Arrow "The Offer" - Review

                              

*Spoilers for the epsiode follow*

Arrow came back after a few weeks to finally give us are answer that we had all been waiting for after that massive cliffhanger would Oliver say yes to Rahs offer. Those while the answer just turned out to be no, Oliver will realise that it was less an offer and more an order because no one says no to the league. 

But first the issue of the flash back this week because lately they have felt more and more like they are just standing still rather then moving forward. I mean if they stand still any longer then they might as well start moving backwards. While the shock of Shadow still being alive was good it still just felt so disjointed from the rest of the epsidoe that I just found myself going right can we just go back to the present please. As much as I want to find out what happened to the little boy we already know to an extent that he's either dead or maybe Shadown took him. Who knows all I know is that they really have to choices give the flashbacks a break for a week or two or just have an episode that focuses on the flashbacks. As the present day stroyline gets heavier the flashback become a lot more of a chore to watch as you just wait for the good stuff to come back on. But no disrespect to the kid because he's been great so far it would just be good for them to start picking up the pace before they start going backwards.

The Offer picks up seconds after the last episode with Rah giving Oliver a choice to take his place and lead the league of Assassins, as he did after his master passed on the title many moons before. Now while it felt like it was obvious that Oliver was never going to agree to take his offer, it did feel like for a while there he was very tempted to do so. I mean who would right you live forever and become the leader of the most powerful assassins on the planet, what you wouldn't? No course not me neither. But when Matt Nable is offering it to you I think it would be very hard to say no. His preformance as Ra's up to now has been brilliant and as he took Oliver around the headwaters of the League you really felt the power that he commanded. But at the same time you got the feeling of a man that had been alive for many years and had been waiting for a millennium for the man that would take his place to come to his door. While everyone on Arrow always give amazing preformances this week Stephen Amell and Paul Black Throne (Oliver and Detective Lance) really gave emotion heaven and believable preformances. 

                         

Over the course of the episode Oliver had to deal with decision to not only save Malcolm but also whether saying no was really what was bets for him and the city. But what was great was seeing everyone else deal with his decision to bring Macolm back and how hard it is for them to not just kill him while he lay on the sofa. But Malcom himself was there trying to help Oliver realise that it was g a decision for you to make and that Ra's doesn't take no for an answer. As he told him the prophecy the man that survives the sword of Ra's Al Ghul will become the next Ra's Al Ghul or something to those words anyway. Which annoyed me with the way that Oliver still just shrugs him off like he's the mad uncle that always drunk in the corner at family gatherings talking rubbish. Weird analogy for a master killer and maniac but I think it works for the way that Oliver has been treating him. Even those up to now everything that Malcom has said about Ra's has more or less been correct so for Oliver to act like it wasn't something to worry about did confuse me a bit. Especially after everything that has happened in the past. 

The offer felt like Oliver being given a choice by everyone Ra's wants him for the league but then his friends want him to be the Arrow. They also just wanted his to be Oliver and be thier friend which is what Felicity tells him that while he's in her life she's happy. Which still gives me hope that Oliver and felicity can still be a thing I still have hope that they can be a thing. Felicity was still crying as always but it helped Oliver with opening up and realising that Starling city need him and that he doesn't need to be thanked for what he does for the city as long as they know he's there. You know how it goes he's never gonna be a spiderman everyone throwing a party for him but people will still feel safer for him being there. 

Which played a part in Murmur turning up this week to cause havoc at the police station killing the cops in revenge for his forced and fake confession of a crime that he didn't commit. Murmur was used as a means to an end and was used sparingly which worked for the episode. I feel that he was there to just give a reason for Lance and the arrow to meet after he finally found out about Sarah and her death. It was a emotional moment for Lance as he lost all faith in vigilantes and hated himself for giving up the morals that he had come into the force with. It was a pinnacle moment for Oliver in the episode and made him start to question whether he was really what the city needed. While his choice and quick turn around to im needed in the city and I don't need the league was really quick I feel that it wsomething that wasn't to surprising. Oliver isn't a killer anymore and he doesn't go out in the hood because he wants to be thanked and it took him a while to realise that but it felt like a big moment for him as a character to relaise that. 

