Transformers: The Last Knight

Transformers: The Last Knight
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Michael Bay
Produced by	Don Murphy Tom DeSanto Lorenzo di Bonaventura Ian Bryce
Screenplay by	Art Marcum Matt Holloway Ken Nolan
Story by	Akiva Goldsman Art Marcum Matt Holloway Ken Nolan
Based on	Transformers by Hasbro
Starring	Mark Wahlberg Josh Duhamel Stanley Tucci Anthony Hopkins
Music by	Steve Jablonsky[1]
Cinematography	Jonathan Sela[2]
Edited by	Mark Sanger John Refoua Debra Neil-Fisher Roger Barton Adam Gerstel Calvin Wimmer Julie Monroe
Production company	di Bonaventura Pictures Hasbro Studios Angry Films
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	June 18, 2017 (2017-06-18) (Odeon Leicester Square)[3] June 21, 2017 (2017-06-21) (United States)
Running time	149 minutes 189 minutes (Blu-Ray Extended Edition) [4]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$217 million[5][6][7][8]
Box office	$586.6 million[9]

Transformers: The Last Knight is a 2017 American science fiction action film based on the Transformers toy line created by Hasbro. It is the fifth installment of the live-action Transformers film series and a sequel to 2014's Transformers: Age of Extinction. Like its predecessors, the film is directed by Michael Bay, featuring Mark Wahlberg returning from Age of Extinction, with Josh Duhamel, John Turturro and Glenn Morshower all reprising their roles from the first three films, and Laura Haddock and Anthony Hopkins joining the cast. Bay and Wahlberg have stated they will not return for another sequel.^[10]

The film premiered at Odeon Leicester Square in London on June 18, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 21, 2017, by Paramount Pictures in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D. Like its predecessors, the film received negative reviews from critics and, with an approval rating of 15% on Rotten Tomatoes, it is the worst-reviewed film of the series. Although the film has grossed over $586 million worldwide, it is the lowest grossing of the franchise, and the ninth highest grossing film of 2017 .

A spin-off, entitled Bumblebee, is scheduled for release on December 21, 2018, and a sixth film is set to be released on June 28, 2019.^[11]

Plot

In 484 AD, King Arthur and his knights struggle in a battle against the Saxons. Meanwhile, Merlin begs for help from the Knights of Iacon, twelve Transformers who have hidden on Earth. They give Merlin an alien staff and combine into a huge dragon to help Arthur triumph over the Saxons, but not before warning Merlin that a great evil will come for the staff.

In the present day, Transformers are declared outlaws by all governments on Earth to which the Transformer Reaction Force (TRF) is formed to eradicate the alien robots, despite more Transformers continuously arriving on Earth. At the ruins of Chicago, a group of kids find a ship with a knight inside before caught by a TRF drone. Izabella, a survivor of the Battle of Chicago, saves the kids along with her Transformers companions Sqweeks and Canopy. The TRF mistake Canopy as a Decepticon and kill him before Bumblebee and Cade Yeager arrive and help the kids and Izabella escape. Cade finds the knight in the ship, who gives Cade a talisman, an act observed by Decepticon Barricade, who reports this to Megatron. Cade then returns to his junkyard in South Dakota, where the remaining Autobots are hiding, including Bumblebee, Hound, Drift, Crosshairs, Wheelie, Grimlock, Slug, and three mini Dinobots.

On the far reaches of space, Optimus Prime crash-lands on Cybertron, discovering that it is heading directly for Earth. He encounters Quintessa, the self-proclaimed creator of the Transformers, who places Optimus under her control. Quintessa charges Optimus with recovering the staff from the Knights who stole it from her. Earth, she reveals, is actually Cybertron’s ancient enemy Unicron and she intends to drain its life force so that Cybertron can be restored.

