Twigs - Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Transformers has returned.

[Note: This review will discuss elements of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts promotional material, such as trailers. If you’re someone who enjoys going into new movies knowing as little as possible, you may want to skip reading this review.]

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the seventh live-action Transformers film, and a breath of fresh air for the franchise.

I hadn’t seen any Transformers films since Age of Extinction when it was released in 2014. Compared to the previous entries—two of which I still fondly remember—Age of Extinction was a disappointment that soured me on the franchise. While it had flashy action sequences, it felt very basic compared to action films like the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Mission: Impossible, which had more going on aside from explosions. Re-watching the live-action Transformers films (some for the first time ever) in preparation for Rise of the Beasts, though, I started getting into the flow of the movies. Dumb, fun action that wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. And, to be honest, felt like goofy ways for director Michael Bay to write Transformers fanfiction. While they weren’t perfect, I still found something to like about all of them. Seeing Bay’s films, I considered Dark of the Moon my favorite of the bunch, followed closely by the first Transformers.

But then I saw Bumblebee. And I realized that, with the right person in charge, Transformers could become a coveted film series rivaling many other familiar action franchises.

But Rise of the Beasts had me worried at first. While familiar Autobots like Optimus Prime and Bumblebee appear in the film, so too do newcomers Mirage, Arcee, and Wheeljack. Joining them is the Maximals, animal-based Transformers Optimus Primal, Airazor, Cheetor, and Rhinox. They face down the Terrorcons, consisting of their leader Scourge and his henchmen, Battletrap and Nightbird. The Terrorcons are also associated with Unicron, a massive planet-eating Transformer that seemingly serves as the main villain of the film. It seemed like a lot to juggle all at once, especially in a 2-hour time frame. Thankfully, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts succeeded. In so doing, it has ushered in a new, positive clean slate for the Transformers franchise to work with.

Taking place almost a decade after the events of Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts sees down-on-his-luck young man Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) accidentally aligned with the Autobots in a battle to save humanity. As it turns out, the planet-eating Unicron is searching for an artifact that would allow him to easily traverse the galaxy, feeding on as many planets as he wants to maintain eternal life. His allies, the Terrorcons, are hunting for the artifact, which was previously in the hands of the Maximals—a group of Transformers with tentatively interesting connections to the Autobots. Joining Noah is Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback), an artifact researcher who discovers part of the object the Terrorcons are looking for. Now, Noah and Elena must join forces with the Autobots to find the rest of the artifact and save their home.

However, the film is much more nuanced than that, with different characters having their own motivations for finding the artifact. The Autobots, Terrorcons, and even our human duo want the object for different reasons, something thoroughly explored during the film. Rise of the Beasts has a more dynamic story than any other Transformers film, as it maintains internal consistency while acknowledging the events of Bumblebee. And it spells out pretty clearly that Bumblebee was the beginning of a rebooted franchise. While watching Bay’s Transformers may be good for a comparative analysis, Rise of the Beasts can be enjoyed as a standalone fresh start for the series. However, I would encourage viewers to watch Bumblebee first, as the film adds to a few scenes during Rise of the Beasts.

One of the strongest elements of Rise of the Beasts was a clear focus on the Transformers as characters. Many other films have a very human-centic lens, which is understandable given the cost of CGI robots beating each other up. However, Rise of the Beasts makes the bold decision to forego the hyper detail of older Transformers films, giving the Transformers more time onscreen to develop as characters. The movie features a neat little arc between Noah and Mirage, which feels like a naturally-developing friendship. However, Optimus Prime is a standout in the movie, having a character arc that runs concurrent with Noah’s in a way that hasn’t happened before in live-action. It’s a very interesting storyline that proves Transformers films can be interesting beyond their action sequences.

The human characters also flowed neatly into the movie. Noah and Elena didn’t feel forced into the film, instead having key roles that were necessary for the plot to continue. They didn’t feel like they were there just because, “The movie’s set on Earth so we have to have humans in it!” Instead, they felt like fleshed-out, important parts of the storyline. Not only did this add to the tension of their scenes later in the movie, but it also made the parallels between Noah and Prime’s story feel important. While the human aspect of the movie does take around 20 minutes or so to reach this level of quality, once it gets going, it weaves itself into the story quite well.

And, of course, you can’t talk about a Transformers movie without also mentioning the action. Despite some sets in the third act feeling very barebones, it made sense from a story perspective—especially since Rise of the Beasts is the first part of a new Transformers series. Unlike some of the previous ensemble Transformers films, it’s easy to see what’s going on in Rise of the Beasts. The movement of the Transformers is fluid, as are their transformations and fight scenes. As could be expected, one highlight is a fight scene between Optimus Prime and Scourge, which contained a lot of fluid choreography and some fun quips as they tried to kill each other.

But what really makes Rise of the Beasts great is its heart. It doesn’t feel like it was made to be a dumb fun action film for people to take their kids to see. Rise of the Beasts felt like it was made with genuine passion for the Transformers universe. I am, unfortunately, unfamiliar with Transformers outside the live-action films and Transformers: Animated from when I was a kid. But just the sheer level of quality in the movie compared to many of the previous films made me feel like I was watching something genuinely Transformers. Like my eyes have been opened to what this franchise could do. Has it been like this all the time? I don’t know. But now I’m tempted to start watching the G1 animated series as soon as I can.

Now, this isn’t to say Rise of the Beasts isn’t without flaws. While Scourge is a cool villain, there is a lot left to be desired in terms of him and the Terrorcons’ development. There also appear to be some scenes in the trailer that were cut from the film, alongside a few contradictions as to what certain Transformers are capable of. While the movie somehow manages to not feel overcrowded, it also felt like it would have benefited from 10 to 15 more minutes of character moments. Particularly when it came to Scourge, Wheeljack, and the Maximals (namely Cheetor and Rhinox). There were also hints of two storylines that were seemingly cut from the movie, both of which could have made the film much more interesting. It seems Paramount wanted to keep the movie around two hours long to ensure people wouldn’t feel like it was too big. But, honestly, they should have risked making the movie an extra 15 minutes longer, which could have easily fixed many of the story and character issues the movie faces.

Beyond that, however, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a genuinely fun time at the theater. With plenty of action, a surprising amount of heart, and human characters that feel important to the story, Rise of the Beasts could be ushering in a new era for the Transformers franchise. There are plenty of interesting stories left to be told—so long as there’s an internal outline of where the story will go from here. I am cautiously optimistic about the future of the live-action Transformers series, but certain that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hints at an excellent new beginning.

***

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