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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Review

June 9, 2023 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris
TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS” Image Credit: Paramount Pictures, Skydance
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Review  

Directed By: Steven Caple Jr.
Written By: Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber; Based on Hasbro’s Transformers Action Figures
Runtime: 127 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language

Anthony Ramos – Noah Diaz
Dominique Fishback – Elena Wallace
Peter Cullen – Optimus Prime
Pete Davidson – Mirage
Ron Perlman – Optimus Primal
Peter Dinklage – Scourge
Michelle Yeoh – Airazor
Liza Koshy – Arcee
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez – Nightbird
Cristo Fernández – Wheeljack
Luna Lauren Velez – Breanna Diaz
Dean Scott Vazquez – Kris Diaz
Tobe Nwigwe – Reek
David Sobolov – Battletrap/Apelinq
Colman Domingo – Unicron

The beloved sentient robots known as the Transformers make their long-awaited return to the big screen in the new sequel, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. While there was progress in the efforts of the franchise’s previous 2018 film, Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts dramatically jettisons all of that with a clunky, messy, blundering in one fell swoop. It’s the cinematic definition of taking two steps forward followed by five steps back.

Following the events of Bumblebee, a select number of the Autobots remain stranded on Earth, including the Autobot leader Optimus Prime (Cullen, once again returns to voice the character), the still-mute Bumblebee, Arcee (Koshy), and the wild and funky Mirage (Davidson). However, in a different time and galaxy, another race of sentient robots, the animalistic, bestial Maximals flee their jungle planet home from planet-eating menace known as Unicron (Domingo) and his cadre of Terrorcon minions led by the spiteful Scourge (Dinklage). The Maximals possess a precious artifact, and if Unicron gets his mandibles on it, the entire universe will be his buffet. After the valiant Apelinq (Sobolov) christens his second-in-command, Optimus Primal (Perlman), as the team’s new leader, the Maximals flee their home with the artifact to protect it from Unicron and the Terrocons.

Back on Earth, a prospective archeologist and museum intern, Elena (Fishback), discovers the artifact which was unearthed after being hidden for thousands of years. She unwittingly activates it, signaling its existence to the Autobots, along with the other Terrorcons who have been scouring the galaxy for its location. For the Autobots, the artifact, this movie’s designated McGuffin, is the key to returning to their home planet of Cybertron, but the retrieval by the Terrorcons retrieving means the certain destruction of Earth. At the heart of the story is the young, former soldier Noah Diaz (Ramos), who left the military behind to help provide for his working-class mother (Luna Velez) and ailing brother Kris (Vazquez), who is suffering from Sickle cell anemia. Noah is unwittingly drawn into the Autobots’ plight during a heist where he attempts to carjack Mirage. Mirage has adeptly adapted to Earth culture and takes a liking to Noah, believing he can help the Autobots, much to the reluctance of Optimus Prime, who does not care for humans. Unfortunately, their journey to collect the key puts them on a collision course with the Terrorcons and Unicron, and it will take the combined might of the Autobots, the Maximals, and their new human friends to save all of existence.

Rise of the Beasts has no less than five credited screenwriters, and it shows. The movie is a clunky mess. It moves the franchise back to the doldrums of the Michael Bay style, which is regrettable. The plot progresses in a haphazard, herky-jerky fashion. Nothing is coherently established, and narrative events unfold with little effort. It’s not clear why the Autobots cannot return to Cybertron. Beforehand, travel to Earth from Cybertron looked relatively simple. Not to mention, is Cybertron even a safe place to return to?

The film’s biggest additions are the Maximals. While there is some intrigue in seeing these new sentient robot beings, they only clutter and weigh the film down in a narrative where they are not necessary. Not to mention, Optimus Primal is the only member of the Maximals who receives any actual character development. Cheetor and Rhinox are present, but they have absolutely nothing to do. In fact, other than Airazor and Optimus Primal, none of the Maximals and Autobots interact with each other. This is a problem the Transformers films have always suffered from and continues in Rise of the Beasts. Common sense would dictate that Rhinox is a scientist who could aid Autobots in their search for the artifact and decoding ancient symbols, or he could bond and assist Elena. Instead, Rhinox is just a grunting rhinoceros who says all but one word.

