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Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
Transformers: Rise of The Beasts is the latest installment of the Transformers franchise. Rise of The Beasts serves as a sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee while ignoring the continuity of the Michael Bay films. The film is directed by Steven Caple Jr., who previously directed Creed II. The movie follows the Autobots as they try to prevent the destruction of Earth while teaming up with some new human characters and a new faction of Transformers, the Maximals.
If you are a Transformers fan there are some fun easter eggs and references to spot. This movie feels more true to the franchise and more fun than most of the other live-action movies barring Bumblebee. However, it is not without its flaws and doesn’t quite live up to its potential so let’s dive in.
Autobots and Humans
The new human characters are actually one of the better things about the movie. Anthony Ramos and Dominque Fishback are very likable and have good chemistry together. They play off each other well and even play off the Transformers well.
Ramo’s character, Noah, in particular, is a delight to watch especially in the lighter moments. Noah and Mirage, the new Autobot played by Pete Davidson, are at the core of the film. We see their relationship develop over the course of the movie in a fun and satisfying way. This is in large part due to the surprisingly excellent voice acting from Davidson.
Optimus Prime is the only other Autobot with major screen time. As always Peter Cullen delivers a great performance as Prime. Optimus Prime, Mirage, and Noah have a good dynamic and it is one of the highlights of the film. Prime and Noah serve as good mirrors to each other and demonstrate that the Transformers and Humans aren’t that different after all.
Maximals and Terrocons
Despite its title, Rise of The Beasts does spend much time with the new Beast characters the Maximals. The only Maximals with any significant screen time are Airrazor and Optimus Primal, played by Michelle Yeoh and Ron Pearlman respectively. Both Yeoh and Pearlman have good voice work here and I wish both characters had more screen time. Unfortunately, the other two Maximals, Cheetor and Rhinox have almost zero presence in the film. Together they had a total of three lines of dialogue. Overall it is an underwhelming showing for the Maximals in a movie that seemed like it would have a whole lot more to do with them.
The Terrocons make for mediocre antagonists. The main antagonist Scourge is somewhat intimating but Peter Dinklage is not fit for voice acting. Most of his line delivery comes across as very flat and uninspired. Scourge’s two henchmen get some good action sequences but otherwise are unremarkable.
Overall, the issue with characters is that there are too many of them. There are two human characters, seven Autobots, four Maximals, and three Terrocons, and just not enough to make all of them memorable or develop them.
A Simple but Engaging Plot
Transformers: Rise of The Beasts has a simple story, the Autobots want to get their hands on the new MacGuffin, the Transwarp key, and use it to go home, while the Terrorcons want to use the key to destroy Earth. Thankfully, these world-ending stakes aren’t everything in the movie. Noah’s main motivation is to protect his younger brother and help pay for his medical treatments. This motivation gave the movie a grounding and more relatable emotional core that is desperately needed at a time when most blockbusters are about the end of the world. Still, I think spending so much time on human characters in these movies is a mistake. I’d rather more time going to the Transformers themselves and developing those characters and their stories.
The plot does move a little bit fast which works for and against it. On the one hand, we don’t spend too much time idling on exposition or in one location, on the other hand, there’s not enough time to develop much in the movie besides the few aforementioned relationships. For the most part, I was never bored with the movie but always left wanting a little bit more from it.
Third Act, Bland Act
As far as the third act goes, it runs into the typical problems of third acts in big blockbuster action movies. The final battle takes place in a drab grey battlefield with thousands of nameless grey enemies for the heroes to fight through. It’s frustrating since the final act takes place in beautiful Peru, yet for the final battle the gorgeous scenery is ignored. That said the action in this final battle is very easy to follow compared to previous installments and it was easy enough to tell the different Autobots and Maximals apart which is a godsend for this franchise. And there are plenty of great action moments in this fight that one can somewhat overlook the blandness.
Additionally, the final battle does also have the best moment of the movie. No spoilers here, but the needle drop that comes with this moment put a huge smile on my face that lasted until the end of the movie. On the other hand, the big emotional moment of the film that involves Noah is somewhat underwhelming, mostly because of the poor VFX associated with that moment. It’s a shame because the rest of the VFX throughout the movie is quite good, but this moment is poorly done in comparison and it really took me out of the movie.
You (Almost) Got The Touch
I don’t think this is the Transformers movie that fans and general audiences have been waiting for. It is a huge improvement over the Michael Bay movies in almost every way. We get cleaner and easier-to-follow action, more accurate Transformers designs, and more likable humans, but does fall into some of the same traps Bays’ films did. For instance, we have yet another Transformer movie about trying to get some MacGuffin. Chunks of the dialogue can be mind-numbingly dumb at times.
Rise of The Beasts spends more time with the Transformers than before but many of them still feel like action figures than actual characters. I think following up Bumblebee with such a big-scale action movie was a mistake. The movie feels torn between wanting to have the charm of Bumblebee and the action and scale of the Bay films. Thankfully, however, it leans more toward Bumblebee than Bay.
Ultimately, Transformers: Rise of The Beasts is a decent popcorn flick that provides a good foundation for any future installments for this iteration of the franchise but it could have been so much more.
3/5 stars.
Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
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