Transformers: The Last Knight IMAX 3D Featurette

Michael Bay’s Transformers movie series has been one of the biggest promoters of the IMAX movie format – and vice versa. The two go hand-in-hand, as Bay’s bombastic action movie shooting style and visual craftsmanship (yes, he has that) is fully captured in the sharp detail of a “true” IMAX camera shot.

When Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen came out in 2009, Bay was just experimenting with individual sequences of true IMAX, and it took months upon months to fully render the shots; as IMAX camera technology (and the skills of applying it) has progressed, Bay has gotten more ambitious about getting his Transformers movie presented in that colossal scope – and the next installment, Transformers: The Last Knight will be no different.

As you can see in the featurette, Bay and Co. are filming The Last Knight using newly developed rigs that can combine the IMAX and 3D shots in real-time. There’s the usual sales pitch about the clarity and “mind-boggling” experience of seeing the imagery – but let’s focus on the behind-the-scenes footage included in the video.

From the combine imagery we see, our analyst conclude that… this is pretty much a par for the course Transformers movie. Count the following:

• A high-stakes human protagonist/Bumblebee chase scene.
• Historical revision that includes the Transformers (Medieval times, in this film).
• A sinister-looking human (Anthony Hopkins) seemingly hunting for a Transformers artifact at a famous site (Stonehenge).
• US Military montages with subtle American flag placement.
• Hysterical female character in distress and facing peril.
• EXPLOSIONS!

So, if you were hoping for something better, or lessons to have been learned… why, at this point, would you expect any changes? Another Michael Bay Transformers movie is what we’re going to see – with a an IMAX 3D ticket price, to boot.

NEXT: Bumblebee Spinoff Movie Still Happening

Transformers: The Last Knight will be in theaters on June 23, 2017.