Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – Review
127 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written by Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, and Josh Peters
Directed by Steven Caple, Jr.
**NOTE: this post will be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
Returning to the action and spectacle that have captured moviegoers around the Returning to the action and spectacle that have captured moviegoers around the world, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will take audiences on a ‘90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new faction of Transformer – the Maximals – to join them as allies in the existing battle for earth.
Well, it’s time for another Transformers movie. This time, Michael Bay’s franchise gives us a soft/quasi sequel to 2019’s well-received Bumblebee.
Set in 1994, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts introduces us to the Maximals, animal/robot hybrids who are hiding on Earth to protect the Hypergate Key, a tool which can open portals through space and time and is being sought by a planet-sized (and shaped) robotic God called Unicron, which, like the Marvel universe’s Galactus, consumes entire planets to survive.
When half the key is discovered by a museum worker, it signals the Terrorcons, servants of Unicron, who converge on Earth to retrieve it, forcing the Autobots to work with humans to protect it in order to perhaps use it to get themselves back to Cybertron.
Got all that? Good, because that’s the story.
Optimus Prime doesn’t like humans, doesn’t trust humans, and hates that he needs to work with two of them (Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback) to retrieve both parts of the key. He’s actually kind of a dick about it.
Don’t worry, though, as the role of humanity’s buddy is played not by Bumblebee, the logical choice (and who is in the film, btw), but by Mirage, the Porsche you’ve seen in the commercials, voiced by none other than sassy-talking Pete Davidson.
Joy.
The Maximals don’t really “transform” so much as move some parts around for extra protection of their animal forms. Their leader, Optimus Primal (get it? He’s named in honor of Prime!) is a huge Gorilla and voiced by Ron Perlman. There is also a bird of prey called Airazor, voiced by Michelle Yeoh, and Unicron’s chief unbeatable henchman is Scourge, voiced by Peter Dinklage.
What follows is much baritone grumbling by Prime about how much he misses Cybertron and how they all need to work together (after complaining about it…).
You get a requisite CGI robot on robot fight to save the universe, with a weird invocation of Iron Man here, which is one of the lamer parts of the film, I must admit.
Stay for the big surprise, which they’ve asked us not to spoil for you (so I won’t).
None of the people in my screening saw it coming, but in hindsight…
If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’ll enjoy this one. It’s better than the later “old” movies, but for my money, this one isn’t as good as Bumblebee was.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts opens exclusively in theaters on Friday, June 9, and stars Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Pete Davidson, Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Michelle Yeoh, and Peter Dinklage.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
Please don’t forget to LIKE this post, SHARE it with your friends, and FOLLOW us on TWITTER, FACEBOOK, and SUBSCRIBE to our YOUTUBE channel, as well.
And please, if you like what we do, consider helping us keep on entertaining you. You can use this handy link:
Or, you could check out the merch in Our Store:
Not only will you be helping us out if you pick up some merch, you get cool stuff to wear around (including the coveted WTFWT? logo!)
Leave a Reply