                       

The supporting cast of aarrow have been getting a massive amount of screen time in past weeks and it has been nothing but solid veiwing and writing for them. As Pheia started to lose control as her guilt for Sarah and hatred of her father took over she turned to the one person she knew wouldn't judge her Roy. It wa great to see them becoming a thing again as all season you have got that tension between them as feelings were still there for each other. Nissa turned her back on her father and became a teacher for Laurel which is something that will be great to watch play out over the rest of the season as she finally becomes the ass kicki black Canary. Then as far as felicity and dingle their just there doing their thing giving Okiver advice when he needs it like they usally do, you all know the drill. 

The last scene those is something that will cause massive probelems for Oliver in the coming weeks as Ra's prediction that the police will turn on him starts to become a reality. It now starts to feel more of a threat that he would cause them to turn on him. But then again when Oliver takes up the position as leader of the league there's going to be a position open as the Arrow and Ra's was looking great in that suit just saying... 

Overall was great epsiode, was emotional with great preformances from Amell as Oliver had to choose where he belonged. Even with the weir out of place flashback it didn't take away form what was a great epsiode overall and Ra's remember that positions gonna be open buddy you look good in green. 

I Zombie: Series Premiere Review - "Your not dead, Your Undead theres a difference"

*Minor Spoilers Follow. Nothing to major so don't worry ready away* 

"Your not Dead, your Undead theres a difference" is said by Ravi, Liv's work colleague at the Morgue and its something major that I took away from this pilot. While normal zombies can be classed as dead because there basically brain dead with just the need to feed still being there, Liv is different she still functions as a human being. Theres just the small issue of that she eats brains and sees visions of how that person died, oh yeah and she has to eat everything covered in hot sauce to really get some sort of taste from what she's eating. IZombie has been on my radar for a long time now and normally I won't get to excited for a show because I know how bad pilots can be and its normally about pushing past the pilot because its just setting everything up and everything gets better after the first episode. That really is not the case with this show from beginning to end this show was awesome there really is no other way to describe it. Its funny, intriguing and is awesome. Im going to try and avoid spoilers as much as possible because I really want to just get as many people to watch this as possible because I have a feeling this show could have a strong future.

So lets start off with the major plus of the show which is that it doesn't try and get away from the fact that its based on a comic book, if anything it just uses that as a basis and expands on that. The whole pilot is based around Liv 5 months on from dying during a party infested by zombies now having to try and deal with being a zombie herself. As well as that she also has to deal with the fact that her family think that she's losing it and that she's got PTSD because all she does is spend all day in bed and gave up a career as a doctor to work at a morgue. I mean come on anyone would go a little crazy having been attacked by crazy people at a party you didn't really want to go to right? But where as most pilots will just throw as much at you as possible to pull you in which they are meant to do because they want you to watch their show IZombie doesn't. It relies upon the fact that its a zombie show, she has visions of what happened to the person and how they died when she eats their brains and that the new cop at homicide Babineaux believes Liv is a psychic.

One of the stand out parts of the pilot is the chemistry between Babineaux and Liv as they have to work together to find the killer of a young Romanian girl that Liv might eaten the brain of. So you know theres that. Over the course of the episode Liv narrates to the audience how she ended up here and how sometimes maybe just being the flesh eating monster people think Zombies are would be better then trying to hide it from everyone. But hide it is what she does and over the course of the pilot you get the feeling that while it isn't easy she is learning how to manage it with the help of Ravi. But back to her and Babineaux they have this great back and forth over the course of the pilot as she starts to put the pieces into place for him. Its stupid and you get that feeling of how can you be falling for all of this but where as any other show this would be a bad thing IZombie just uses it to its advantage because its not trying to be a serious show. I feel one of the hardest things for a new show on Zombies in the TV market is differentiating its self and giving you a answer to "well what makes you different to other zombie show" and in many way its not. It follows that trope of that Zombie bites you, then your infected and you become a flesh eating monster like normal. But what really makes it different in my opinion is the cast because Liv, Ravi and Babineaux are fantastic but more importantly it doesn't take itself seriously and is very self aware. Having Liv look in at two of her friends playing a zombie video game and her watching night of the living dead and commenting on how different she is. Its never worried about being self aware of itself and how different it is.

