“Transformers: Rise of The Beasts” Review: A New Era Rolls Out For The Transformers

Are we in a time machine or does it feel like December 2018 all over again? Let’s see. Five years ago, we had “Into The Spider-Verse”. Excellent. Next, we had “Aquaman”… and also “Bumblebee”! And now, we’re having sequels to all of these movies within the same month? Man, this is crazy! Indeed, the blockbuster season is in session, baby!

Regardless, today is the day we return to the world of Saturday morning cartoons with the release of “Transformers: Rise of The Beasts”. So, let’s roll out our thoughts on this film.

It’s crazy to think that we’re in a whole new era of Transformers after years of Michael Bay’s reign at the helm of these films. “Bumblebee” being a launchpad for a new era in the franchise felt like a compelling notion. The Hailee Steinfeld-led feature was a massive critical success by keeping it small, focusing on her character and development with the yellow bot. Its contained narrative worked well as it was more heartfelt and resonant than its predecessors.

Travis Knight’s “Bumblebee” got it right. It had the essence of what made the Robots in Disguise lovable. The colours were vibrant and aesthetically pleasing, allowing audiences to distinguish the characters within the frames. Indeed, it felt like a reinvention and revival of the series after a decade of mindless explosions in the middle of the desert, awkward lewd jokes, and huge chunks of unidentifiable metal flying across the screen.

Therefore, the giant question is: does “Rise of The Beasts” use the qualities that “Bumblebee” ran with so well, clinch it in its paws, and fly?

True to the title, we begin with the introduction of the Maximals, Transformers that convert into mechanized animals, as Ron Perlman’s booming voice announces the new threat encompassing their homeworld. The devil himself has arrived. Unicron, the devourer of worlds and chaos-bringer, looms over the Maximals’ planet, his jaws wide open in preparation to consume it.

On the ground, Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman), Airazor (Michelle Yeoh), Cheetor, and Rhinox rendezvous with Apelinq, in hopes of reclaiming whatever they have left when the reformatted demon spawn of Unicron lands in the forest ahead of them. Scourge (Peter Dinklage), Terrorcon, and servant of the chaos-bringer, is on a mission to ensure that his master is satiated and quenched.

Now, we move forward to Brooklyn, 1994, as the Autobots, comprised of Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), Arcee (Liza Koshy), Mirage (Pete Davidson), and Bumblebee, are searching longingly for a way back to their home planet of Cybertron.

The main human protagonist this time is Anthony Ramos’ Noah Diaz, a Brooklyn native with a penchant for electronics. The struggles of life are settling in as he is unemployed, and worse, his brother has been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.

He’s desperate for money, and for a job so that he can help his brother. But he keeps getting turned down, with the executives telling him that he doesn’t know how to work in a team. It isn’t easy, and Noah is eager to get that one “W” so that he can help his lil brother find medical care.

On the other hand, we’re also introduced to Elena (Dominique Fishback), a museum intern with extensive knowledge of relics and ancient cultures. She wants to be seen, but her supervisor doesn’t provide that sort of opportunity. Her efforts are thrown to the side, as she is seen as a lowly intern.

However, she soon discovers the existence of the Transwarp Key, which is a crucial component of a portal, after it arrives within the walls of the museum. However, after taking it upon herself to study it, she accidentally activates it, sending a beacon out to the Transformers in range. So, this is where the fun begins.

Now, we can say that the movie started off pretty strong. The Maximal element was a good mystery and the Scourge/Unicron threat was menacing. With the Autobots grouping up, Noah is given the chance to get his “W” as he is whisked away by the blue and silver bot, Mirage.

The movie does provide a change of the spotlight from the quiet Bumblebee to the energetic Mirage. Pete Davidson is zippy and quick in this as he gives Mirage a “cool bro” type of personality to complement Noah, and also Prime. Without a doubt, this new bot and his abilities are one of the highlights here.

