenes stretch the thin plot out much longer than it has any right to be. The final battle in Egypt lasts approximately 45 minutes, and long before it reaches its climax, I had become numb to the explosions and destruction. Given that there is no time spent worrying about the thousands of civilian casualties incurred over the film's runtime, the action throughout feels weightless and dull.
Almost every character in the movie is hugely unlikeable. Both Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox's characters return, and they have become even less interesting than the previous film. They are unsympathetic leads who lack any chemistry. The movie briefly attempts to involve these characters in an awful love triangle, but it is quickly dropped, having next to no impact on their relationship.
Unfortunately, they are not helped by the supporting cast, with a majority of them also being extremely annoying, including Sam's parents, his college roommate, Leo, and new robot characters Mudflap and Skids. John Turturro attempts to add some energy when he appears, but unfortunately, he cannot do much with the awful script. Each of these side characters seems to be in the movie with the sole purpose of being comedic relief, but unfortunately, the humour falls flat consistently.
The whole movie left me feeling cold and empty. The "deaths" of both Sam and Optimus Prime did not feel remotely impactful or sad simply because you don't care enough about any of the characters. Given that these are two primary characters in the franchise, these should be huge, shocking moments, but unfortunately, they are forgettable.
The only redeeming factor of this movie is the spectacle. The special effects and production are superb and still hold up a decade after the film was released. The overall one-note villains were given as a small bit of versatility with the addition of new characters Ravage and Devastator, whose cool visual design distinguished one CGI robot from the other.