The pilot manages to cram a lot into an hour but without ever really feeling like its just throwing everything at you, it still feels like its keeping stuff close to its chest. That is backed up by the end of the episode which I won't spoil but it intrigued be quite a bit and made me really excited for the next episode. The show while being a DC property doesn't feel like a superhero show because it isn't one, its a comic book show but its more a detective show with a twist more then anything. It already has that case of the week vibe about it with that underline story that we get little bits of across the season until the big finale. It feels like a Buffy or an Angel a show of the late 90's early 2000's which might be a big thing to say but thats what it feels like as we have are small team working on cases and crimes together. I don't know how long they can keep Babineaux out of the mix on that fact that Liv is a zombie but for now I'm happy with the pace that they have set and its a pleasant surprise.

I have nothing but praise for this show and I hope that it carries on across the season because its a show that really doesn't have a lot of potential to be brilliant. I didn't want to go into to many spoilers because its something that I feel is better for everyone to find out for themselves because this show is a real surprising treat for people like me that didn't know anything about the comic. Pilots never normal grab me but if more shows can take IZombies approach then I would be a happy man

The Flash: "Out of Time" Review

*Spoilers for the episode follow*

Ever since Flash went for its break we have been teased about the Weather Wizard and how he change things forever for Barry which wasn't far wrong this week. As Barry enjoyed a date with his new thing we were greeted by a awkward love triangle, a brother out for revenge, Harrison being revealed as the Reverse Flash to Cisco and time travel?

A nice cameo from Clyde Mardon at the start of this weeks episode was great as we were finally introduced to his brother the Weather Wizard who has revenge in mind for Joe. After a plane crash because of the particle accelerator both brothers got the power to control the weather you know like you do when your in a plane crash. But it was great to finally get a real explanation for the reasoning behind their powers and gave a clear motive for his hatred for Joe. But much like his brother we haven't really been given much in a way of character for him other then that he's big bad and can make a tsunami. Which after the cliffhanger ending I hope that they can now work on and build on his character because at the moment theres nothing really there. While having revenge in mind for Joe because he killed his brother it would have been nice to get more of an insight into him and who he is but I'm sure thats something they can build upon as this storyline reaches its final act. We have been promised that the weather wizard will play a massive part in Barry and his going back in time and time travel will be involved with his introduction. Which we caught a small glimpse of at the start of the episode as Barry sped to the morgue only to look and see a glimpse of himself running along side him.

I've spoke to some people about this episode and the way that they handled the time travel and everyones kinda spilt down the middle some wanted more and others felt that it was a good start. Im more in the middle myself, while its good to finally start teasing the fact that he can travel into the past it might have been good to give us something with more of a punch. What I mean is that we know that Barry travelled to the past and characters in the show such as Wells, Cisco and Joe know that he was in the past and about time travel. So giving us something such as Barry finding out that Cisco was dead and then ending up in the past would have given Barry something more to fight for and us something more to route for. Or just finding out that everyones theories on Harrison Wells being evil or up to something was right all along so giving him a choice and reason to fight for might have given the episode more punch. But thats what was great about the cliffhanger because it left so much to build upon from here and how Barry goes about everything now. Will he go about things the same way he did the first time, will he let Iris find out about him being The Flash or will he let his love for her stay hidden so that he can save her from being near the tsunami. Time will tell.

But talking of Iris well done to you Barry you finally got the girl even if all of that has now been scrapped and none of that has happened now. It was a weird thing for me at first when the episode started and they had this weird love triangle happening again and it just made me think "really? were doing this again?" But its not till the end of the episode that I felt the pay off and why they would keep this storyline there in the front of our minds, amongst everything else that was happening in the episode. Out of Time was a very busy episode and it was hard to believe that they were gonna keep the momentum going without it spiralling out of control. But for the most part they managed to just keep pulling punches that kept it going at a steady pace before the big cliffhanger moment of the ending of the episode. While the villain wasn't the best that was for the most part made up for my Wells and his reveal to Cisco as we found out how he was getting beaten up by himself that night.

The reveal of Wells to Cisco was one of the best moments of the episode because its something that has been building up ever since he started investigating him with Joe. Ciscos death was a shocking moment and well deserved moment for a great character on the show and the way that Wells killed him was horrible. But I loved the way that they handled it and showed that Wells was fond of him but knew that there was nothing else he could do at this point but kill him. As we learned more about the night Barry's mum was murdered we also started to learn the real reason that Wells wants to make Barry faster and as the tension builds up the to the final half of the season, its hard to believe that anyone will make it out it alive while Wells is still around. There is a moment of relief that Cisco is now alive again because Barry has turned back time but Barry doesn't know about Wells killing him so will he be able to save him from dying again only TIME will tell. (Im sorry)

Out of Time is a hard one to talk about because everything that happened in the episode has basically been thrown out and put back to square one again. If you didn't like this episode I think that you can be happy because everything has now been reset. Which seems like a real shitty move on their part because just as if your like me you finally got to see Barry get the girl just for that to be changed and for it to never happen will be annoyed. But who knows maybe there just pulling a third Harry Potter film and there resetting everything and making it all for the better and then he can save everyone and still get the girl. I dunno I think thats just wishful thinking on my part but I think if they can keep this moment then were safe in the knowledge that were going to get a strong second half of the season.

