Transformers: Age of Extinction is a 2014 science fiction action film based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line. It is the sequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) and the fourth installment in the Transformers film series. Like its predecessor, the film was directed by Michael Bay and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci, with Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Sophia Myles, Bingbing Li, Titus Welliver, and T.J. Miller in supporting roles. It does not feature the original human cast from the previous three films, instead introducing a new human cast as well as new Transformers, including the Dinobots. In the film, inventor Cade Yeager teams up with Optimus Prime and the surviving Autobots to investigate a manhunt involving Transformers for their hostility.
The film was released in the United States on June 27, 2014, by Paramount Pictures. It received negative reviews from critics, criticizing its pacing, runtime, direction, plot, and dialogue. The film was a box office success, grossing $1.105 billion worldwide against a $210 million production budget, making it the highest-grossing film of 2014, the only film in 2014 to gross over $1 billion, and the tenth-highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release. It was followed by a sequel, Transformers: The Last Knight in 2017.
Plot Sixty-five million years ago, an alien race known as the "Creators" used devices called Seeds to cover Earth with a metallic alloy called "Transformium", wiping out the dinosaurs in the process. In the present day, K.S.I. Industries is using Transformium to build Transformer drones.
Five years after the Battle of Chicago, the Autobots are hunted down by Cemetery Wind, a rogue CIA black-ops division led by opportunistic rogue intelligence operative Harold Attinger, who believes all Transformers are dangerous and must be destroyed. Lockdown, a Cybertronian assassin and bounty hunter working for the Creators, is tasked with finding Optimus Prime. In exchange, he gives Attinger a Seed if his division captures Optimus. Lockdown locates and kills Ratchet when he refuses to give up Optimus's location.
Badly damaged in Mexico City, Optimus hides in Texas and is found by Cade Yeager, a financially struggling inventor and single father. While his teenage daughter Tessa and business partner Lucas Flannery urge him to turn Optimus in, Cade instead fixes him. Hoping to collect an advertised reward, Lucas alerts the authorities, and James Savoy, Attinger's field commanding operative, attacks the Yeager farm. Still, Optimus, and Tessa's secret boyfriend, Irish rally car driver Shane Dyson, rescue the family. During the pursuit, Lucas is killed by one of Lockdown's grenades. Optimus summons the surviving Autobots – Bumblebee, Hound, Drift, and Crosshairs. Using a stolen CIA drone, Cade discovers K.S.I.'s involvement with Cemetery Wind and the attacks on the Autobots.
Infiltrating K.S.I.'s headquarters in Chicago, Cade discovers the dead Autobots and Decepticons being melted down to make Transformer drones—the K.S.I. CEO Joshua Joyce is in league with Attinger to revolutionize global defenses and improve human society using the Seed to make more Transformium. He has also used the captured Brains and Megatron's head to create prototype Transformer soldiers, Galvatron and Stinger. The Autobots storm the building and destroy the laboratory, but they soon leave after Joshua declares they no longer need them. Attinger forces Joshua to deploy Galvatron and Stinger to capture the Autobots. As Galvatron battles Optimus, he gets autonomously freed from control. Suddenly, Lockdown arrives and abducts both Optimus and Tessa while Galvatron retreats.
While Lockdown's large prison spacecraft hovers over Chicago to hand over the Seed, Cade, Shane, and the Autobots sneak on board to rescue Optimus and Tessa. They hijack a smaller ship carrying other Transformers called the Dinobots just before Lockdown leaves Earth. The Autobots learn that Galvatron is Megatron reincarnated, plotting to use the Seed and the Transformer drones to conquer the world, and that KSI plans to use the Seed in the Mongolian desert to create vast amounts of usable Transformium. Cade informs Joshua, who agrees to hand over the Seed. Galvatron reactivates himself and takes control of the drones, organizing them into a new Decepticon army. A battle follows in Hong Kong between the Autobots, Cemetery Wind, and the Decepticons. During the fight, Cade sends Savoy plummeting to his death while Optimus frees the Dinobots and wins their allegiance through trial by combat, becoming essential to the Autobots' victory.
Lockdown returns to recapture Optimus and the Dinobots, using a large magnet to cause destruction. After disabling the magnet, Optimus fights Lockdown. In the ensuing duel, Optimus kills Attinger to save Cade, but the distraction allows Lockdown to pin Optimus down with his sword. Cade ends up fighting Lockdown one-on-one while Tessa and Shane use a tow truck to free Optimus, who kills Lockdown before destroying the remaining Decepticons with Lockdown's grenade. Galvatron retreats, vowing to return. Optimus asks the Autobots to protect the Yeagers, then flies away into space with the Seed, sending the Creators a message that he is coming for them.
Cast
Humans Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yeager: A single father and struggling inventor. Stanley Tucci as Joshua Joyce: An ambitious, arrogant businessman and the head of KSI who wants to build his own Transformers. Kelsey Grammer as Harold Attinger: A former Navy SEAL and rogue government official who created the CIA black-ops unit, Cemetery Wind to eliminate all Transformers, Autobot or Decepticon, from Earth. Nicola Peltz as Tessa Yeager: Cade's daughter who is secretly dating Shane. Jack Reynor as Shane Dyson: Tessa's boyfriend and an Irish rally car driver. Sophia Myles as Darcy Tyril: Joshua's geologist assistant and ex-girlfriend. Li Bingbing as Su Yueming: (苏月明 Sū Yuèmíng) The owner of the Chinese factory used by KSI to build their artificial Transformers. Titus Welliver as James Savoy: A ruthless, corrupt CIA officer and second in-command of the Cemetery Wind working for Attinger. T.J. Miller as Lucas Flannery: Cade's employee and best friend mechanic.
