Transformers: The Last Knight (film)

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So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure, and "X" never, ever marks the spot.

Transformers: The Last Knight is the fifth film in the live-action film series, serving as a sequel to Transformers: Age of Extinction, and was released on June 21, 2017.

When he is gifted a Talisman by a dying Transformer knight, Cade Yeager finds himself pursued by both the Decepticons and the Transformers Reaction Force. He is soon recruited along with Viviane Wembly by Sir Edmund Burton, last of the Order of the Witwiccans, to once again save the world from a new impending threat.

Synopsis

It is the year 484 in England. A medieval battle rages. King Arthur and his knights are looking down the barrel of defeat at the hands of the Saxons, and their only hope lies with the magician Merlin. Elsewhere Merlin, in reality merely a drunkard, rides up to a long-crashed alien ship and beseeches the occupants for help. He has kept their secret, but now needs their help. The other knights are losing hope, but Arthur believes Merlin will come through. Merlin manages to convince a giant metal knight at the ship to help, and it presents him with a staff, allowing him to return to the battle with a giant metal dragon. The battle is won in favor of Camelot.

Present day: Optimus Prime drifts apparently lifeless in space. Both he and Megatron have vanished from Earth, and Transformers have been declared illegal, with the Transformers Reaction Force set up to track them down, though they've found refuge in some places such as Cuba, where Seymour Simmons is hanging out with the remaining Wreckers. Transformers continue to arrive in waves and NASA scientists detect something large incoming.

Four kids, craving adventure, breach a fence and enter a section of city ruined by a previous Transformer battle. They stumble on a crashed Transformer ship with a still-living occupant. TRF Sentinels close in on them and warn them that they're trespassing; however Izabella appears out of nowhere to help, slinging bottles of green ooze which result in one Sentinels shooting another. Izabella's tiny robot Sqweeks wraps a cable around the legs of the remaining Sentinel and it topples over, allowing the kids time to get away. Pursued by another Sentinel, Izabella takes the kids to shelter — a Transformer named Canopy whose back is a hollow mound of rubble. They're joined by Sqweeks, who's lost his arm in the battle. Canopy and the kids start moving, unaware the TRF has spotted them. Unable to determine what faction Canopy is and with kids possibly in danger, TRF commander Santos orders an air strike. The missile takes out Canopy, who thanks a tearful Izabella before dying. The kids are soon rescued by Cade Yeager and Bumblebee who destroy another Sentinel.

Cade drives the kids to the border of the no-go zone and drops them off before returning to the crashed ship. Despite his efforts, the pilot within dies, but not before attempting to present Cade with the Talisman. Cade does not take it. He reports the pilot's death to Bumblebee shortly before Barricade appears and Cade is suddenly surrounded by TRF forces. Meanwhile, the Talisman sprouts legs and crawls away from the ship. Cade refuses to divulge where the other Transformers are. Bumblebee arrives, only to be blown to pieces by the TRF. Moments later, the parts start reconnecting as Bumblebee reassembles himself, sending the TRF forces into disarray as he does so. He and Cade take Santos hostage, but the standoff is interrupted by the arrival of Lennox who tries to talk Cade and Bee into standing down. Hound's appearance settles things however, and Cade, Bee and Hound leave, though the TRF manages to get a tracking device onto Bumblebee.

Lennox reports to General Morshower who plays a recording of Barricade reporting back to Megatron. Megatron is disappointed Barricade failed to secure the Talisman as it is the object they need to lead them to the staff, but Barricade believes the TRF will lead them to it. Morshower orders Lennox to return to his covert infiltration of the TRF.

Optimus's voyage through space comes to an end as he crashes on the ravaged surface of Cybertron, which has been mysteriously disassembled into many pieces. He encounters and attacks Quintessa, who claims to be his creator and the "Prime of Life," but she easily restrains him.

As he returns to the junkyard he calls home, Cade realizes that the Talisman has somehow ended up in his vehicle. In England, Cogman alerts Sir Edmund Burton to the arrival of the Talisman. Elsewhere in England, Viviane Wembly wins a game of polo for her team before returning to the University of Oxford. She lectures her class on King Arthur, someone she believes to be a made-up legend, unaware she's being watched by Burton. Burton gives instructions to a nearby parked car.

Quintessa tells Optimus that he must retrieve her staff, stolen by her knight guardians and hidden on Earth.

Drift and Crosshairs are hanging out in the junkyard. Cade, Hound, and Bumblebee stop off on their way back so Cade can banter with the local authority, Chief Sherman, who complains that his cruiser has been stolen. The trio continue to the junkyard where Jimmy and Wheelie are looking at online photos of custom cars. They are unaware Izabella and Sqweeks have stowed away on Hound. While Bumblebee and Crosshairs come to blows, Cade persuades Grimlock to cough up Sherman's cruiser, or what's left of it. Daytrader arrives, bringing Starscream's head and a new voicebox for Bumblebee. He's interested in Cade's Talisman, and says it's a sign of the impending apocalypse. Izabella fronts up to Cade and attempts to pursuade him to let her stay. They return to Cade's trailer for antics with the Mini Dinobots and trade stories of lost family members. Izabella manages to impress Cade with her knowledge of Cybertronian physiology and he's convinced to let her stay.

In Namibia, scientists arrive at a location to find a giant metal horn poking out of the ground. News of the horn, and five more like it, get back to Simmons and Burton. Meanwhile the NASA scientists meet with presidential staff to report they have detected an approaching planet, which they say will arrive in three days.