The Walking Dead "Spend" - Review

The 

*Spoilers for the epsiode follow*

Is it fair to say at this point that if you ever end up finding yourself in a jam while you live at Alexandria never turn to one of their people for help because they will just leave you behind. The biggest take away I found from this epsiode was that Rick taking over might just not be such a bad thing. I had the same dilemma in the comics and this just put the nail in the revolving door for me. (Sorry I had to)

Anyone that has read the comics will know that the people of Alexandria aren't such good people as they first make themselves out to be. They are liars, cowards and wife and child beaters. Can we just talk about Pete first before we get onto any of the heavier shit from this episode. That confrontation between Rick and Pete over a beer was fantastic because we had to watch Rick hold back from just beating the living shit out of him or ripping his throat out. Depends on the day really. But since the group came to Alexandria they have been giving subtle hints that this man is a bit of a monster and who better to finally figure it out then Carol former sufferer of it herself. Anyone that has read the comics like me should really be finding themselves scratching their heads because Carol wasn't there to tell Rick this in the comics. So maybe they might go down a diffrent direction with Pete in the show which won't be a bad thing. The warning sign this week for Carol was that this kid would rather spend all his time with a woman that threatened to tie him to a tree and that no one would see him again then go home. I just hope that now that Carol knows what's really happening in that house that she gives the kid a break and gives him those damn cookies that he wants. He's just a young boy wanting cookies Carol give him a break. While the ending to this epsiode might seem drastic let's all be honest there's a part of all of us that wanna see that crazy Rick rise back to the surface again. Sorry Pete but your ass is dead! 

Talking of the end of the of epsiode and how you can't trust the people of Alexandria, you can say the same for certain Father as well. Now I'm gonna put it out there that I don't like Gabriel and I never have. Just find that he is a bit of a coward and he's doing what he's always done run away from his problems and pile them onto someone else. This week he piled them onto Deanna while Maggie stood on the stairs listening to every word, nothing good ever comes from snooping Maggie. As Gabriel told Deanna something that I feel was running through her head already that the group can't be trusted and that they have done terrible things. But it made me think Father Gabriel isn't exactly squeaky clean right? He was the man that let people outside die just so that he could save his own skin and would rather hide away in his church like a coward. But of a hypocrite really. Spend felt like one of those presidential campaign videos (hear me out I know you think I'm crazy) but in those videos they show the opposition doing stuff that shows them in a bad light and why you should vote for this person because thier change that. Well that's what it felt like with the people of Alexandria they are the opposition while Rick is the man looking to be voted in as the new leader. While we won't see anything like that in the show it did just make a greater case for a Rickdictatership or a new goverment if stronger people. As we get closer to the finale something that's been promised to be both shocking and brutal I think a Rick dictatorship isn't to far away after all. 

Ever since the group came to Alexandria they have gotten the feeling that they don't belong there and that they are to diffrent from the rest of them. N for the most past they are right about that because they know how to survive and what it takes to get things done in this world and most importantly there not cowards. The same can't be said for the guys working on building the wall.

Abraham a man that I thought was on the verge of breaking last week and at the start of this epsiode just turned out to be a hero and a leader this week. I won't dwindle on him for two long because there's something much bigger we need to talk about that happened this week. But Abraham the walking tank was a stand out part of the epsiode this week, when he used that ball on a chain to smash walkers heads in it was like something out of a video game. Which brings me to something we go more into later but the gore this week was some of the best that this show has done. This season has upped the gore factor and I hope that it doesn't stop there and just keeps on going up from here. Walking dead is a horror show and this week felt like that more then it has since Tyrese's death (R.I.P Tye) But back to Abraham he saved a soon to be key member of the cast that's all I will say as long as they are going down the comics route that is. But he turned into the Abraham that I know from the comics and that is a massive thumbs up from me for the guys at Walking dead this week. Spend just hit all its marks this week pulling no punches on the gore, horror or character development. Sticking to these smaller and shorter scenes between characters really works for this show and if they keep on this path. Well then this show will stay as the top show on television for a long time to come.

