“Transformers: The Last Knight.” Or is it?

“Transformers Universe: Bumblebee” is set for a June 2018 release. A sixth “Transformers” is set for a June 2019 release.“Transformers: The Last Knight” evokes the legend of King Arthur (Liam Garrigan) and the Knights of the Round Table. In the Transformers revision of the legend, Merlin the Wizard (Stanley Tucci) forges an alliance with the Knights of Iacon, 12 Transformers who hid on Earth. Merlin’s magic staff, given to him by the Knights, helps Arthur, aided by a dragon, to triumph over the Saxons.In one of the lengthiest time-leap title cards in motion picture history, 1,600 years later, the international Transformer Reaction Force is tasked to eliminate Transformers from Earth. The destroyed Chicago sports stadium (from “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” 2014) brings together Izabella (Isabela Moner) and Sqweeks (resembling the robot from “Short Circuit,” 1986), Bumblebee and Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), who’s given a talisman that Megatron, leader of the evil Decepticons, wants. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime is on Cybertron, controlled by Quintessa, and headed for Earth in search of Merlin’s staff.British Lord Sir Edmund Burton (Sir Anthony Hopkins), keeper of Transformers’ lore, is assisted by Cogman (a robot that looks so much like C-3PO from “Star Wars” that the screenplay includes a joke about it). Viviane Wembly (Laura Haddock) is an Oxford professor and descendant of Merlin.When on-screen, Wahlberg, Hopkins, Haddock and Moner are fine. The trouble is, they’re not on screen enough. Instead, we get mind-numbing mayhem.There’s too much story and too little character development in the screenplay by Art Marcum (screenplay, “Iron Man,” 2008); Matt Holloway (screenplay, “Iron Man”) and Ken Nolan (screenplay, “Black Hawk Down,” 2001) from a story by Akiva Goldsman (screenplays, “I Am Legend,” 2007; “The Da Vinci Code,” 2006; “I, Robot,” 2004; Oscar recipient, screenplay, “A Beautiful Mind,” 2001; “Batman Forever,” 1995), Marcum, Holloway and Nolan.Director Michael Bay (director, “13 Hours,” 2016; and the four previous “Transformers”; “Pearl Harbor,” 2001; “Armageddon,” 1998; “Bad Boys,” 1995) keeps all the parts moving. Dialogue quips help relieve the tedium. The computer-generated imagery and action is spectacular. The settings at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, England, are magnificent.If the Transformers Universe is to be expanded a la the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, better stories and more character development is needed.“Transformers: The Last Knight,”MPAA Rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13) for violence and intense sequences of sci-fi action, language, and some innuendo; Genres: action, adventure, science-fiction; Run time: 2 hrs. 29 mins.; Distributed by Warner Bros.Credit Readers Anonymous:Midway through “Transformers: The Last Knight” credits, which are unusually short, Quintessa (in human form) views a horn of Unicron.Box Office,June 30: Weekend box office results were unavailable because of the early July 4 holiday deadline.Unreel,July 7:“Spider-Man: Homecoming,”PG-13: Jon Watts directs Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei in the action, adventure, science-fiction film that takes place after “Captain America: Civil War” (2016). Peter Parker must balance high school life with his Spider-Man life.“A Ghost Story,”R: David Lowery directs Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, McColm Cephas Jr. and Kenneisha Thompson in the drama, fantasy, romance about a ghost returning to a suburban house to comfort his widow.Two popcorn boxes out of five popcorn boxes.