Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Nonetheless a film about massive space robots hurling insults at each other, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is one of the better entries in this franchise.
This latest summer extravaganza based on Hasbro toys doesn’t reach the heights of 2018’s unexpectedly delightful Bumblebee. But it beats any of the five clamorous blockbusters directed by Michael Bay between 2007 and 2017, with Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) bringing narrative focus and visual coherence that have been sorely missing in the past. You can actually see what’s happening in these enormous action sequences, which is always a plus.
Fans will likely bask in the childhood nostalgia of seeing these beloved characters come to life once again; Rise of the Beasts also features Maximals from the Transformers: Beast Wars TV series besides the Autobots led as always by Optimus Prime and voiced by Peter Cullen with his signature gravitas and various intergalactic villains doing Unicron’s (Colman Domingo) bidding as he devours planets. They’re all after an ancient, McGuffiny doohickey that’s super powerful and can cause lots of damage.
But what makes Rise of the Beasts palatable for everyone else is its surprising care with human beings caught in the middle of this battle between good and evil writ large. That’s been rare in a series known more for bland types and groan-inducing banter among Bay movies. The screenplay, credited to five people, gives likable Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback room to create characters we might actually care about.
Yes, it does seem inherently contradictory to say “I want more humanity in my movie about extraterrestrial beings disguising themselves as cars and trucks.” But that’s what sets Rise of the Beasts apart, just as Travis Knight’s ’80s-set Bumblebee did.
This isn’t exactly a sequel to Bumblebee, but it does pick up shortly after that film in 1994 and before the events of the first Transformers. So it’s kind of a prequel and kind of a reboot. Whatever you want to call it, it’s set in a grungy, pre-Giuliani New York City where Noah Diaz (Ramos) is a former military electronics expert who’s looking for work to support his family including his adorable little brother Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez), who has a chronic illness and Elena (Fishback) is an artifacts expert at a museum on Ellis Island fighting to prove herself as knowledgeable beyond her years. They’re both young people of color being repeatedly underestimated and marginalized by predominantly white people in positions of power, which provides more context and social criticism than we typically see in movies like these.
Both find themselves thrown into the hunt for the all-important Transwarp Key Noah when he tries to steal what turns out to be an Autobot Porsche, Elena when she studies a new sculpture that’s come into the lab with mysterious symbols on it. One of the most enjoyable parts of Rise of the Beasts is the back and forth between Ramos and Pete Davidson as Mirage, the wisecracking sports car, the role calls for Davidson to tap into his irreverent, playful persona here, which is perfect casting and may be some of his best work ever.
Some other notable members of the voice cast include Michelle Yeoh as Airazor, a Maximal falcon who is regal as hell, Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, a roaring gorilla, and Peter Dinklage as Scourge, a vicious bot who leads the Terrorcons and is Unicron’s right hand man. Cristo Fernández basically does his sunny Dani Rojas personality from “Ted Lasso” as a 1970s Volkswagen bus named Wheeljack, which is delightful. And ’90s hip hop classics from A Tribe Called Quest, Wu Tang Clan, Diggable Planets, The Notorious B.I.G. and more are just right and give the movie an infectious vibe.
But at the end of the day, “Rise of the Beasts” still has to follow one major Transformers movie rule: It must end with an extended fight sequence in which giant shiny pieces of metal crash into each other loudly for what feels like forever. The smaller special effects are more exciting than these massive set pieces Mirage evolves in many cool an tactile looking ways that feel realistic but this climax isn’t quite as boring as usual even if it’s not quite up to snuff compared to its predecessors in terms of action.
There is also the inherent problem that there are no stakes: We know what happens to these characters and we know they’re going to be fine because they have to live for several more movies. And naturally there’s a mid-credits scene that sets up even more future stuff within this cinematic universe because there’s always more stuff coming down the pipe. So you might as well settle in.
For More Movies Visit Putlocker.