There is no meaningful interaction between Cheetor and Bumblebee, which would have been amusing considering they serve similar roles in the social hierarchy of their respective teams. Unfortunately, Bumblebee takes a backseat for most of the movie, and the marketing materials already blatantly spoiled why this is the case. Bumblebee is still sadly stuck in his no-talking mode and only communicates through old audio recordings. The convention is a tired, overused storytelling crutch that should have died sixteen years ago; yet sadly, still forced upon audiences in 2023.

Wheeljack is another character horrendously adapted for the screen. When Noah notices Wheeljack’s accent, he attempts to speak with him in Spanish, then Wheeljack looks at Noah like he’s a Sharkticon. Even though this version of Wheeljack shares nothing in common with the classic character, at the very least, the writers could have done something interesting with an Autobot who has probably spent years on Earth adapting to Earth culture, learning multiple languages, and immersing himself in Peruvian culture. At least that would underscore that perhaps an Autobot learned the value of Earth, humans, and their cultures, wanting to save and protect humanity from Unicron. It also could have influenced Optimus Prime’s journey of enlightenment. Instead, that opportunity is tossed aside for one throwaway gag regarding Wheeljack’s accent.

Unicron’s Terrorcon commander Scourge leaves much to be desired as a villain. Besides making Scourge a grunting, evil bad guy, Peter Dinklage has little to work with. Was he once a Decepticon? What made him serve Unicron? None of those ideas are ever addressed. The plot suggests that Scourge is Unicron’s unwilling slave, forced into his servitude, but the movie does not delve deeper into this idea. The other Terrorcons, Battletrap and Nightbird, look impressive but serve little purpose other than window dressing.

Director Steven Caple Jr. does attempt to reinforce the franchise’s ongoing central emotional relationship between a human and Autobot car, this time with Noah and Mirage. Mirage is goofier and more annoying than likable. Noah’s relationship with the Autobots and Mirage is poorly developed, and the method that thrusts together plays out in an overly convenient and clumsy fashion.

In terms of action, Rise of the Beasts does have its moments. Caple Jr. at least frames and sets up the action scenes skillfully, and it highlights the robots well. But large-scale action has never been the problem in the Transformers films, aside from the fact that there is usually way too much of it, so much so that the narrative becomes incoherent. Some inspiring moments are realized in live-action that longtime fans of the franchise will undoubtedly find very exciting. The calamitous Chaos Bringer Unicron, at the very least, looks awe-inspiring. And while much of the dialogue exchanges throughout the film play in a very clunky, awkward manner, there are some moments, usually from Cullen as Prime and Perlman as Primal, that will raise goosebumps.

The only character arc that somewhat works throughout the film is Optimus Prime learning a sense of humility from the monk-like, compassionate Optimus Primal, and that is more from Perlman’s performance as Primal, which is the best one in the film. The drawback is that despite the presence of five screenwriters, they all fail to seize on the opportunity of mixing the Autobots and the Maximals. Optimus Prime never even questions who the Maximals are and how they know about the Autobots, nor does he seem interested in where they came from and their connection to the Autobots. Airazor offhandedly mentions that they are from the future. Unless an audience member watched the Beast Wars animated series, they might not understand any of this.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is big, large-scale, and ambitious, but the story never meets the ambition. What helped Bumblebee was telling a smaller and more intimate plot, which was an improvement. However, Rise of the Beasts instantly unravels that progress. Even the tease of a potential of a Hasbro shared universe is poorly handled and fails to raise the excitement level.

5.0
The final score: review Not So Good
The 411
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has some moments of quality between a few inspired action scenes and performative moments, usually from Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal, not to mention a definitive live-action depiction of Unicron. Unfortunately, its attempts to widen the scope of the story fail to live up to the franchise's true potential. Rise of the Beasts is the cinematic equivalent of two steps forward, five steps back.
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