"Transformers: Age of Extinction is darker" says actor Jack Reynor

What is it with movies wanting to go dark nowadays? Perhaps it's down to the box office-shattering success of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, which proved that going gloomy really can bring in the big bucks.

Either way, the latest film to go over to the dark side, according to Irish actor Jack Reynor, is Transformers: Age of Extinction. Jack plays the boyfriend of Mark Wahlberg's on-screen daughter in the film – you may remember me blogging about it a while back – and he has promised a fresh take on the enormously successful film series.

"This Transformers is a little bit darker than the previous ones were maybe," says the actor who first grabbed the film world's attention in drama What Richard Did. In an interview with America's Michigan Daily, Jack also promised greater character development when it comes to the film's heroic Autobots.

"I think that you're going to see the Autobots in this movie maybe reflect a little bit of a sense of anger and resentment that might be something that we see in contemporary society," he explains, "particularly in the United States."

Jack's words come hot on the heels of Michael Bay's attention grabbing declaration that the films are comparable with the aforementioned Dark Knight trilogy. "It's like when you get the new Batman franchises," Bay explains to 3news, "things get dressed up in a different way. I think the franchise still has a lot more to offer."

Well, here's hoping the film will find at least some room for massive explosions and carnage – after all, this is a Michael Bay film we're talking about.

Transformers: Age of Extinction erupts on 10th July. Do you think the films bear comparison with Nolan's Batman movies? Post a comment below.