TRF member and former Autobot ally William Lennox brokers a deal between the TRF and Megatron so he can find Cade and recover the talisman. In exchange, Megatron demands the release of a squad of Decepticons, including Nitro Zeus, Dreadbot, Mohwak and Onslaught. Megatron and TRF find Cade and the Autobots. In the ensuing chaos, Dreadbot, Onslaught and Mohawk are killed, forcing Megatron, Nitro Zeus and Barricade to retreat. Cade is then approached by Cogman, a Transformer envoy who takes him and Bumblebee to England to meet his master Sir Edmund Burton. There, Burton arranges a meeting between Cade and Viviane Wembly, an Oxford professor who was just shortly been kidnapped by the Autobot Hot Rod. Burton introduces himself as the last living member of the "Witwiccan" order, an ancient brotherhood dedicated to guarding the secret history of Transformers on Earth. He also reveals that Viviane is Merlin’s last descendant, and that she must find and use his staff to prevent the impending destruction of Earth by Cybertron.

Fleeing the TRF, Cade and Viviane follow clues left by Viviane’s father that lead them, Bumblebee, and Cogman to take the submarine HMS Alliance into the sea to find the Cybertronian Knights' sunken ship while Burton meets the Prime Minister to engage the military at Stonehenge. There, they discover the tomb of Merlin and the staff. Viviane activates the staff, and the ship rises to the surface. The TRF confronts the group before a mind-controlled Optimus intervenes and takes the staff away. Bumblebee chases after Optimus and the two Autobots fight. Before Optimus can kill Bumblebee, the mute Autobot finally speaks, freeing Optimus of Quintessa’s control. Megatron, revealed to be conspiring with Quintessa, arrives to steal the staff and flees while the Knights attack Optimus for his betrayal. Cade stops the Knights with the talisman, which transformed into the sword Excalibur, and the Knights yield to Cade, who then urges Optimus to fight for Earth once more.

Megatron, Nitro Zeus and Barricade deliver the staff to Quintessa who begins draining the life force of Earth/Unicron starting at Stonehenge. There, upon the arrival of Burton and the British military, Megatron shoots Burton, who dies with Cogman at his side. The Autobots arrive to join the fight with the TRF, landing on Cybertron and battling against Quintessa’s Infernocons and Megatron. Vanquishing their foes with help from the Knights as the dragon, the Autobots reach the chamber where the staff and Quintessa are. Optimus defeats Megatron by kicking him out of Cybertron and back to Earth while Bee kills Nitro Zeus and apparently kills Quintessa. Viviane removes the staff, stopping Cybertron's destruction of Earth but leaving both world's connected. Optimus declares that humans and Transformers must now work together to rebuild their worlds, and sends a message calling any surviving Autobots to come home.

In a mid-credits scene, scientists inspect one of the horns of Unicron at a desert. Quintessa, who has survived and is disguised as a human, arrives and offers them a way to destroy Unicron.

Cast

Humans

• Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yeager, a single father and inventor, who helped the Autobots during the events of Age of Extinction.
• Josh Duhamel as William Lennox, a former NEST commander and U.S. Army Ranger captain, who partnered with the Autobots prior to the events of Age of Extinction, and now a U.S. Army Colonel and reluctant member of the Transformer Reaction Force (TRF).
• Stanley Tucci as Merlin, King Arthur's wizard and Viviane's ancestor.^[12] Tucci was originally reported to be reprising his role as Joshua Joyce from Age of Extinction.^[13]
• Anthony Hopkins as Sir Edmund Burton, 12th Earl of Folgan, a virtuous astronomer and historian who knows about the history of the Transformers on Earth.^[14][15][16]
• Laura Haddock as Viviane Wembly, a Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford who turns out to be a descendant of Merlin.^[17][18][19] Minti Gorne portrays a younger Viviane.
• Isabela Moner as Izabella, a street-wise tomboy who was orphaned with Sqweeks and Canopy, them being her only friends until meeting Cade.^[20][21]
• Jerrod Carmichael as Jimmy, a young man from South Dakota whom Cade hired from a want ad.^[22]
• Santiago Cabrera as Santos, a former Delta Force operative and commander of the TRF, who seeks to eradicate every Transformer and their human allies regardless of faction.^{[23][24][18][25]}
• John Turturro as Seymour Simmons, a former government agent with Sector Seven and NEST turned successful writer who hides out in Cuba, and was allied with the Autobots prior to the events of Age of Extinction.^[26]
• Liam Garrigan as King Arthur, the legendary knight who first fought with the Knights of Iacon.^[27]
• Glenn Morshower as General Morshower, the director of NEST in Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon who now supervises TRF operations.

