Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Movie Review
The live-action Transformers films have always had a difficult time striking a balance between box-office success and positive critical reception. Other than the black sheep of the franchise, “Bumblebee,” the 2018 film directed by Travis Knight which injected the series with a much-needed dose of heart and intimacy, the franchise has never been able to exceed the 57% rotten score it received on Rotten Tomatoes for the original in 2007. Yet, despite the poor critical response, the Transformers franchise has grossed over 4 billion dollars in global box office revenue. Ironically, even though “Bumblebee” was the most critically well-received film in the bunch, it contributed the least to that 4 billion dollar total, grossing just under 468 million dollars at the global box office. That being said, are audiences burnt out on the Transformers franchise, and is the newest installment “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” worth your time and money?
Directed by Steven Caple Jr. and starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is a direct sequel to Travis Knight’s 2018 “Bumblebee.” The story takes place in 1994, and follows Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), an ex-military electronics expert trying to keep his family afloat, and Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback), an artifacts researcher and museum intern, as they join the Autobots in a race to collect the pieces of a key that will either bring destruction to Earth or help send the Autobots back to their home planet of Cybertron. Joining the group on their mission is a new faction of Transformers called the Maximals, robots that disguise themselves as animals instead of vehicles. Led by Optimus Primal (voiced by Ron Perlman), the group includes Airazor (voiced by Michelle Yeoh), Rhinox (voiced by David Sobolov), and Cheetor (voiced by Tongayi Chirisa). The cast also includes Pete Davidson, Liza Koshy, and Cristo Fernández as Autobots, Mirage, Arcee, and Wheeljack respectively, as well Peter Dinklage as Scourge, the villain of the film.
In terms of tone “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” falls somewhere in between “Bumblebee” and the Michael Bay-directed Transformer films of the past. The dynamic between Anthony Ramos’s Noah and Pete Davidson’s Mirage is playful and entertaining, making it easy to invest in their relationship and journey over the course of the film. On top of this, the film also depicts a positive sibling relationship between Noah and his younger brother, Chris (played by Dean Scott Vasquez). The brothers lift each other up and inspire the other to be better when presented with their individual challenges, world-ending or otherwise. Dominique Fishback delivers a solid performance and is a far cry from the obnoxious human characters in the first five films. However, the script, unfortunately, relegates her character to nothing more than an exposition machine.
“Rise of the Beasts” clocks in at around 2 hours and 16 minutes, a standard runtime for most blockbuster films, and thanks to its pacing, the 2 hours fly by. Gone are the days of Michael Bay subjecting audiences to a torturous 3 hours and change of mindless metal-on-metal action sequences. Speaking of action, this is one area in which “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is rather hit or miss. The action is discernible thanks to the character designs carried over from the previous film, a huge improvement from the first five films. Nevertheless, the third act, like so many blockbusters these days, devolves into a giant battle between our main characters and hundreds of nameless creatures against a bland, grey background. While it’s exciting to finally see what is actually taking place, the sequence doesn’t set itself apart from other films of the genre in any meaningful way.
“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” isn’t the best Transformers film, but it certainly isn’t the worst either. All the inappropriate juvenile humor and racist stereotypes of the first five Michael Bay Transformers films have been ejected and replaced with fun Saturday morning cartoon action and storytelling. Frankly, the family-friendly tone the franchise should have struck from its inception. If you are looking for a mindless way to beat the heat this summer and entertain the kids for a few hours, there are far worse ways than sitting down in a theater to watch “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” If you want to accomplish all of that but watch a story with substance… buy tickets to see “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
Grade: 2.8/5