Now let's get to the supply run crew shall we because that's where the biggest shock moments really happened and the gore that I was talking about just broke the meter. What's great about Walking Dead is when it does gore it goes all out and doesn't hold back. So when Noah met his demise this week and you watched as the blood hit the glass and his cheek was ripped from his mouth it was disgusting was utterly brillaint at the same time. Not many shows do practical effects as good as Walking dead so when we get effects as good as that it's hard not to just praise them, even it it did come at the cost of Noah. So poor Noah was looking to become an architect and help with the building of things and the wall, it was great to spend time with Noah this week. Mostly because the writing was so good that it made you fall in love with his character so that when he died it hit harder then it would have if they hadn't focused on him at all up to this point. Nicholas was bound to try and do something to save his own skin at the cost of the others and it just brings the fact that the people of Alexandria can't be trusted back to the forefront. While Noah's death was sad the person I felt for more was Glenn this week as he stepped up and did what Abraham did for the guys at the wall be a leader when they needed it. Glenn this season has really come into his own and take up that leadership role so maybe we could be looking at the new leader of the supply runners. The person that should be watching his back now those is Nicholas which is why I believe when Kirkman says that the finale will be brutal. Everyone is out for blood and Nicholas is easily reaching the top of that list now after the stunt that he pulled this week. Glenn's cry for help that could be heard in the back ground this week was bone chilling as they reached Alexandria. 

Spend was very much about the group standing up and being leaders, helpers and heroes and on all bases they blew it out the park. It's hard to find something had to say about a show that manages to give up a epsiodes like this that show just why routing for Rick and the troupe really is the right thing to do. Talking of heroes one quick mention to Eugene this week who stepped up and saved Gleen and we can hope Tara it was a great moment for Eugene as a character. It helped also show the difference between him and Nicholas a man that was a coward and couldn't step up when it mattered most. 

Spend punches out all the bases and while I will mourn the passing of Noah it wasn't unexpected and he got one of the best deaths on the show. For a character that wasn't part of the show for very long I see his passing having a lasting effect on how the group deal with the people of Alexandria. I can't wait to see where we go next week as we lead into the finale, all I can say is that no one is safe at this point and that is brillaint. 

The Walking Dead - "Whats up with the letters on the Walkers heads?!"

Whats a better way to comeback then talking The Walking dead!

"Wolves are not far" sounds scary right? Sounds like Red Riding hoods gonna come skipping out the woods with her little basket telling you she's on her way to Grannies… No just me? Ok were carry on.

But so far we have seen writing on the walls, the letter "W" on a tree that Morgan passes (more on him later) and it carved into a few walkers heads. So I guess what Im asking like everyone else is who are the Wolves and why should we be so scared of them?

Lets start off by getting the many theories out of the way first shall we…

Neegan everyones faviroute maniac with a very odd relationship with a barbed wire baseball bat, leader of the saviours, burner of faces and has many, many women to call wife. Now this would be the easiest guess if you have read the comics. He's the biggest "bad guy" the group face since coming to stay at Alexandria and well its safe to say when he does show up in the TV show its gonna be a big deal. But heres my problem with that theory… The group has only just made it to Alexandria and to just throw Neegan at them straight away would feel like a waste of time that could be used developing this "safe zone" and its people. Neegan is coming but he's not the wolves and he's certainly not showing up on are TV screens this season or even the next I feel like. I won't go into spoilers in this so don't worry but with so many big events centred around Neegan showing up, it would feel like they are just throwing it out all at once. N after what they did with The Governor I really do feel like they are playing their cards safe with this one.

The next one is that they are the new group that have just been introduced in the comics that wear The Walkers skin again thats a massive NO! NOPE! NOT HAPPENING!! Its something that I wouldn't associate with this group the wolves as they sound like a solitary pack that work as a close knit family or team. Where as the new group that were just introduced in the comics don't feel that way at all, they feel more like walkers just wondering about solitary and sometimes ending up together in packs.

