Transformers: Age of Extinction
Short description
Transformers: Age of Extinction picks up some years after the devastation of Chicago, with both the Autobots and the Decepticons gone from Earth and humanity still rebuilding. Cade Yeager, a struggling inventor and single father, buys an old truck and discovers it is actually Optimus Prime. His find draws the attention of a covert government operation that wants the Transformers off the planet, and of a group of powerful businessmen and scientists who are using salvaged Transformer technology to build machines of their own, pushing that technology beyond what they can control. Meanwhile, an ancient and powerful Transformer menace turns its attention toward Earth.
Michael Bay directed the film, working from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger. It is the eleventh of the fifteen films Bay has directed in chronological order, following Pain & Gain in 2013 and preceding 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi in 2016. Mark Wahlberg leads the cast as Cade Yeager, with Peter Cullen returning as the voice of Optimus Prime. Stanley Tucci plays Joshua Joyce, Kelsey Grammer plays Harold Attinger, and Nicola Peltz Beckham and Jack Reynor appear as Tessa Yeager and Shane Dyson. The production brought together 71 credited cast members and 299 credited crew.
Made for a budget of 210 million dollars, the film went on to take roughly 1.11 billion dollars worldwide, a return far above its cost. Audience scores sit in the middle range: 5.6 out of 10 on IMDb from around 348,000 votes, and 6 out of 10 on TMDB from a much smaller base of 8,950 votes. Critics were harder on it, giving it 4.1 out of 10 across 212 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the "Transformers" (1984-1987) series, Hound transformed into a Mitsubishi J59 military jeep, but in this film he transforms into a medium-duty military vehicle—an Oshkosh Defense truck.
- Trying to help Optimus in the final battle with Lockdown, Mark Wahlberg's character fires three shots from alien weaponry and then ducks behind cover after a quick run. The camera changes the angle, and he finds himself near another brick wall, identical to the one he initially ran from, while a man who wasn't there before is caught in an explosion next to him.
- TJ Miller gave his character, Lucas, the nickname "Lucas the Doofus."
- At 2:09:01, it is visible that during a fight with the killer, Cade presses his left thumb into James's right eye, popping it out. However, afterwards, it can be seen that James has both eyes intact.
- Paramount Pictures signed an agreement, partnering with Chinese film companies China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises, to conduct filming in China. This is Paramount Pictures’ second collaboration with Chinese film companies, the first being the film “Iron Man 3” (2013).
- Isabelle Cornish, Margaret Qualley, and Gabriella Wilde auditioned for the role of the daughter before it went to Nicole Peltz.
- When four heroes run into an elevator, Wahlberg's character says the elevator is overloaded. However, it's later shown that the elevator has a load capacity of 680 kg and is designed for 9 people.
- The Dinobot, who transforms into a pteranodon, was originally named Swoop, but the name was later changed to Strafe. The latter initially belonged to the Technobots.
- In the "Transformers" (1984-1987) series, Crosshairs transformed into a Lamborghini Countach, but in this film he transforms into a Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray.
- This is the first Transformers film shot entirely in 3D.
- The robots' designs were based on the Transformers from IDW comics and the "Transformers: Prime" series (2010-2013).
- Mark Wahlberg's children – Ella Rae, Michael Robert, Brendan Joseph, and Grace Margaret – are avid Transformers fans, and they managed to persuade their father to get them roles in this film.
- Landon Liboiron, Luke Grimes, Hunter Parrish, and Brenton Thwaites auditioned for the role of the daughter's boyfriend before the role went to Jack Reynor.
- Roland Emmerich, Joe Johnston, Jon Turteltaub, Steven Sommers, Louis Leterrier, and David Yates were all considered to direct before Michael Bay decided to take on the film.
- Filming for one of the action scenes took place at the Illinois Railway Museum. After filming, Mark Wahlberg made a donation of $40,000 to the museum. Michael Bay bought a 1930s crane from the museum, which was embossed with "Bay City". According to the director, he plans to restore the crane and place it in the yard of his ranch in Montana.
- In the "Transformers" (1984-1987) series, Lockdown transformed into a Nissan 280z police car, but in this film he transforms into a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4.
- The film's plot takes place five years after the final battle in Chicago from the film “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (2011).
- At 1:51:08, a person appears in the frame standing behind the main character. In the next frame, he is gone.
- In the original series, Drift transformed into a Nissan Silvia S15 sports car, but in this film he transforms into a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse.
- During the production of the film, Michael Bay used the Shotover K1 platform for IMAX and 3D aerial cinematography.
- Before Optimus and Eger's daughter are taken prisoner, Optimus lies next to the car where his daughter is hiding. From different angles, the driver's side door is sometimes closed and sometimes open.
- When Optimus Prime flies off the planet, his shield heats up. This happens when he is in the area where the atmosphere is already thinning.
- When Wahlberg's character rescues his daughter from the ship, they descend to the building using ropes. "Robot lions" also begin to pursue them down ropes. In one shot, these robots are visible behind his daughter, and in the next identical moment, they are not.
- Director Michael Bay used advanced digital IMAX 3D cameras with the highest resolution in the world to film the action scenes.
- In this film, Bumblebee transforms into a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS.
- The role of Flynn Vincent was offered to Dwayne Johnson, but he declined due to scheduling conflicts with the filming of “Hercules” (2014).
- During the moment when the alien ship begins to attract various cars and other metal objects, the main characters are in a car driving amidst the chaos, but for some reason it isn't pulled in like the other vehicles.
- The truck that Optimus Prime transforms into in this film is a custom-built Western Star 4900 SB. It is made to resemble his modification from "G2"—a Western Star 4964EX tanker truck from 1995—and his modification from the "Transformers: Prime" (2010) series, where he took the form of a military truck.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
