Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – Film Review
The main Transformers series has been exhausted so now Paramount are finding new avenues to explore within the universe. After the success of the 2018 prequel/spin-off Bumblebee, we now have Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which is both a sequel to Bumblebee and a prequel to 2007’s Transformers.
The film, set in New York in 1994, stars Anthony Ramos as Noah, a former military electronics whiz looking for money and a job. One day, he steals a car, which turns out to be an Autobot named Mirage (voiced by Pete Davidson). At the same time, Elena (Dominique Fishback), a museum intern, uncovers a Transwarp Key, which can help the Autobots return to their home planet of Cybertron. However, their enemies, the Terrorcons, want the key for themselves so Unicron, a planet-eating entity, can consume Earth. Obviously, a battle ensues!
Bumblebee was a refreshing change of pace for the franchise. It was so charming, had so much heart and was a breath of fresh air. Rise of the Beasts is a huge step backwards because it returns to the tried and tested formula we’ve seen five times before. The storytelling is generic and all too familiar, the beats are predictable, and the dialogue gets progressively worse as it goes along.
Watching two CGI machines duke it out does not particularly excite me. I found myself glazing over during the fight scenes because I couldn’t bring myself to care. The CGI is well done, but the final showdown is a big grey mess. Plus, the stakes are very low because you know which characters make it into the 2007 original.
Bumblebee is still the fan-favourite Transformer, but Mirage is a great new addition with a fun personality and rapport with Noah. I used to like Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) a lot but he is lumbered with all the exposition and eye-rolling dialogue. There are new good guys in the mix too – robotic animals called Maximals, which are introduced much later than the title would suggest. Airazor (Michelle Yeoh) and Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman), a bird and a gorilla, are the best of that bunch.
Ramos and Fishback give it their all and try to hold their own among their CGI co-stars. They are given substantial introductions and have decent dialogue and personalities at the start but they just become overshadowed by all the robots and the script goes out of the window once the action truly kicks in.
If you’re a big fan of the original Transformers franchise then Rise of the Beasts will probably work for you, but personally, I could not engage with this uninspired and soulless cash-grab.
In cinemas from Thursday 8th June