Prime, on the other hand, is vastly different from when we last saw him in “Bumblebee”. He’s a different leader, an angry general. He blames himself for stranding the Autobots on Earth, and not being able to return to Cybertron to rescue their homeworld. It was meant to be a galactic pit stop to regroup, but they’ve not been able to find a way out.

In a way, the film tries to juxtapose its human and robot leads. Noah is lost in his life. He’s desperate to keep his team functioning and intact in the same way Prime wants the best for his Autobots. But both brothers have hit their lowest and need to find the strength to get back up. Indeed, we can say that the writing for Optimus here is actually the best we’ve seen throughout the seven films we’ve had. He’s still the stoic leader, but he’s broken, grasping for a way out. All of these are solid components in the gear system of this film.

Alas, narrative components begin falling apart when the journey moves forward to Machu Picchu during the second act. The cracks in its relics begin to open up, as it becomes more exposed, allowing room for flaws to flow in. As if on cue, an old, beaten-up Autobot flies in, spitting out junk, denoting the inception of this unravelling.

We’re all for compact adventures, where the runtime isn’t too drawn out, and the adventures don’t overstay their welcome. That being said, there are a bunch of sequences within the second and third acts that resolve themselves way too quickly and consequences are sometimes shoved aside as well.

Oh, you need an ancient Inca code that people on Earth have barely studied, let alone known about? Hey, hey, hey, this lady right here knows the exact combination after looking at it for a day.

You need to revive someone? Here’s a convenient deposit of rocks that contain the elixir of life.

Yes, yes, we know, in a movie about robots turning into cars, sometimes logic can be left out the window. Then again, that’s more to the physical side of things. And in this case, in a narrative sense, we firmly believe that it has to collect its own medals by earning them. Many a time, there’s a reliance on trouble-free resolutions. To echo the sass of Ryan George from his pitch meetings, it’s “super easy, barely an inconvenience”.

The movie continues a frustrating trend of having throwaway villains of the week. Despite the menace and sheer brutal factor that the Terrorcons had, especially when it came to Peter Dinklage’s Scourge, by the end of it all, it all felt like they had nothing else to contribute and were cast into the sewers. It was a missed opportunity for a greater threat and expansion of the vile attributes, we would say.

Besides, we also think that some of the lore, especially relating to the Maximals, could have been explained or explored a little better as we are left with some loose ends by the conclusion. Obviously, the Robots in Disguise intend to continue their story with the next film, and of course, they wouldn’t want to put all their eggs into one basket. However, some lines make little to no sense without some sort of context and some teases or elaboration could have helped the cause.

That being said, we still think that it is good on Hasbro and Paramount’s part to bring all of these elements into live-action as there is a whole bunch of characters and potential concepts that still haven’t made it to the big screen. Predacons, Junkions, city-sized Gigantions, and more. It’s a step in the right direction. And, it seems like exciting things are ahead in this new era of toy-based movies.

“Rise of The Beasts” isn’t quite the airtight sequel to “Bumblebee” we were hoping for as some narrative decisions could have been executed better. Despite that, we still think it takes after its smaller predecessor in bringing some much-needed heart and soul that was lacking in Bay’s films. Noah’s journey is flawed but compels viewers fairly enough to root for him.

Furthermore, it goes hard on the action, which is important as well, ramping it all the way up to new heights. Transformations and the fluidity in their motion have never looked so good. And we whooped and cheered when it mattered as Primal bites the head of a Scorponok, and Arcee rides Rhinox into battle.

Again, this is a franchise that is full of potential and lore from the comics and classic animated series. There’s so much material that can be used. The only matter is how. Although “Rise of The Beasts” is flawed, it does improve on some ideas and set the stage for greater things. We’ve got more Transformers films coming, with one of them fully set on Cybertron (cautiously optimistic about that). Just polish up on the writing, and we’ve got a “W” hit on our hands.

Till all are one!

“Transformers: Rise of The Beasts” is currently playing in theatres.