Helped by Hound, Cade makes an untraceable satellite phone call to his daughter at college, but is unable to speak to her for fear that his voice will be recognized by the CIA, and can only listen as she tries to convince him to get a girlfriend.

Lennox meets Morshower at the Pentagon for a briefing on the horns — Megatron has been spotted visiting them and has snatched up two CIA operatives as hostages. Lennox and some lawyers meet with Megatron to negotiate the return of some of his men. They agree to release Mohawk, Dreadbot, and Nitro Zeus; Berserker, however, turns out to be a step too far, and Megatron is forced to select Onslaught instead. Morshower believes they can use Megatron so they can get hold of Cade's Talisman themselves.

As morning breaks over the junkyard, the Decepticons prepare to move in, observed by the TRF. Izabella attaches a new arm to Sqweeks, before helping Cade fit Bumblebee's new voicebox. Bee is not happy with the result, which sounds like a GPS. Sherman gives the group advanced warning of the impending Decepticon assault, and the Autobots and humans scramble to get ready to escape. Megatron's group arrives to find the junkyard deserted, at least until Hound pops up and starts shooting. Megatron returns fire. The Autobot group heads into the nearby town, where Drift finds the tracking device on Bee. Grimlock and Slug ambush the TRF forces en route to the town. Santos has a swarm of unmanned drones sent in. The Decepticons arrive in the middle of town and immediately spot Sqweeks, which draws Izabella out in an attempt to save the tiny Autobot. Cade detonates the explosives hidden around town and flees with Izabella, pursued by Barricade. The 'Con is taken out by Grimlock, and as the battle rapidly turns against the Decepticons, Megatron calls a retreat. Cade, Izabella, and Jimmy take cover in a disused church as the TRF drones move in, however the drones continue to pursue them through the church. Cade and Izabella take two of them out, but Jimmy tries to bluff a third, banking on the idea it's using facial recognition. He gets shot anyway, but fortunately it was only a beanbag.

The trio head into another disused building and enter a lift where they encounter Cogman, who announces he's come to collect Cade. The discussion ends when a drone arrives, and Cade ends up clinging to it as it flies wildly around the street. Cogman phones Sir Burton to report the bad news, but fortunately Cade survives his impromptu flight, partly thanks to the Talisman protecting him from bullets. He manages to ride another drone to the ground and is met by Cogman who explains that he's important because of the Talisman. Crosshairs attempts to prevent Cogman from doing anything, only for the smaller robot to break his finger. Cogman convinces Cade to go with him and leave the others. Cade and Bee accompany Cogman on a plane to England.

Morshower and Lennox track the flight, and note that Megatron's group is giving pursuit. Lennox is ordered to take the TRF team to the UK as well.

Simmons calls Sir Burton to let him know a book has been tracked down. NASA continues tracking the incoming planet, now identified as Cybertron. Quintessa reveals to Optimus that Earth is actually Unicron and that they're going to kill him with the staff, an act which will destroy Earth and restore Cybertron. Optimus's optics turn purple as Quintessa addresses him as "Nemesis Prime". Optimus swears to fight anyone who interferes with his new mission.

Viviane and her family watch a news report on the giant horns. Conversation turns to her dead father, and her mother suggests she check her father's study in case there's anything useful for her work. Disinterested, she instead gets into her car where an invitation falls out of the glove compartment. The car takes off of its own accord and starts driving her through the streets of London. When she smashes a window, the car complains in a French accent and throws her into the trunk. She calls for help, having realized she's in a Transformer, and the car scans a passing Lamborghini, reconfiguring itself into a copy of the other vehicle.

Cade's plane lands at Sir Burton's castle, where he and Bumblebee are shot at by a tank Transformer. Sir Burton apologizes and takes a look at the Talisman. Hot Rod arrives carrying Viviane, who is unhappy at being kidnapped. Once things calm down, Sir Burton explains he's the last of the Order of the Witwiccans. Cade's boorish behavior towards Viviane results in him being assaulted by Cogman. Sir Burton shows off portraits of his family tree and the Witwiccans, and relates how the Transformers have been helping humans for centuries, such as when Bumblebee and Hot Rod took part in World War II. They head to another building which houses the original Round Table used by King Arthur and his knights when they teamed up with the twelve Knights of Iacon. Further there is a legend that a last knight would be found and thanks to possessing the Talisman, that's Cade. Only Merlin's DNA can unlock the power of the staff, which is where Viviane comes in as a direct descendant of Merlin. She has no idea where the staff might be though. Further discussion is halted as MI6 and TRF forces arrive to assault the castle. Hot Rod's time stopper weapon gives the group enough time to escape.

Simmons makes an irate call to Sir Burton, who is currently being pursued through London and is late for the appointment at Trinity Library. Bumblebee arrives at Viviane's house with her and Cade, and the pair start rifling through her father's study in search of a clue. Sir Burton's dropped off at the library, but Simmons demands to be inducted into the Order of Witwiccans before he'll point Sir Burton to the book, which reveals Earth is Unicron and points them to Stonehenge. Cade and Viviane find a clue in an old popup book which points them to the HMS Alliance at the navy museum. The TRF arrive at the house. Meanwhile, Sir Burton and Cogman switch cars and a high-speed chase through the streets of London ensues. Cade and Viviane, now also making a getaway in Bumblebee, let them know about the navy museum. Cogman manages to shake his pursuers while Bumblebee manages to shake Barricade by blasting the Decepticon.