Now the most obvious scenario is that The Wolves are a brand group that have been created for the show by the writers. Its not something new for the show as they have made differed quite a bit in the past from the comics killing off characters that aren't dead in the comics or keeping certain characters alive instead. You know the deal by now. When you call a group The Wolves I get the feeling that they aren't going to have pet wolves like some people have thought but more that they are a close knit family or group. So far we haven't seen anything to say that they are bad people either. So they carve "W" into walkers heads that doesn't mean that they are evil people just means they could have massive egos about themselves and what they kill. It could also be like a territory thing being called The Wolves. So hear me out Wolves mark their territory  and they protect that territory more then anything else. So marking the trees with the W's and the walkers show their territory is marked and as soon as you enter that territory, then well you become just another marked walker.

Now I said that we would talk about Morgan again.

I would like to say that Morgan will end up running into Arron and Daryl while their out on one of their recruitment runs but I'm afraid that probably just won't be the case. I think we will meet Morgan again in the finale of this season and it will be because he is a prisoner of The Wolves. Having followed the W on the trees Morgan ends up in the territory of the Wolves and they take him as prisoner. Like what the Terminus group did capturing you and sticking you in containers, The Wolves use use as a way of expanding their territory. They carve their mark into your head before you die and they let you wander as a walker to ward off anyone that wonders to far into their territory. So that is what I feel is going to happen with Morgan and thats how the group find him at the end of the season. How they come to find them is another thing entirely however.

Sasha has been going off the rails a bit lately hasn't she, so has Carol and Eugene is looking like he's not been doing much better. So lets say one of them leaves on a scouting run and they end up getting caught by another one of these walkers or run into what seems like an "innocent survivor" out there in the woods. When they suddenly get hit over the head and get knocked out leaving behind just a bit of clothing on the floor where they were taken. The group at Alexandria realise someones missing and they go out looking for them and thats where we meet the Wolves, meet Morgan again and the group have a new member to the community and they get to bond with their new neighbours of Alexandria. BOOM!

Just a thought and defiantly no guarantee that it will actually end up happening because this show is good at being unpredictable when it wants to be. But I would love to hear what everyone else out there thinks of this as my big comeback to the blog. With "The Wolves" seeming to be the big band of the season where do you feel that we will be going from here on out? Are we going to be looking at the demise of yet more characters? Will we meet Morgan again? And most important of all if Carol offers to make you more cookies say NO!!!

Well its been months but I'm actually back this time!!

So its been a while since I've been here or even written on here.

In September of last year I spoke about this massive comeback to the blog and how I was going to be doing this, that and the other but awkwardly and embarrassingly it didn't happen. Mostly because I realised that I wasn't ready to come back to the writing. Its hard to motivate yourself to write when you yourself doesn't really know what he wants to write about. I could have written utter crap and put it out there for the sake of putting out there but that felt shitty to me. So I'm back, pumped and ready to go!

Transformers: Age of Extinction - Review

Age of Extinction looks and sounds great dinobots, Mark Whalberg, a villain that isn't Megatron and Kelsey Grammar as a villain but while that all sounds great its a Michael Bay film so whats great on paper isn't so great on screen. Well thats 90% of the time anyway and while Age of Extinction isn't a perfect film or even a amazing film I can forgive it for trying new ideas and trying to leave behind what they had done previously in the series. Extinction takes place 4 years after the events of Dark of the moon with Chicago still trying to pick up the pieces of the massive robot space battle the human race has come to one conclusion the transformers are dangerous and must go. (By any means necessary) Led by ex- CIA agent Harold Attinger he heads up operations of search and destroy any and every robot in disguise whether their autobot or deceptacon. Extinction does something that I have always felt that the previous instalments have failed upon a good human based story with Extinction giving us are first human villain pulling all the strings. With every member of the autobot's now either dead or in hiding its no surprise to find out that Optimus is now nothing more then a broken down wreck in a busted old theatre found by the films hero Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg). Cade is an inventor and down on his luck with nothing to lose so you know the typical main protagonist for these films now a loser with nothing to lose. 

