Movie review by Rashid Irani: Destruct-a-thon of Transformers will wow action lovers

Few contemporary film makers have been as widely reviled as Michael Bay. But then again, fewer still managed to rake in the grosses of blockbusters like The Rock or the Transformers trilogy, writes Rashid Irani.

Transformers: Age of Extinction
Direction: Michael Bay
Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci
Rating: ***1/2

Few contemporary film makers have been as widely reviled as Michael Bay. But then again, fewer still managed to rake in the grosses of blockbusters like The Rock or the Transformers trilogy. The fourth installment of the sci-fi series delivers the sensory overload Bay watchers expect. This time the humans are headed up by a Texas scrap dealer (Wahlberg).

An aspiring inventor and single parent, his life turns topsy-turvy when he discovers that the broken-down truck he’s bought is actually a shape-shifting robot from outer space.

More stressful yet, our hero is caught up in an escalating feud between rival robot factions and military forces determined to annihilate the surviving metallic behemoths. In essence, we’re back in the nice guys versus nasty machines syndrome.

Read review:Age of Extinction is only for die-hard Transformers' fans

Also tossed into the fray are a misguided scientist (Tucci, having a blast), a weaselly government official (Kelsey Grammer) and a skimpily dressed teenager (Nicola Peltz, woeful).

The surprisingly adroit use of 3D and the pounding pace add to the entertainment value. The gospel according to Bay asserts that nothing succeeds like excess.

Simply put, the destruct-a-thon will wow the action aficionado.