Bumblebee reaches the naval museum at the same time as Cogman and Sir Burton, and they have the HMS Alliance evacuated. Sir Burton leaves the others to it, explaining that the submarine, in reality a Transformer, knows the way to the staff. The sub launches, with Bumblebee clinging to the exterior so he cam come along for the ride. The sub's departure is noted by TRF and they track it as it heads away from England. The TRF scramble their own submersibles to give chase. A nuclear sub fires missiles at the Alliance which responds by ramming the other sub and diving deeper into the ocean. Cogman fires himself out through a torpedo tube.

Sir Burton arrives at Number 10 to see the Prime Minister, but is turned away. Cogman returns to the sub with a couple of fish he's caught. Viviane and Cade share clumsy sexual chemistry until Cogman reveals he's made sushi as a "last meal". Sir Burton takes a secret back entrance into Number 10 to talk to the PM, holding off security by threatening to release the watch that killed Hitler. Sir Burton tells the PM to mobilize the military to Stonehenge. The Alliance zeros in on a vast undersea Transformer ship, which lights up as they approach. The pursuing TRF subs also spot the ship, but have to make their own way in after the airlock doors close behind the Alliance. The Alliance surfaces beyond the airlock, and the group starts exploring.

Back at the junkyard, Izabella, Sqweeks, and Crosshairs look up at the approaching Cybertron. Elsewhere, NASA scientists give a briefing as the approaching planet scrapes the surface of the Moon. The doomsday news is broadcast on television around the world. The subs carrying the TRF teams led by Lennox and Santos emerge into an air pocket, and they move out. Daytrader arrives back at the junkyard with the Autobots' ship, and the group there prepares to head to England to help out. Cade and Viviane find a chamber holding motionless Knights of Iacon. Cybertron moves into Earth's atmosphere, passing the International Space Station. Viviane touches a Celtic engraving which reveals Merlin's sarcophagus, inside which they find a wooden staff. As the TRF moves through the same chamber, one of the knights springs to life. Cade keeps it distracted as the TRF attacks it, eventually bringing it down. Viviane grabs the wooden staff which transforms into metal in her hands. Lennox and Santos attempt to get her to hand it over, but she reveals only she can use it. More knights revive and attack, however a short time later, Optimus kills them and forces Viviane to turn the staff over to him. Sending the others back to the sub, Cade, Lennox, and Bumblebee go after Optimus.

Bumblebee fights with Optimus atop the vast ship as it comes to the surface. Bumblebee manages to get the better of his former leader, and Cade attempt to persuade Optimus to stop fighting. As the ship rises out of the water, Optimus is able to get the upper hand and is prepared to end Bumblebee when Bee manages to talk in his own voice. Shaking Quintessa's influence, Optimus drops his sword, just in time for Megatron to swoop in and claim the staff. After the Decepticons leave, the remaining Knights of Iacon emerge from the ship and are ready to execute Optimus for aiding Quintessa's cause. The Talisman transforms into a sword which Cade uses to block the killing strike, and the Knights recognize Cade as a knight. Though Prime is ready to die, Cade talks him out of sacrificing himself, and Optimus announces they have to destroy Quintessa. Also the other Autobots show up in their ship.

Cybertron makes touchdown on Earth, causing untold destruction. Megatron arrives at Stonehenge with the staff. Lennox contacts Morshower with the coordinates for the "end game", an ignition chamber which is part of one of the dangling pieces of Cybertron and military forces move in. Cade comes up with a plan to load Ospreys onto the Autobot ship so they can get close enough to the ignition chamber to land. NASA thinks this is a bad plan and works on an alternate idea. The massive ship continues towards Stonehenge where the Decepticons, along with Sir Burton and the military forces, are waiting. At Sir Burton's signal, the military opens fire on the Decepticons as the massive ship arrives directly overhead. Megatron blasts Sir Burton. The Autobots regroup with Cade and the TRF and Optimus Prime gives a stirring speech before blasting off. Cogman manages to find Sir Burton shortly before he expires.

Megatron returns to the Ignition Chamber where Quintessa is waiting. She plugs the staff into the floor, and lightning starts arcing about. The pieces of Cybertron start moving about and joining together, causing those on the ground to run for their lives. Massive worldwide destruction ensues. As the Autobot ship carries Autobots, knights and humans up to their fates, Cade asks Viviane out on a date. Jets soften up the defenses around the ignition chamber while the humans all board the Ospreys, and Cade has it out with Santos. Shamed, the TRF troops all rip off their insignias. The Ospreys launch, and Izabella and Sqweeks reveal they've stowed away on the one carrying Cade and Viviane. Covered by the jets and the giant three-headed dragon, the Ospreys head to the ignition chamber, and crash-land on the surface. The landing site is immediately a war zone as Megatron and his Decepticons stand in their way. Lennox spots the entrance to the chamber, but the team is pinned down by a gun emplacement. Izabella instructs Sqweeks to go blow the gun emplacement up. Infernocus merges and knocks Bumblebee and co out of the air.

Meanwhile the NASA scientists have come up with a plan to use nukes to cause a nearby chunk of Cybertron to destroy the ignition chamber. Morshower contacts Lennox to let him know the new plan, and the TRF forces start withdrawing. Sqweeks succeeds in blowing up the gun emplacement. Optimus arrives aboard the dragon and takes out Infernocus. As the TRF troops parachute off the platform, the jets nuke the neighbouring chunk of Cybertron. Viviane drops her parachute and heads back towards the chamber, followed by Cade. The chunk hits the platform containing the chamber, however despite the devastating impact, the chamber continues to function. The chamber tumbles down until it comes to rest on another part of Cybertron. Inside, chaos reigns as the Autobots and Decepticons fight and Viviane grabs the staff. Optimus kicks Megatron through a wall shortly before another impact sends the chamber tumbling out of the sky. Optimus and Bumblebee manage to defeat Quintessa, the latter blasting her. Quintessa vanishes in a flash of blue light. Viviane finally pulls the staff free, shutting down the Ignition Chamber just before it crashes to the ground. Optimus dramatically drives out of the cloud of debris raised by its impact, carrying Cade and Viviane. As everyone reunites, Optimus gives another stirring speech about how Earth and Cybertron are now joined as one.

