Thanks to the intervention of competent directors and the award-deserving cinematography of Enrique Chediak, the Transformers franchise has finally scraped the lofty heights of basically serviceable blockbuster entertainment. The five-part series that existed as a target of mockery has now transformed into a straightforward IP marketing scheme to be thrown onto the pile with the others. There's some fun to be had with Rise of the Beasts, but appropriately, it has no spark.
Michael Bay has permanently stepped into the producer role. Travis Knight took over his seat in the previous installment, the highly acclaimed and vastly superior Bumblebee. Steven Caple Jr. of Creed II fame steps in for the seventh entry, bringing some unique ideas to the franchise. Joby Harold delivers the story with the help of a whopping four additional credited screenwriters. That lack of creative vision really hurts a film based on toy commercials.
The first scene of Rise of the Beasts sets up the stakes and the new heroes in the most generic possible terms. It's a mess of half-formed characters and overused tropes, setting a terrible tone for the remaining 120 minutes. One of the brand's most engaging villains, the planet-eating dark god Unicron, seeks a magical MacGuffin that will allow him to reach Earth. Unicron sends his envoy, the mighty Scourge, to Earth to secure his bounty. The item is in the care of the Maximals, robot organisms that turn into animals. The Autobots, robot organisms that turn into cars, want the MacGuffin to get home, Unicron wants it to keep eating planets, and the Maximals want to keep it away from Unicron. It's a simple, classic structure that fans may remember from almost every other Transformers film.
Into the interstellar war steps Noah Diaz, a former soldier who struggles to afford his little brother's medical care. Noah decides to steal a car to get the cash he needs, but the vehicle he selects happens to be a robot in disguise. Noah forms a fast friendship with Mirage and winds up being the Autobots' hired hand for the various tasks that are simply too small for them. Along the way, they pick up an underappreciated expert in ancient civilizations named Elena Wallace. With their help, Optimus Prime leads the Autobots to join the Maximals and meet Unicron's forces on the field of battle. As expected, it all builds to a massive CGI extravaganza that desperately wants to be the series' answer to Avengers: Endgame.
The biggest difference between Rise of the Beasts' climactic conclusion and that of Marvel's Infinity Saga is that people care about Marvel superheroes. Only two or three of the titular Transformers distinguish themselves beyond their visual designs. Even among them, fans will have concerns. Optimus Prime deviates from his usual wise paragon of honor and leadership routine, opting instead for a grumpy dad persona with a side of survivor's guilt. Peter Cullen portrays Prime again, excellent as always. Mirage is the most prominent Autobot, but he's a comic relief character voiced by SNL alum Pete Davidson. Most of his jokes don't work, but it's up to the individual viewer to decide whether it's the writing or the delivery. Bumblebee is back, speaking exclusively in movie quotes rather than the eclectic mix of radio sounds he used to rely on. Most of his lines are played and obvious, but the concept sets up for one of the film's only solid punchlines. Anthony Ramos performs admirably in the role of Noah, though he's not given much to work with. Most of the Maximals get almost no dialogue, but Michelle Yeoh as Airazor still stands out.
The action in Rise of the Beasts varies wildly. There are some great exchanges, but there are also long periods of multiple highly-trained robot warriors running around each other shooting lasers like children with Super Soakers. Though most of it has already been spoiled by the trailer, the car chase with Noah and Mirage is one of the high points. The Maximals might not be particularly engaging characters, but they add something to some action scenes. It'll be a cold day in Hell before a robot gorilla savagely beating several smaller robot insects gets boring. Unfortunately, they all transform into dull humanoid designs for the final battle, so that's a wash as well. The visuals are broadly better than in the Michael Bay films, but still frequently too busy and cluttered. Every improvement the franchise enjoyed in Bumblebee shows signs of regression in Rise of the Beasts. This bodes very poorly for a potential sequel.
Bumblebee was the unquestioned high point of this franchise's live-action output. Rise of the Beasts was pitched as a follow-up, but it feels more like an attempt to weave the old with the new. Its 90s rap soundtrack freshens things up, though it seems like a desperate attempt to inject some much-needed style into the film. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is desperate in many ways. The attempt to build to an Endgame comes off as sad, more than anything else. There will be fans of this film, and those who can turn off their brain will leave satisfied, but it's a step backward for the franchise. Bumblebee's transformation was for the better, but now they're rolling right back to their old habits.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a sci-fi action movie set after the events of 2018's Bumblebee as a series reboot of sorts and is heavily inspired by the Beast Wars series. The film follows two archaeologists who find themselves following the heroic Autobots as they come face to face with several other tribes of intergalactic transformers.