There are a lot of things to like about director Michael Bay’s latest installment of Transformers. There are an equal amount of things to hate as well. Ultimately, it balances out to an average film-going experience and after three films… that doesn’t quite make the cut. However, if you have enjoyed the previous installments you will probably be satisfied. Let’s dig into Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Bay does improve the personalities and appearances of the Transformers. While each robotic character is a cardboard cutout (the veteran, the samurai etc etc) you can at least clearly distinguish what is happening in battles. The human characters are still dispensable however. Possibly the only exceptions being Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games). Wahlberg plays Cade Yeager a robotics engineer who works in a barn in rural Texas. (Yes, you read that correctly.) He lives with his teenage daughter and the “plot” begins when he lucks into a damaged Optimus Prime.

A weakness of the film lies in the familial relationships of Mark Wahlberg’s Cade Yeager. Nicola Peltz and Chris Hemsworth stand-in Jack Reynor, who play Cade’s daughter Tessa and secret boyfriend, Shane. Unfortunately the new additions to the cast are not up to the task and make the absence of non other than Shia Labeouf very glaring. , Labeouf did an underrated job connecting with Optimus and Bumblebee (not an easy task when you realize the autobots are not actually on-set) and making their relationships seem genuine. Even his gave the film’s their most honest and in-context moments of humor.

There are still scenes designed for (bad) jokes that don’t advance the story. As well as many scenes that run on tangents just to seemingly get laughs. Bay also does keep with his tradition of uncomfortably long shots on women’s behinds. Even odder is the main female character is in high-school. There is even a comedic scene (although not funny) about statutory rape. Yes I am serious…

The film positions the Transformers and Autobots in a particularly interesting dilemma in which the human race has been turned against them, due to governmental propoganda. All Transformers are being hunted brutally by humans and for the first time in the franchise, we truly do get the “robots in disguise” angle that the franchise sorely missed. However even this notion is contradicted when all the Autobots rescan themselves to their recognizable forms and paint jobs. Why? Because they look cooler that way. (Sigh)

This does open the door for a little bit of philosophical drama for Optimus as he turns his back on humanity, while other Autobots are forced to kill humans to survive. This really gives some more complexity to our heroes, since they are in a situation they really can’t win.

If you are going to the movie to see the debut of the Dinobots, keep your expectations low. One of the most unforgivable issues with the film’s marketing is that they present the robotic dinosaurs as a core piece of the plot and story. In actuality, they are simply tacked on at the end to look cool and sell toys. Speaking of this film being a huge advertisement…. get ready to see things transform into Beats speakers, hear about Red Bull and watch Wahlberg unabashedly drinking Bud Lights. Actually making a drinking game to the product placements will be a source of big fun when this is released on Blu-Ray.

One of the biggest issues with the franchise is that there doesn’t seem to be a clear set of rules that all characters have to operate under. Do Transformers get repaired from rescanning a new vehicle? Where did the new Autobots come from? Can Optimus fly or not? If so, why doesn’t he always fly? The end result is that you get thrown out of the film trying to figure out why things are happening and what is even possible. The marketing says “The Rules Have Changed,” but they missed the opportunity to clearly define them from here on out.

If you are a continued fan of the franchise, you know exactly what you will be getting and it will be satisfying. If you are burnt out or like your summer movies to have a coherent script and relevant sub-text, this will be nothing more than an average film-going experience. It might be time to let a fresh set of eyes handle the franchise and give the Transformers a true engine overhaul.