Meanwhile, back in Namibia, Quintessa, now in a human form, walks up to one of the scientists studying the giant metal horn and offers to tell him how to kill Unicron.

Quotes

"All right, I am what they say. I'm a liar, a charlatan. I've deceived my whole life, but if I could, for one moment, change this world for the better, I would give up everything! Everything! I'd give up drink! Money! Wom- Drink and money!"

—Merlin

"Go to hell!"
"'This planet is hell!"

—Izabella and Megatron exchange smack talk

"The end is near, my old treacherous friend...what a shame you'll be unable to see it."

—Megatron musing to the decapitated head of Starscream

"Don't kill the messenger... or the messenger will kill you."

—Cogman

"You are needed, sir. Urgently. My master is fond of saying that all the important decisions in life often come down to just one moment."

—Cogman impresses on Cade the gravity of the situation.

"Introductions. Miss Viviane Wembly: Master of History, Oxford; Doctor of Philosophy, also Oxford; and Doctor of Letters, Oxford again, I think. Anything else? Anyway, meet Cade."
"... Yeager. Cade Yeager. I'm an inventor."

—Sir Edmund Burton and Cade Yeager

Hot Rod: "Bonjour, chérie! Je M'appelle Hot Rôd."
Viviane: "Ut what?"
Hot Rod: "Hot Rôd."
Viviane "Hut Rud?"
Hot Rod: "Hot Rôd!"
Sir Edmund Burton: "Hot. Rod."
Hot Rod: "Mhmm."
Sir Edmund Burton: "It's his French accent."
Viviane: "Is he French?"
Sir Edmund Burton: "No, he just likes the accent."
Hot Rod: "Non! No no no, I hate the accent! But I can't get rid of it! I'm stuck with the accent!"

—Everybody loves Hot Rod.

"I-I am Bumblebee...your oldest friend! Optimus...I would lay down my life for you."

—Bumblebee regains his voice, and Optimus regains his mind.

"Did you forget who I am? I am Optimus Prime!"

—Optimus as he kills the Infernocons. They should've run for cover, or at least DUCKED.

"We were brothers once!"
"Once."

—Megatron and Optimus Prime

"At the heart of every legend, there is truth: a few brave souls unite to save the world. We can be heroes in our own lives, every one of us, if we only have the courage to try. Our fates were always intertwined, but now our worlds are joined as one. We need to repair our planets, work together, if we wish to survive. A dangerous secret is buried deep inside the Earth. There is more to this planet than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, calling all Autobots...it is time to come home."

—Optimus Prime's closing narration.

Characters

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Knights of Iacon	Others
Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) Bumblebee (Erik Aadahl) Hot Rod (Omar Sy) Hound (John Goodman) Drift (Ken Watanabe) Crosshairs (John DiMaggio) Cogman (Jim Carter) Sqweeks (Reno Wilson) Grimlock Slug Mini-Dinobots Mini Grimlock Mini Slug Mini Strafe Wheelie (Tom Kenny) Daytrader (Steve Buscemi) Topspin/"Volleybot" (Steven Barr) Canopy (Frank Welker) "Bulldog/WWI Tank/Lieutenant" (Mark Ryan) Excavator Autobot Hurricane Autobot Northrop Autobot HMS Alliance Autobot	Megatron (Frank Welker) Barricade (Jess Harnell/Frank Welker)* Nitro Zeus (John DiMaggio/Steven Barr)** Mohawk (Reno Wilson) Onslaught (John DiMaggio/Steven Barr)** Dreadbot Berserker (Steven Barr) Starscream's head Decepticon protoforms	Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) Viviane Wembly (Laura Haddock) William Lennox (Josh Duhamel) Izabella (Isabela Moner) Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins) Seymour Simmons (John Turturro) Santos (Santiago Cabrera) Jimmy (Jerrod Carmichael) Morshower (Glenn Morshower) Merlin (Stanley Tucci) King Arthur (Liam Garrigan) JPL Engineer (Tony Hale)	Dragonstorm Dragonicus Stormreign Skullitron (Frank Welker) Steelbane	Quintessa (Gemma Chan) Infernocus Infernocons Unicron The watch that killed Hitler Vatti Transformer

• *The last few lines that Barricade has in the movie are dubbed by Frank Welker, while Jess Harnell voices Barricade for the rest of the movie.
• **Nitro Zeus' voice actor varies depending on the version of the film, with one having him played by John DiMaggio, and the other with him played by Steven Barr. Same thing applies with Onslaught, but with a single line.

Notes

• It's implied that Transformers; Age of Extinction and The Last Knight, takes place in an alternative timeline. This would explain why in Age of Extinction, why Optimus don't have the Matrix, why it's stated that Ironhide die in Chicago, not Washingto D.C. why Megatron's head in "Age of Extinction" is his "Revenge of the Fallen" version. Also explain why Starscream's head is destroy.