Again Mark Whalberg sounds exciting on paper to be in a Transfomer's film but he just falls flat with bad writing and he's used to be more comedic effect rather then progressing the storyline in anyway. Along with his daughter (some hot young 17 year old girl its Michael Bay what do you expect ) and her boyfriend they head off with Optimus to find the autobots and get some answers for what the real purpose of killing his kind. Mark is almost brushed off into the background most of the time as much more interesting and plot processing characters fall into frame. The only times Mark really becomes interesting is during one on one dialogue scenes with Optimus who is no longer the "we don't kill humans" type but rather the "I will kill every human that gets in my way of the answers for the truth" The new take on Optimus is a high point for the movie and takes the series in a different direction and makes Optimus a much better character to route for and watch on screen as he finally feels like he has a goal to save his own kind rather then humans. We are also introduced to new autobot's which is a norm for this series now. Hound a grease throwing killing machine voiced by John Goodman who is both funny and brilliant to watch on screen. Drift a ninja yes ninja samurai that is loyal to his brothers and will follow Optimus what ever his choice and Crosshairs a one robot solider that again provides comedic relief. While Age of extinction is less about the Transformers when they do get their screen time the dialogue is both funny and powerful and the action set pieces are some of the best from the series so far. This is the first Transformers sequel that I felt was a return to form trying to go back to what made the original so great, a great human story which is both funny and full of action. 

What was brilliant is that they break the traits that they have become stuck in a rut with by having Cade as a father it means the hot girl everyone takes a gander at is continuously being made to cover up. So we can just focus on the story rathe then any time the story is dragging lets just have a low shot of the girl or girl running slow mo. Don't worry your slow mo running away from explosions is in here which is possibly the biggest explosion in the film and the best sequence in the film as its the first real time danger is felt in the movie. Which is a constant factor in the film danger never goes away the heroes of Extinction spend 90% of the movie on the run from CIA special swat teams rather then deceptacons which I felt was a brilliant change for the film. But its also a problem with the film is that its just to long Age of extinction from start to finish is just over 2hrs 30mins and for a action movie and a kid friendly movie its hard to keep the interest going for that full 2hr 30. Which unfortunately Extinction doesn't manage to do that it falls into the same problems that the previous instalment's have had that they add so much filler that stops the pacing of the movie from going smoothly to a grinding hault. I felt the film could have still worked being a 100min movie, with a lot less characters because to many characters just make it fall apart and become a mess. Be prepared for a brilliant first 40mins and great action heavy last 30 mins and then the rest is just filler and Mark Wahlberg walking about like a lost dog. Most characters in the movie even previous fan faviroute BumbleBee becomes a B sideline character and is just used as filler. The film could have worked without him and I feel he won't have been missed by new people to the series. But a lot of extinction is fan service and fans will appreciate the references and characters that may pop up in the movie some exciting others not so much but they do a great job of remembering the fans that made this series so popular. 

But Extinction is all about the villains its very much a villain movie as Deadlock the transformer assassin who takes what he wants as trophies from planet to planet and Kelsey Grammar take centre stage. Both of them are amazing villains and the back and forth from both of them makes for great scenes and I could have easily just watched a film based around both of them. Mark Ryan voices Lockdown and he is the highlight of the movie with his calm monotone voice he is both exciting and terrifying wanting his prize in the form of Prime and he will do whatever it takes to get it. Deadlock is the first villain of the series that I have ever really felt posed a real threat to Optimus and the Autobots as he's no deceptacon and he just works for the highest bidder and himself. With his massive ship that towers over cities he shows power that even Megatron would have been hard to face him down. Extinction is hard to talk about with out giving away the plot as Deadlock and his motives play such a big role in the plot of the film and he only appears for such little screen time I feel he was a missed opportunity. But he does help pave the way for the dinobots who are short and sweet in that they appear in the last 20- 30 minutes of the film but thats enough because they aren't around long enough to become stale. 

For all of its bad habits the film falls into such as making it feel almost like a remake of the first film I can forgive it for what its trying to do. Its a film for the fans which is helpful to get the fans excited for the series again but also is a great place for new fans to the series as you don't have to have watched the previous trilogy to enjoy the movie for what it is a fun Transformers movie. Its first movie since the first one that I feel that they really have had fun with it and aren't trying to take themselves seriously because their not serious films. While this film will defiantly split fans down the middle as previous instalments in the series have and the Dinobots might not have been in enough of the film for others you have to forgive it for what its trying to do. Its setting up a new trilogy and if the ending to this film is anything to go by its going to be exciting and a new age for the autobots and Optimus as he's not so mister nice guy anymore. Extinction while very much a human story is a redemption story for the autobots and first movie I feel that Optimus really comes into frame and gets the screen time and story he deserves. Don't go into this film expecting it to be amazing or the Transfomers film of your dreams but just know that we are getting back to form and the sequel I feel is just going to blow us all away. 

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