Like the previous films, this fourth installment is beset with script holes, clunky dialogue, hammy acting, and the overconfidence of a director who doesn’t know when to stop. But for fans of the same noisy but vacuous spectacle that these films have come to represent, ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ is actually a step up from the last film.

So it’s no surprise that the plot is besides the point. Like the previous ones, this latest is all about the noise that Bay can generate, and he is Hollywood’s biggest detonator, no contest. The endless car chases, explosions, crumbling buildings, are all tricked out at ear-shattering decibels. As is the main act of the robots transforming from cars to trucks to bots and back again, while getting down and dirty. Good for you if you like that sort of thing, and I am reliably told that there are enough fans of the franchise to line up for fresh installments, even if it is basically more of the same.

With the fourth film in the franchise, one would hope, almost pray, that Bay is close to wrapping up the franchise. The truth is far from it. The next film is in the works and the climax of this one has sown its seeds.

Going by how the earlier Transformers have done, it will leave the box office jingling. But we will be reading history or solving calculus – that’s so much easier to follow!

Bay is very talented at all things visual, the 3-D works well and the robots look great. But the final confrontation alone lasts close to an hour, and at some point, you may find yourself simply in a daze, unable to absorb any further action into your brain.

But one viewer’s migraine is another’s euphoria. You decide.

There’s a strong possibility that you may experience some difficulty in hearing even the voices of your much-assaulted, still recovering head after watching Transformers: Age of Extinction. Given the unexplained draw the Transformers brand has, I won’t be surprised if this one works too. But nearly three hours divided in yawns and headache prompts me to repeat what Optimus Prime says in the end, “Leave Planet Earth alone.”

The weakest link in the Transformers series, this one will make you wonder if its time to bid a final goodbye to your favourite robots! ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ is one of the dullest and most lethargic plots in the franchise.

The special effects are impressive, now if only they had they had a decent plot to back it up.

If you thought Michael Bay has lost his touch, fear not, because Transformers: Age of Extinction has all the elements that made the first three films memorable. And I’m not talking of just the misogyny, racism or the blonde butt shots. I’m talking of literally every single plot element.

This is by far the most spectacular of the Transformers films that you are likely to see. It has heart and it has balls. It has a grip and nerves of steels and yet it melts into disarming chunks of storytelling that read like episodes from American sitcoms from the 1960s. The world never seemed more compelling in its chaos.

The movie offers exactly what fans of the series crave for, and honestly it’s a step up from the last two movies, but if logic, actual plot development, genuine tension and thrill are what you want then avoid it.