Beaten into a sense of apathy by Transformers

I hadn’t seen Bay’s three prior Transformers films and wasn’t exactly flocking to see this one either.

While watching it, I was amazed at how enjoyable I found the stunts, the robot duels, even the actors.

Mark Wahlberg shows personality as the lead and it was refreshing to watch a contemporary action film without a boring, brooding hero. I was pleasantly surprised.

But then something happened. As it went on, it gradually started dragging.

It’s runtime, lasting nearly three hours, is mercilessly excessive and will break the enthusiasm of the most fervent Transformers fan.

The effect this has is equivalent to riding a mechanical bull; seeing how long you can last before mentally checking out.

It was the last 45 minutes - when Stanley Tucci starts hamming it up, giving some of the most toe curling dialogue imaginable - that made me throw in the towel.

To plagiarise myself from two weeks ago, it beat me into a sense of apathy.

There are things to enjoy in Transformers: Age of Extinction, but not enough to recommend.