Greg Anderson, Ethan Graves, Melanie Specht and Victoria Summer play Joshua's assistants. Han Geng portrays himself, playing the guitar and singing in a parked car that is magnetized by Lockdown's ship. Ed Welburn plays a KSI executive. Kevin Covais and Ray Lui play motorists, while Cleo King appears as a realtor.
Voices Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime: The leader of the Autobots who transforms into a rusty 1977 Marmon 97 semi truck and later, a blue and red 2014 Western Star 5700 XE semi-trailer truck with flame decals. John Goodman as Hound: An Autobot commando who is a member of the Autobot special forces branch called the Wreckers, and is the weapons specialist of the team who transforms into an Oshkosh Defense Medium Tactical Vehicle. Ken Watanabe as Drift: A Samurai-motif Autobot, tactician, and a former Decepticon assassin who transforms into a black and blue 2014 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse and a Sikorsky S-97 Raider Helicopter. Robert Foxworth as Ratchet: The Autobot medical officer who transforms into a white and green 2009 S.A.R. Hummer H2 ambulance. John DiMaggio as Crosshairs: An Autobot paratrooper and elite sniper, who is also the weapons tactician and mechanic, who transforms into a black and green 2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray. Mark Ryan as Lockdown: A ruthless Cybertronian assassin and bounty hunter who transforms into a grey 2014 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700–4 Coupe. He is hired by the "Creators" to bring Optimus Prime back to them and kill any Autobots who refuse to give up his location. Reno Wilson as Brains: A former Decepticon drone turned Autobot who survived the Battle of Chicago and has lost his right leg who explains that Galvatron is a reincarnation of Megatron. Frank Welker as Galvatron: A human-made KSI Transformer drone modeled after Optimus Prime who transforms into a black and grey 2014 Freightliner Argosy cab over trailer truck that uses data from the remains of the Decepticon leader Megatron; while being possessed by the latter as a new body. Ben Schwartz as Bumblebee: An Autobot scout and Optimus Prime's new second-in-command who transforms into a black 1967 Chevrolet Camaro and later into a yellow and black 2014 Chevrolet Camaro. While the character largely uses sound bites to "speak" in the film, Schwartz provides several lines of original dialogue for the character.
Non-speaking robots Grimlock: The leader of the Dinobots captured by Lockdown and later released by Optimus Prime. He transforms into a fire-breathing mechanical Tyrannosaurus. Stinger: A human-made KSI drone that works for Galvatron and is a remake of Bumblebee. He transforms into a 2014 Pagani Huayra sports car. Strafe: A Dinobot who transforms into a two-headed Pteranodon. Slug: A Dinobot who transforms into a mechanical spiked Triceratops. Scorn: A Dinobot with the nickname "Spike" who transforms into a mechanical Spinosaurus. Junkheap: A human-made KSI prototype that transforms into a Mack TerraPro garbage truck. Unlike other transformers in the series, Junkheap splits into three separate robots.
Production
Development During production for Dark of the Moon, Shia LaBeouf and Michael Bay stated that they would not return for a fourth installment of the franchise. Roland Emmerich, Joe Johnston, Jon Turteltaub, Stephen Sommers, Louis Leterrier and David Yates were rumored to replace Bay. Jason Statham was rumored to star in the fourth installment. Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner revealed that he was able to announce the film as he was talking with Steven Spielberg, Bay and Paramount Pictures. There were rumors that the fourth and fifth installment would be shot back-to-back with Statham as the lead role, which he and Bay denied. Spielberg hoped Bay would return for a fourth installment.
After final negotiations with Bay to direct the film, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed that there would be a fourth film in the franchise. In February 2012, Paramount and Bay announced that Bay would be producing and directing a fourth Transformers film, scheduled for a June 27, 2014, release. The film was not a reboot but a sequel to Dark of the Moon, taking place four years later. Ehren Kruger and Steve Jablonsky returned to write the script and the score, respectively. In April 2013, it was announced that China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises would co-produce the film with Paramount.
On September 1, 2013, Fusible revealed three possible subtitles for the film, which were Last Stand, Future Cast, and Apocalypse. On September 2, TFW 2005 revealed one last possible title, Age of Extinction. On September 3, 2013, Paramount released an official teaser poster for the film, revealing the title to be Transformers: Age of Extinction.
Casting In November 2012, Mark Wahlberg was cast in the film. Also in November 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that casting had begun for two additional leads: the daughter to Wahlberg's character and her boyfriend, a race car driver. Isabelle Cornish, Nicola Peltz, Gabriella Wilde, and Margaret Qualley were all considered for the role of the daughter, while Luke Grimes, Landon Liboiron, Brenton Thwaites, Jack Reynor, and Hunter Parrish were all considered for the boyfriend. The leads are contracted for three films. In January 2013, Reynor was cast as the boyfriend, and in March 2013, Nicola Peltz was cast as Wahlberg's daughter.