Additionally, Mitch Pileggi,^[28]Tony Hale and Gil Birmingham appear as a TRF group leader, a JPL engineer and Chief Sherman, respectively, with the latter being uncredited. Nicola Peltz has a vocal cameo as Tessa Yeager, Cade's daughter, who helped the Autobots during the events of Age of Extinction,^[29] while Sam Witwicky's photograph is seen in Burton's mansion.^[30] Tyrese Gibson was cast to return as Robert Epps, but was unable to appear in the film due to scheduling conflicts with The Fate of the Furious.^[31]

Transformers

Autobots

• Peter Cullen voices Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, who transforms into a blue and red 2014 Western Star 5700 Custom semi-trailer truck while searching for the truth about his Creators.^[32]
• Erik Aadahl voices Bumblebee, an Autobot scout and Optimus Prime's second-in-command, who transforms into a custom-built yellow and black 2016 Chevrolet Camaro.^[33][34]
• John Goodman voices Hound, an Autobot commando and field medic who transforms into an olive green Mercedes-Benz Unimog military tactical ambulance.^[35]
• Ken Watanabe voices Drift, a Samurai-motif Autobot tactician and former Decepticon who transforms into a black and red 2017 Mercedes-AMG GT R.^[36]
• John DiMaggio voices Crosshairs, an Autobot paratrooper and sniper who transforms into a green and black 2016 Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray, equipped with a custom split-spoiler.^[37]
• Jim Carter voices Cogman, a polite but sociopathic, human-sized robot who serves as the faithful butler to Sir Edmund Burton.^{[38][39][40][41][42]}
• Omar Sy voices Hot Rod, an Autobot who transforms into a Citroën DS, before upgrading into a 2017 Lamborghini Centenario LP770-4. He is brother-in-arms with Bumblebee and speaks in a thick French accent.^[43][38][44]
• Reno Wilson voices Sqweeks, a small Autobot and Izabella's closest friend who can't transform and only says "Chihuahua" due to prior damage.^[45]
• Tom Kenny voices Wheelie, a former Decepticon turned Autobot who survived the Chicago battle in Dark of the Moon, and transforms into a blue monster truck toy.
• Steve Buscemi voices Daytrader, a Cybertronian scavenger who transforms into a cloaked rusty Mercedes-Benz LK Model 1920 dump truck.^[46]
• Steven Barr voices Topspin, a former Autobot Wrecker who resides in Cuba with Simmons that once transformed into a #48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's/Kobalt car. In the film he is credited as "Volleybot" and grew a metallic beard that resembles his fallen comrade, Leadfoot.
• Frank Welker voices Canopy, an Autobot refugee and a friend of Izabella who camouflages into a shielding pile of rubble.^[47]

Additionally, Mark Ryan voices "Bulldog", an Autobot veteran of World War I and World War II, and a sentry for Burton's castle, who transforms into an army Mark IV tank and suffers from 'robot dementia'. In the film he is credited as "WWI Tank/Lieutenant".^[48] An elderly Autobot who resembles Jetfire from Revenge of the Fallen that transforms into a Hawker Hurricane fighter plane cameos at Burton's castle. A Transformer who turns into the HMS Alliance appears, though not seen in robot mode. Trench, an Autobot who resembles a Constructicon Scrapper from Revenge of the Fallen made a cameo at Cade's junkyard. A picture of Ironhide is seen in Burton's castle. Roadbuster, an Autobot from Dark of the Moon, makes a cameo appearance in Cuba, where he resides with Topspin and Simmons.