Continuity notes

• Optimus left Earth at the end of the last movie, to look for the mysterious Creators. No sign or mention of that Seed he was carrying, though he announced at the time he was going to take it where "it can never be found."
• The Dinobots were "set free" by Optimus at the end of the last movie, though they have since joined up with the main Autobot team in hiding, presumably for pragmatic reasons.
• Cade's daughter Tessa was a soon to graduate high school student in Age of Extinction, and she has since gone on to college.
• Izabella's parents were killed during the Decepticon invasion in Dark of the Moon.
• Starscream was killed by a NEST boomstick at the climax of Dark of the Moon. Age of Extinction established that scavengers had salvaged many objects from the Battle of Chicago.
• Megatron addresses Starscream's disembodied head as "my treacherous old friend". Back in Revenge of the Fallen, Megatron accused Starscream of abandoning him to die in the first movie. We wouldn't call that a justified accusation, but what can we do? It's the word of a dead skull against that of the universe's greatest warlord.
• While Leadfoot was killed by Cemetery Wind in a video recording in Age of Extinction, his two fellow Wreckers were nowhere to be seen. This film reveals both to have survived.
• When Viviane is abducted by Hot Rod, she asks if her captor is a famous Transformer such as Shockwave or Soundwave.
• Daytrader gives the Autobots Lockdown's ship, which was last seen being attacked by Chinese military jets in Hong Kong.
• The T.R.F. uses the exact same tactic to take out one of the Knights as N.E.S.T. used to take out Shockwave and Barricade in Dark of the Moon.
• The Ark is briefly seen on the Moon, where it was revealed to be back in Dark of the Moon, having been left there untouched in the years since, along with the site of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
• Among the landmarks trashed by the hanging chunks of Cybertron is the Great Pyramid of Giza, where the climax of Revenge of the Fallen took place, recognizable by the top missing to reveal the Star Harvester hidden underneath.
• The Decepticons are seen using several Orbital Assault Carriers, as they were in Dark of the Moon, though there's no word on if these Carriers are the same ones from the Chicago operation.
• Quintessa teleports herself away; she seems to have a bodily space bridge much as The Fallen did.
• It's never made clear whether or not Quintessa is one the Creators alluded to in the previous film. She claims to be the "Prime of Life" and to have created the Cybertronian species, but that is up for debate.
• Drift only has one of his swords, like the end of the previous film, showing that he never retrieved the other from the battle with the KSI drones.
• Sir Burton states that Viviane is the last living descendant of Merlin, along with stating that he is the last living member of the Witwiccans, indirectly stating that Sam is dead at this point.

Transformers references

• Quintessa is a loose adaptation of the Quintessons—the recurring race of antagonistic extraterrestrials who terrorized both the Autobots and Decepticons in season 3 of the original 1980's cartoon. In the cartoon continuity, the Quintessons were the creators of the Transformers, in the same way that Quintessa claims to be in the film. Here, though, Quintessa seems to be physically based off of Quintus Prime, a relatively new character introduced through 2013's The Covenant of Primus; the decision to make the character female is something wholly new, although it may speak to some influence from Solus Prime.
• Unicron having a connection to the Earth seems inspired by the Transformers: Prime cartoon; in that series, Unicron's was the core of the Earth, with the rest of the planet having formed around his dormant body during his hibernation. Whether or not this corporeality holds true for this incarnation of Unicron remains to be seen.
• When Optimus Prime falls under Quintessa's control, he is dubbed "Nemesis Prime", an obvious reference to the evil clone of Optimus Prime that has appeared in many continuities.
• Edmund Burton claims Cogman is a "headmaster", which is typically a human-sized bot that transforms into the head of a larger bot. While this reference is borne out by his toy, which features a larger vehicle body and a detachable head, we don't actually see Cogman do anything like that in the movie itself.
• This is not the first time the Transformers have been associated with Arthurian times.
• Galvatron eventually returns back to using his true name. Like we haven't seen that before.

Real-life references

• The bogus voice box Bumblebee gets from Daytrader has the voice of Siri, the AI assistant found in most iPhones.
• Crosshairs calls Cogman a "C-3PO ripoff".
• Sir Edmund Burton quotes the song It's a Long Way to Tipperary in reference to World War I.

