CinemaCon '14: 2 Lessons We Learned From The Rock and Mark Wahlberg

Talk about a solid opening scene. On Monday evening, Paramount Pictures helped kick off this year’s fourth annual CinemaCon in Las Vegas with a bang - or Rock, rather.

Box office champ Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson worked the room as he anchored the studio’s opening night presentation in front of the largest annual gathering of movie theater owners and operators. Johnson introduced his upcoming epic, “Hercules," which was followed by a first look at the turtles in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” and a 13-minute Michael Bay-approved sizzle reel for “Transformers: Age of Extinction.”

Here’s what we learned from Paramount’s presentation:

[The Rock Wears Beard Made of Real Yak Hair, Transforms Into ‘Hercules]

1. Nothing Excites Industry Professionals Like Robot-on-Robot ‘Transformers’ Action

The evening’s final act was a very lengthy reel of footage from “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” introduced by stars Wahlberg, Reynor, Peltz… and the added “cute factor” of Wahlberg’s daughter Ella, who came onstage holding Peltz’s hand. Wahlberg apologized to the crowd on director Michael Bay’s behalf, who was not in attendance because he is busy editing the movie. He also added a personal note that the only place for a Bay movie to be seen is in a theater — which naturally drew a healthy round of applause from the audience full of theater owners. Before rolling the footage, Wahlberg boldly predicted that this new “Transformers” installment “will be the biggest movie of 2014.”

[Related: 'Transformers: Age of Extinction' Trailer Reveals New Cars, Stars, and Dinosaurs]

Onto the 13 minutes of footage, which opens with a brief shot of a small dinosaur — not a Dinobot — in some other world that is not earth, but quickly cuts to and teases a LOT of action. And LOTS of Transformers, most of which we’ve seen in the trailers. We get our first bit of insight into who Cade Yeager (Wahlberg) is, a struggling inventor and single dad trying to make ends meet. He and his daughter Tessa (Peltz) have a “Who’s taking care of whom”-type conversation, indicating that she worries about him as much as he worries about her. There’s talk about making ends meet, being able to afford a prom dress, and our favorite: a father-like comment about his daughter’s too-short shorts — a nice wink and nod perhaps to Bay’s penchant for always drawing focus to his leading ladies’ tanned legs.

Once the “old truck” (aka Optimus Prime) arrives on the scene, the action kicks into high gear once again. Cade, Tessa, and newly-discovered boyfriend Shane (Reynor) are soon running and fighting for their lives all over the world, witnessing robot-vs-robot fights, including one intriguing battle between an apparently Government-controlled Galvatron and Optimus Prime.

2. Wahlberg’s ‘Transformers’ Role Earned Him ‘Cool’ Dad Points

When we asked how much of the finished film he’s seen, Wahlberg admitted he’d seen far “more than most,” and that even better than getting an early look at “Extinction,” his kids have been able to screen it with him. Their takeaway? Dad looks cool wielding guns and battling evil robots, even if Dad doesn’t think so himself.

"I don’t feel like I look cool, I think the movie looks really cool," Wahlberg told Yahoo Movies. "I’m a father of four and I’m playing a father. I’ve embraced my getting older and my kids, it’s funny having them see something like this, because they’ve seen pieces of the movie, and their reaction to it is, ‘That’s cool.’"

So they think dad looks cool?

"Yeah," he said, brushing off any focus on himself. "Other people think it’s cool. … I’m excited. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a movie that is more anticipated."

As for little Ella’s cameo at CinemaCon: “This is her first time in Vegas, and hopefully her last,” Wahlberg joked to the crowd.

[Related: Michael Bay Taking ‘Mutant’ Out of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Reboot]

Additional star power included “Turtles” cast member Will Arnett with unaffiliated “special guest” David Cross, as well as Mark Wahlberg, Jack Reynor, and Nicola Peltz from “Transformers.”

Watch the ‘Transformers Age of Extinction’ Teaser Trailer (Which Debuted Earlier This Year):