Dinobots

• Grimlock, the leader of the Dinobots, who transforms into a mechanical horned, fire-breathing Tyrannosaurus.^[18]
• Slug, the savage Dinobot destroyer who transforms into a mechanical spiked and bestial Triceratops.^[49]
• Mini-Dinobots, the Mini Dinobots versions of Grimlock, Slug and Strafe.^[50]

Decepticons

• Frank Welker voices Megatron, the reborn leader of the Decepticons, who possessed a KSI Drone in Age of Extinction and transforms into a Cybertronian jet.^[51][52]
• John DiMaggio voices
  • Nitro Zeus, a Decepticon hunter whose body design shares resemblance to the KSI Bosses from Age of Extinction, with a head resembling Shockwave's from Dark of the Moon; he transforms into an JAS 39 Gripen Fighter Jet.^[53]
  • Onslaught, a Decepticon tactician whose body design shares resemblance to Long Haul and transforms into a green Western Star 4900SF tow truck.^[54][53]
• Jess Harnell voices Barricade, a Decepticon scout who survived the Chicago War in Dark of the Moon. He transforms into a 2016 Ford Mustang police car, featuring a new robot mode.^[55]
• Reno Wilson voices Mohawk, a Decepticon soldier who transforms into a Confederate Motorcycle.^[56]
• Dreadbot, a Decepticon thug whose body design shares resemblance to Crowbar from Dark of the Moon and transforms into a rusty Volkswagen Type 2.^[57][58]

Additionally, Steven Barr voices Berserker, a monstrous Decepticon commando whose body design shares resemblance to Crankcase from Dark of the Moon; and transforms into a Chevrolet Suburban emergency vehicle.^[53] Starscream's severed head is shown being boasted by Daytrader, and later held by Megatron. In Sir Edmund Burton's castle, a picture of Shockwave is seen.

Others

• Gemma Chan as Quintessa, a mysterious sorceress, the "Prime of Life" and the creator of Cybertronians who wants to destroy "Unicron" and rebuild Cybertron.^[59]
• The Knights of Iacon, a group of twelve Cybertronian Knights who protects the Staff and merge to form the three-headed dragon, Dragonstorm. They include Dragonicus, Stormreign, Steelbane, and Skullitron.^[60]
• Infernocons, Quintessa's demon-like guardians who combine to form Infernocus.^[59]
• Unicron, a giant planet-destroying Transformer who is mentioned at various points throughout the film; six of his mechanical horns are seen on Earth.

Production

Development

Michael Bay announced that the film will be his last of the Transformers series.

In March 2015, Deadline.com reported that Paramount Pictures was in talks with Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) to pitch new ideas for the Transformers franchise's future installments. The studio intends to do what James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have been doing in planning three Avatar sequels, and what Disney has done to revive Star Wars, with sequels and spin-offs. Paramount wants to have their own cinematic universe for Transformers, similar to Marvel's/Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe (which had been one of Paramount's previous film series), and DC Comics/Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe. Goldsman is the head of the future projects, and worked with franchise director Michael Bay, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to organize a "writers' room" that incubates ideas for potential Transformers sequels, prequels and spin-offs. The writers' room members include: Christina Hodson, Lindsey Beer, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man), Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, Zak Penn (Pacific Rim: Uprising), Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Ken Nolan, and Geneva Robertson-Dworet.^[61] Kirkman left the room after just one day to undergo throat surgery.^[62] In July 2015, Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner were announced as the fifth Transformers film's screenwriters.^[63] However, on November 20, due to Goldsman's commitments creating a writers' room for G.I. Joe and Micronauts properties, Paramount began to negotiate with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man), as well as Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down), to write the film. Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet were also brought aboard for writing duties.^[64]