Other editions

• Two versions of the film were released to theaters: one screened in English-speaking countries, which seems to be the "finished" version, and another shown internationally, with foreign language subtitles, which appears to be an earlier version. There are numerous differences in dialogue between the two versions, with some lines being dropped, added, or changed completely for the finished version, including ones that even help to make the film make more sense!
  • When Hound shows up when TRF are talking to Bee and Cade, in the finished version he says, "Sorry I'm late! My invitation to this ass-kicking must have gotten lost in the mail." The alternate version has him say "Mornin', fellas! I like showing up to a gun fight! This round mound's gonna mow you down. Translation: Sayonara, suckers!"
  • When Daytrader says "You always resort to violence, right off the bat!", in the finished version Hound replies "I love violence!". Hound does not reply in the alternate version.
  • Izabella laughs at Cade's attempts to make Grimlock spit out the cruiser in the alternate cut, but remains silent in the final version.
  • When Jimmy and Wheelie argue, the finished version has Wheelie back down a bit when Jimmy threatens and grabs him, with Wheelie adding that Jimmy is the worst "senior vice president ever". In the alternate cut, Wheelie continues to berate him , threatening "I'll have my Autobot brethren kick your ass!". Oddly, he still flails his hands around when he's not saying anything in the latter version, meaning his animation is meant to be paired with the "finished" audio.
  • In the "earlier" version, all of Nitro Zeus's dialogue is provided by Steven Barr, and the actor receives an on-screen credit for the role. For the "finished" version, it was all re-recorded by John DiMaggio (with the credits altered to reflect the change), with some differences. During his introduction, for instance, the finished version has him say: "I know where you live, Enrique, say hello to your wife for me!" while the other, he says: "By the way, Enrique, Chad's sleeping with your wife!"
  • In the final film, Onslaught's single line of dialogue was recorded by DiMaggio, while Barr re-recorded said line in the alternate version. Deja vu huh?
  • When arriving at the Junkyard, DiMaggio-Nitro remarks "Aw man, I kicked more ass in prison!" upon learning that Cade and co. have left, while in the alternate version Barr-Nitro says "Unfortunate, because I was looking to knock some heads!".
  • While Megatron is musing to the head of Starscream, as he says "The end is near", DiMaggio-Nitro cuts in with "Oh, she's coming!" while Barr-Nitro remains silent.
  • When the Decepticons arrive in the abandoned town, Barr-Nitro says: "I know they're close!" while DiMaggio-Nitro says: "Oh, I feel a fight comin'!"
  • In the final film, when the Autobots discover the tracker planted on Bumblebee, Crosshairs remarks "The tracker led 'em right to us! When are you gonna grow up?" but in the alternate version, he says "What's this? You brought 'em right to us!"
  • In the final film, after Drift kills Onslaught ("and his fat head!"), Crosshairs remarks, "Don't get any deader than that!" In the alternate version, Crosshairs is silent, and Drift instead says "Fantastic!" after his quip about Onslaught's head. In the final film, Drift's lips are still visibly moving at the point when he says "Fantastic!" in the alternate cut.
  • After the town battle, Crosshairs calls the TRF drones "gnats" as he shoots them down in the finished version. He remains silent in the alternate version.
  • In the finished version, when Crosshairs is talking about Cogman he says, "Hey Cade, what's with the C-3PO ripoff?", but in the alternate version he says, "I'll swat this metal cockroach for you Cade."
  • Crosshairs whines that his finger is broken in the background when Cogman is speaking to Cade in the finished version. He remains silent in the alternate version.
  • When Megatron steals the staff from Optimus, the "finished" film features Nitro Zeus saying: "You blew your chance to kill Unicron!" followed by Megatron saying: "I knew you couldn't do it. Your time is over, Prime! You failed!" The other has no Nitro Zeus dialogue, and instead features Megatron saying: "Quintessa, the most ruthless of our Gods, knew you couldn't do it. She knows I'm strong and you're weak."
  • When the Knights of Iacon attack Optimus, in the alternate version one of the Knights tells Prime "She put you under a spell!". In the finished version, that line was removed.
  • Barricade has an extra line at Stonehenge in the alternate version, where he says "Yes! Drain Unicron! He will be powerless!"
  • The finished version adds an extra line between Cade and Lennox on Cybertron about Optimus never having made it to the Ignition Chamber, while the alternate version never acknowledges his absence.
  • When Optimus Prime attacks Quintessa, In the finished version she says, "You traitor!", and Optimus retracts his faceplate. In the alternate version she says, "Nemesis! You traitor!", and Optimus' faceplate does not retract.
  • The final version has Quintessa scream as Bumblebee blasts her, while Bumblebee quips "Sting like a bee!"—but in the other version, Quintessa is silent, and Bumblebee's dialogue is very slightly different, with him saying "I sting like a bee."
• The Chinese release adds roughly 2 minutes of content just for soft-advertising.

Errors

Continuity errors

• Sir Edmund says the battle depicted at the start of the movie took place in 484 AD, while a caption over the first present day scene says it takes place 1600 years later, which would result in the rest of the film taking place in 2084.
• No explanation is offered for how Galvatron has become Megatron again. He even transforms normally now, as opposed to bursting into a cloud of Transformium and reforming the way he did in Age of Extinction.
  • It's implied that Quintessa is the one, who gave Megatron his new body.
• When Cade and Izzy are fitting a new voice box into Bumblebee, it is clear that they are using a prop on set, with no sign of Bumblebee's body. It is possible that due to his reforming ability, Bee was able to remove his head for the procedure. His head being reattached to his body is not shown.
• How does Daytrader have Starscream's head if it was destroyed in the third film?
• Just before the Decepticons invades the junkyard, Drift is shown with both his swords.
• Sqweeks is missing his scavenged Decepticon arm when the Decepticons invade the junkyard, his original arm appearing back in its place. It returns in all subsequent scenes with the character.
• The abandoned town the Autobots and humans seek refuge in has buildings which are a few stories tall at most, then Jimmy, Cade and Izabella are abruptly in a multi-story building with janitorial staff and an external lift when they encounter Cogman. After Cade's ride on a drone, they're suddenly back in the area with no tall buildings in sight.
• Ironhide and Optimus Prime are depicted in historical paintings, but both were clearly seen arriving on Earth in the first film. Though it could be possible that they came and went from Earth, or that other Transformers looked the same.
• How does Hot Rod have the Lamborghini chest in an old war photo if he selected the new disguise merely seconds ago and Lamborghini didn't exist until 1963?
• Despite the Decepticons all following Cade and Bumblebee to England, only Barricade apparently bothers to try to track them down once there.
• Bumblebee tears out the "defective" voicebox yet is able to talk to Optimus later with no voicebox.
• Optimus remarks that he has not heard Bumblebee's voice "since Cybertron fell". Bumblebee actually spoke with his real voice briefly at the end of the first film, albeit it with a different voice actor.
• Where does Optimus go between taking off after giving his speech, and later turning up on Dragonstorm? The "finished" version of the film briefly addresses this by adding an exchange between Cade and Lennox, where the latter says Optimus didn't make it.
• En-route to Cybertron, despite Bumblebee having regained his voice, he once again insists on speaking with an audio clip.

Technical/animation errors

• A promotional clip of the scene showing Hot Rod and Viviane's arrival at Burton's estate appears to feature an actor other than Omar Sy performing Hot Rod's voice. Presumably, it was just the "scratch track" that Sy then recorded over; Hot Rod's first line in the clip ("Leetle lady, non!") is replaced in the film (with "Non non non, leetle lady, why do you have to be like zat? Pour quoi?") but his second ("She's very difficult!") remains performed by the scratch track actor.
• When Cade, Viviane, and Cogman are aboard HMS Alliance, there is a camera shot of Cade looking through the periscope with Cogman to the right of screen. The camera angle then changes and shows Viviane in another part of the chamber. The camera returns to Cade, Cogman has vanished. The camera pans back to Viviane again, then returns to Cade, with Cogman back in the shot.
• Bumblebee just sort of...appears in the room where Merlin's staff is held, having not been there the entire scene, and then suddenly standing next to Cade as Optimus leaves with the staff.
• That's not Jess Harnell providing Barricade's dialogue at Stonehenge.

Geographic discontinuities

• When the authorities arrive at Burton's mansion, it is noted that "TRF and MI6" are in pursuit. In real life, MI6 is the UK's external intelligence agency; it is more likely that MI5, the UK's domestic intelligence agency, would be the British central government's agency present.
• American street signs of the hanging green-coloured variety can be seen during the chase scene in London.
• Viviane leads her class from a large, expansive archaeological museum into the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. While there is an archaeological museum attached to the Natural History Museum, it looks nothing like the one featured in the film.

Score

Main Article: The Last Knight (Music From the Motion Picture)

Continuing the tradition of the previous films, the music is once again composed by Steve Jablonsky. The ending theme of the movie is Torches by X Ambassadors.

Theatrical posters

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  Nazis. I hate those guys.
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  Optimus "Barely Appearing in this Movie" Prime
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Reception

[sighs] Here we go again.BBC Radio 5 critic Mark Kermode on The Last Knight

After four films where critics hated it but the audience showered it with money, The Last Knight broke the trend by not being showered with money. It had been projected to make $70-75m in its first days in North America, itself the lowest opening, but that was downgraded to $63m after the first few days were even lower than the lowest expected. In the end it made almost $70m over the first five days, better than the revised projection but lower than all of the previous films. By mid-July, after over three weeks, the film had grossed $122.1m in North America against a $217m budget (not counting marketing costs). This meant a lot of critics began to zero in on the sluggish profit, taking the view that American audiences were just getting bored of Bay's version of the franchise.

Internationally the film did $196.2m in the same first five days, of which $123.4m came from China alone(who love the franchise so much delaying The Last Knight reduced 2016 cinema growth to 3%, down from 48% in 2015!) The Chinese had been expected to spend up to $290m on the film's run. However, in its second week in China takings dropped by a harsh 75% and after 10 days it had only grossed $198 million, which was seen as a disappointment—some pundits had expected $400m from China—and left it unlikely the film would perform as well as Age of Extinction had. The Hollywood Reporter visited a Shanghai screening and reported "walkouts, general disinterest and plenty of snickering over a conspicuous abundance of [Chinese] product placement" despite a truly massive PR campaign and the fourth film's mega-popularity. Chinese social media made it clear the plot was too complicated and the product placement, all products the Chinese knew weren't in America, was too dumb; the audience found it very funny when the Autobots looked up a Chinese used car website.

Production staff

The film was directed by Michael Bay, and was written by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Ken Nolan.

Development details

Transfivemers doesn't have the same ring to it.

• December 18, 2014 — Mark Wahlberg confirms to MTV that he is signed on for the next two Transformers films.
• March 27, 2015 — Paramount Pictures negotiates with Akiva Goldsman, hiring him to create a "writer's room" with the intention of building a cinematic universe. Goldsman goes on to hire a number of writers over the next few months: Steven DeKnight (Daredevil), Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man), Christina Hodson (Shut In, The Fugitive), Lindsey Beer (Dig), Zak Penn (Pacific Rim 2), Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Lost), Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man), Ken Nolan (Black Hawk Down), and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. Involved in the pitching process are Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, and Don Murphy.
• May 27, 2015 — As part of the news surrounding Barrer and Ferrari joining the room, it's revealed that another pitch is an animated prequel movie set on Cybertron, with the working title of Transformers One.
• June 8, 2015 — The writers meet on the Paramount lot for the writer's room. The writers work for the next three months to plot out the next ten years of Transformers films.
• July 28, 2015 — DeKnight reports that as a result of the gathering of writers, Goldsman and Pinkner will be co-writing Transformers 5.
• September 17, 2015 — Deadline reveals more about the writer's room process and reports that Barrer and Ferrari will write the animated feature, with Pinkner and Beer writing later films. Bay remains uncommitted to directing.
• October 3, 2015 — Hasbro Studios's Stephen J. Davis relates more details of the writing process in a keynote speech at the MIP Junior Conference.
• November 20, 2015 — With Goldsman now enlisted to create a writer's room for G.I. Joe and Micronauts, Paramount begins negotiating with Marcum, Holloway and Nolan to write the film.
• December 14, 2015 — Wahlberg re-confirms in an interview with CinePop that he'll be back in Transformers 5.
• January 4, 2016 — Bay confirms he will be returning to direct.
• January 12, 2016 — It's totally definitely the last Transformers film for him this time though.
• February 12, 2016 — Transformers 5 is now being released on June 23, 2017. In addition, Transformers 6, acting as a Bumblebee spin-off, and Transformers 7 are set to be released respectively on June 8, 2018 and June 28, 2019.
• February 18, 2016 — Casting calls go out for June filming in London and Detroit, also confirming Peter Cullen's return as Optimus Prime.
• February 26, 2016 — After negotiations, it's announced that Michigan will provide $21 million in incentives towards the film.