After Transformers: Age of Extinction, Bay had decided not to direct any future Transformers films. But in early January 2016, in an interview with Rolling Stone, he stated that he would return to direct the fifth film, and that it will be his last Transformers film.^[66] Paramount Pictures spent $80 million on production in Michigan, in return for $21 million in state incentives, under agreements entered into before the state legislature eliminated the film office incentive program in July 2015.^[67] In April 2016, Paramount hired cinematographer Jonathan Sela.^[68] On May 17, Bay revealed the official title of the film to be The Last Knight on his Instagram account, where he also posted a production video showing a close-up of Optimus Prime's face with purple eyes instead of blue, and his face mostly discolored.^[69] The official Twitter account showed a 19-second short video in morse code that translates to "I'm coming for you May 31".^[70] On May 31, it was revealed that Megatron would return in the sequel.^[51]

Casting

In December 2014, Mark Wahlberg confirmed that he would return in the sequel.^[71] In February 2016, there were casting calls for new lead and supporting roles in Los Angeles and London, and Peter Cullen was announced as returning to voice Optimus Prime.^[72] Approximately 850 cast and crew were hired, 450 of whom were Michigan residents, equating to 228 full-time positions.^[73] Additionally, 700 extras were hired from among Detroit residents, as part of Paramount's incentive deal with the state.^[74] On April 13, TheWrap reported that Isabela Moner was in talks to star as Izabella.^[20] The site also reported that Bay was eyeing Jean Dujardin, Stephen Merchant, and Jerrod Carmichael for supporting roles.^[75][76] On May 17, 2016, it was confirmed that Josh Duhamel would reprise his role in the film, and Jerrod Carmichael was cast.^[77][22] In June 2016, Anthony Hopkins, Mitch Pileggi, Santiago Cabrera, and Laura Haddock joined the cast, and Tyrese Gibson stated that he will return as Robert Epps.^{[78][79][28][17][14]} In August 2016, Liam Garrigan was confirmed to play King Arthur, a different version from his role as the same character on the television series Once Upon a Time.^[27] On September 4, 2016, Stanley Tucci confirmed his return.^[13] On October 14, 2016, Bay announced that John Turturro would reprise his role as Seymour Simmons from the first three films, and that John Goodman would return to voice Hound.^[26] A month before the film's release, Bay revealed that the character Cogman would be voiced by Downton Abbey actor Jim Carter, at the request of co-writer Matt Holloway, who is a fan of the series.^[40] On June 9, 2017, Reno Wilson confirmed via Twitter that he would have a voice role in the film.^[80] On June 16, 2017, Gibson revealed that despite closing a deal for the film, he was unable to appear as Epps due to scheduling conflicts with The Fate of the Furious.^[31]

Filming

Alnwick Castle in Alnwick, Northumberland, one of the many locations used in the film.

Principal photography began on May 25, 2016, in Havana, Cuba, with a few scenes shot by a "small team".^[81][82][83] Filming continued on June 6, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona, and on June 19, 2016, in Detroit, Michigan, under the working title E75,^[72][73][84] with additional filming taking place in Chicago, Illinois.^[85] In Detroit, filming took place in the Michigan Motion Pictures Studio, Packard Plant, Michigan Central Station, Cafe D'Mongo's Speakeasy, and MGM Grand Detroit.^[86] Production moved to Europe on August 21, and filming commenced on August 22 in Scotland and Wales. In England, filming took place in North Yorkshire, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, London, Gosport and Stonehenge. Between August and October, filming occurred in Ireland, and Preikestolen, Trolltunga and Atlanterhavsveien in Norway.^[87][88][89]

In early September 2016, filming took place in Alnwick Castle in Alnwick Northumberland in England, including car chase scenes.^[90] Production continued at St Aidan's Church, Seahouses, where Walhberg spent an hour inside the church and reportedly donated £200. Rev Father Des McGiven said: "I didn't even know he was in church until he left. One of my parishioners, Danielle Love, recognised him and explained who he was. It's great that we had him in for the service, and we appreciate his generosity towards our church." Car chases were also filmed at the monument area of Newcastle upon Tyne, where Josh Duhamel was filming, while Wahlberg and Sir Anthony Hopkins continued at Alnwick, Seahouses and the Bamburgh Region of Northumberland.^[91] In late September 2016, filming was spotted in Gosport, Hampshire at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. On October 5, 2016 filming was spotted at St Bartholomew-the-Great, London. London filming wrapped on October 27, 2016.^[92] Principal photography wrapped on December 4, 2016.^[93]