5 movies in and Michael Bay is still finding ways to make my face even more ridiculously detailed. Pretty soon I'm going to look like Deceptigod.

• April 6, 2016 — Cinematographer Jonathan Sela is reported as being booked to work on the film.
• April 13, 2016 — Filming dates are revealed via a casting call on acting-auditions.org.
• May 12, 2016 — Isabela Moner tweets that she's been cast in the movie.
• May 14, 2016 — Bay suggests Tyrese Gibson is under consideration to return.
• May 16, 2016 — The film's title is officially revealed to be Transformers: The Last Knight in teaser trailer posted on a newly-launched Transformers Movie Instagram.
• May 17, 2016 — Josh Duhamel announced to be returning for Transformers: The Last Knight.
• May 25, 2016 — Michael Bay posts a photo as production begins in Cuba.
• May 27, 2016 — A teaser is posted containing morse code which translates to "I'm coming for you May 31st."
• May 31, 2016 — Michael Bay posts video of Megatron and announces production is about to start.
• June 3, 2016 — Anthony Hopkins joins the cast.
• June 4, 2016 — First look at Bumblebee's vehicle mode, which is a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro.
• June 4, 2016 — The World's Loneliest Dog is cast.
• June 10, 2016 — Barricade is confirmed to return as a 2016 Ford Mustang.
• June 18, 2016 — Mitch Pileggi reveals he has a role.

Back to the basics.

• June 20, 2016 — Laura Haddock joins the cast.
• June 22, 2016 — New robot character Sqweeks is revealed.
• June 28, 2016 — Tyrese Gibson is confirmed to return.
• June 30, 2016 — Santiago Cabrera joins the cast.
• July 1, 2016 — Drift is confirmed to return with a new Mercedes alt-mode.
• July 27, 2016 — Onslaught is confirmed to appear in the film.
• August 4–13, 2016 — A series of character profiles are released on the official movie Facebook. New character Hot Rod is first to be revealed, and Crosshairs and Hound are confirmed to return. Also shown are profiles for Drift, Sqweeks, Barricade, Megatron, and Bumblebee.
• August 9, 2016 — Members of a number of Transformers fan sites, including TFWiki, are treated to a set visit.
• September 4, 2016 — Stanley Tucci is back as Joshua Joyce (He later turned out to be playing Merlin, but it's unclear from the article where the confusion originated).

True fact: Isabela had to beat Megatron in an arm wrestling contest to get this part.

• September 24, 2016 — Location shooting at Blenheim Palace in England proved controversial as Winston Churchill's birthplace became draped in Nazi banners. Bay told BBC News that veterans shouldn't be too upset as Churchill is a "big hero" in the film.
• October 14, 2016 — Bay announces via Facebook that John Turturro will be back as Seymour Simmons & John Goodman back to voice Hound
• December 5, 2016 — The teaser trailer is released.
• February 3, 2017 — The "Big Game Spot" is released on YouTube.
• March 12, 2017 — The Kid's Choice Award Clip is revealed.
• March 17, 2017 — The "Izzy Stays and Fights" preview, a family-aimed trailer attached to Beauty and the Beast, is released.
• March 22, 2017 — Eight "motion posters" for the film's robot cast are released.
• April 12, 2017 — Another trailer is released.
• April 24, 2017 — As part of the "Reveal Your Shield" promotion, Hasbro releases a video featuring Peter Cullen and Frank Welker credited as the voices of Optimus and Megatron.
• May 5, 2017 — Variety reports that the film's release is being moved forward two days to June 21.
• May 7, 2017 — The "Optimus Prime Dialog Coach" teaser is released.
• May 9, 2017 — The "Secret Past" TV spot is released.
• May 15, 2017 — A preview of an Empire Magazine feature on the film includes the news that Jim Carter has been cast as Cogman.
• May 17, 2017 — The International Trailer is released.

Notes

• Tyrese Gibson was intended to return as Robert Epps, but the logistics of filming in Europe resulted in him being unable to take part.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Transformers Saigo no Kishiō (トランスフォーマー最後の騎士王, "Transformers: The Last Knight King")
• Finnish: Transformers: Viimeinen Ritari ("Transformers: The Last Knight")
• Italian: Transformers - L'ultimo cavaliere ("Transformers: The Last Knight")
• Korean: Teulaenseupomeo: Choehuui Gisa (트랜스포머: 최후의 기사, "Transformers: The Last Knight")
• Mandarin: Biànxíng Jīngāng 5: Zuìhòu de Qíshì (Taiwan, 變形金剛5：最後的騎士, "Transformers 5: The Last Knight"), Biànxíng Jīngāng 5: Zuìhòu de Qíshì (China, 变形金刚5：最后的骑士, "Transformers 5: The Last Knight")
• Portuguese: Transformers: O Último Cavaleiro (Brazil, "Transformers: The Last Knight"), Transformers 5 (Portugal)
• Russian: Transformery: Posledniy rytsar' (Трансформеры: Последний рыцарь, "Transformers: The Last Knight")
• Spanish: Transformers: El último caballero ("Transformers: The Last Knight")
• Ukrainian: Трансформери - Останній лицар ("Transformers: The Last Knight")

External links

• Transformersmovie.com
• The Last Knight at IMDB.com
• The Last Knight film on Wikipedia
• The Last Knight on RottenTomatoes.com