Effects

As with previous Transformers installments, Industrial Light & Magic served as the main visual effects company for Transformers: The Last Knight. In early 2016, the company showed Bay an underwater rendering of a crash-landed alien spaceship and a new dump-truck Transformer with a cloak.^[66]

Music

On September 27, it was confirmed that Steve Jablonsky would return to write the score, having composed the music for the first four films. The score was released digitally on the film's original release date, Friday June 23, 2017, and a Limited Edition 2-Disc CD set of 3,000 Units will be released by La-La Land Records on July 11, 2017. Unlike the previous films' scores, which contained anywhere from fourteen to twenty-three tracks, the film's soundtrack contains thirty-four tracks, amounting to over two hours of music.

On the score, Jablonsky said, "I met with Michael before he started shooting 'Transformers: The Last Knight.' He showed me some amazing concept art and explained how the story connects the history of Transformers all the way back to the times of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I loved the idea because it gave me the opportunity to explore new musical ideas. The storyline allowed me to write melodies that are a bit more 'classical' than I've written for the other Transformers films, which was a lot of fun for me. Another important aspect of the story revolves around massive skyscraper-sized 'horns from hell' that start emerging from the Earth. They look like gigantic animal horns, but no one knows what they are or why they have appeared. I wanted to create an unsettling sense of mystery and tension with the music."^[94]

Release

Transformers: The Last Knight was released on June 21, 2017, after being moved up from its original June 23 release date.^[95][96][97] The teaser trailer of the film was released on December 5, 2016, and was later attached to Rogue One.^[98]

Marketing

The first teaser trailer aired on Monday, December 5, during ESPN's Monday Night Football, and was released online shortly thereafter. With 24 hours of its release, the trailer garnered a record breaking 93.6 million views from social media platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, making it the third highest-viewed trailer of 2016, falling behind Disney's Beauty and the Beast remake (127.6 million views) and Universal's Fifty Shades Darker (114 million views in 24 hours), but surpassing Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 trailer, which scored 81 million views in its first 24 hours online.^[99] Following the trailer's release, the film trended on all major social media sites, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. It was Weibo's No. 1 trending topic in China, where the preview was viewed 16 million times its first day of release.^[100] Television spots for the filmed started airing ahead of the Super Bowl spot on February 3, 2017. An extended trailer aired during Super Bowl LI, on February 5, 2017.^[101] On March 11, 2017, a new TV spot and clip were shown at Nickelodeon's 2017 Kids' Choice Awards. A new trailer aired with the release of Beauty and the Beast on March 17, 2017, while the third trailer was released on April 13, 2017.^[102]

Home video

Transformers: The Last Knight is set to release on Digital HD on September 12, 2017, while releasing on DVD and Blu-Ray Extended Edition on September 26, 2017 and the film will contain 40 minutes of additional footage.

Reception

Box office

As of August 12, 2017, Transformers: The Last Knight has grossed $129.6 million in the United States and Canada and $457 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $586.6 million, against a production budget of $217 million.^[9]

In North America, The Last Knight was originally projected to gross $70–75 million from 4,069 theaters over its first five days, which would have been the lowest debut of the franchise.^[103] However, after the film grossed a franchise-low $15.7 million on its first day (including $5.5 million from Tuesday night previews), opening estimates were lowered to $60–65 million. On Thursday, it grossed $8.1 million, potentially dropping the five-day debut to under $60 million.^[104] It ended up having an opening weekend of $45.3 million, the lowest debut of the franchise by $25 million (and lowest since the first film's $70.5 million). The film's five-day gross of $68.4 million was also lower than every three-day opening of the previous four films.^[105] The film grossed $16.9 million in its second weekend, dropping 62.2% and finishing third at the box office,^[106] and $6.4 million in its third, dropping an identical 62.2% and finishing 5th.^[107]

Internationally, The Last Knight opened in its first 42 foreign territories alongside its United States debut, including major markets China, the UK, Russia, Australia, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Hong Kong, and was projected to have an opening of $167–200 million.^[5][6] Due to its predecessor's success in China, expectations were high for the film in the country. Box office observers and trackers believed the film would open to $80–100 million,^[6] and end its run there with anywhere between $290^[108] to $400 million.^[109] The film ended up having a global debut of $265.3 million ($196.2 million from overseas), including $123.4 million from China, representing 63% of the film's foreign opening. In the film's second week in China, it fell 76% and had a running cume of $147.6 million.^[110] As of July 30, 2017, the film's largest markets outside North America are: China ($228.8 million), South Korea ($19.2 million), Russia ($15.8 million), the United Kingdom ($12.1 million) and Indonesia ($11.7 million).^[111]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 15% based on 189 reviews, with an average rating of 3.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Cacophonous, thinly plotted, and boasting state-of-the-art special effects, The Last Knight is pretty much what you'd expect from the fifth installment of the Transformers franchise."^[112] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 28 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[113] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, tied for the lowest of the series.^[105]

Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a negative review, criticizing its running time and incoherent plot, writing: "I have no proof Transformers: The Last Knight will kill your brain cells, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it does and I’d proceed with caution just in case. But I can say with absolute certainty that after watching, your head will hurt."^[114] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap was also critical of the film's sloppiness, saying, "...fear not, fans of the franchise: if you’re here for the director’s trademark chaos editing (where fights go from points A to D to Q), toxic masculinity (and female objectification), comedy scenes rendered tragic (and vice versa), and general full-volume confusion, you’ll get all those things in abundance."^[115] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave a rare zero-star review to the film, saying "Every time Michael Bay directs another Transformers abomination (this is the fifth), the movies die a little. This one makes the summer's other blockbuster misfires look like masterpieces."^[116]

Variety gave the film a lukewarm review stating, "The fifth time may not quite be the charm, but the latest entry in Michael Bay's crunched-metal robot-war mega-series is badder, and therefore better."^[117] The New Yorker acknowledged the film's flaws but noted there was almost something impressive about them, saying: "The absolute tastelessness of Bay’s images, their stultifying service to platitudes and to merchandise, doesn’t at all diminish their wildly imaginative power."^[118]

Controversy

Blenheim Palace, where Britain's former wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill was born, was draped in huge Nazi flags.

On September 21, 2016, shooting for a particular scene took place in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire in England, home of World War II British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. However, the mansion was dressed as a Nazi swastika-draped headquarters for Adolf Hitler for filming. This evoked both anger and criticism for being "symbolically disrespectful to Churchill", according to Colonel Richard Kemp, who said Churchill "will be turning in his grave",^[119] while Tony Hayes of the UK Veterans Association stated that surviving World War II ex-servicemen and women would be "appalled".^[120] However, Churchill's grandson and British Parliament member Sir Nicholas Soames dismissed the controversy entirely, stating "They’ve no idea what my grandfather would have thought!”^[121]

The Sun published numerous pictures from the set. War veterans further attacked filmmakers for turning the historic palace into a headquarters for Hitler.^[119] Besides the Nazi swastika flags, The Sun reported that the set featured actors in Nazi troop costumes and German tanks.^[122] Churchill was buried less than a mile away, at St Martin's Church, Bladon.^[123]

Sequel and spin-off

A spin-off, entitled Bumblebee, and a sequel, Transformers 6, are set to be released on December 21, 2018, and June 28, 2019, respectively.^{[95][124][11]}

References

External links

• Official website
• Transformers: The Last Knight at Rotten Tomatoes
• Transformers: The Last Knight on IMDb
• Transformers: The Last Knight at the TCM Movie Database