Audience, roll out! It is the seventh film in the live action Transformers series Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. This sci-fi action film takes us back to 1994 as a standalone sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee and a prequel to Michael Bay’s films. This film is directed by Steven Caple Jr., who previously directed Creed II. It stars Anthony Ramos as Noah Diaz, an electronics expert in Brooklyn who befriends an Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson) and must save the world from the Terrorcons. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a decent movie that is one of the stronger installments in the series, which isn’t exactly saying much.
Audience, roll out! It is the seventh film in the live action Transformers series Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. This sci-fi action film takes us back to 1994 as a standalone sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee and a prequel to Michael Bay’s films. This film is directed by Steven Caple Jr., who previously directed Creed II. It stars Anthony Ramos as Noah Diaz, an electronics expert in Brooklyn who befriends an Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson) and must save the world from the Terrorcons. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a decent movie that is one of the stronger installments in the series, which isn’t exactly saying much.
This series has evolved a lot over the last 16 years. We’ve seen Shia LaBeouf, Mark Wahlberg, and Hailee Steinfeld as the human faces of this series, and now Ramos gets to take the wheel as the new protagonist of the Transformers series. Those who have seen him in musicals like Hamilton and In the Heights know he has the swagger, charisma and screen presence required of a franchise like this. Noah differs significantly from Sam Witwicky, Cade Yeager and Charlie Watson. He previously worked in the military but is now struggling to find a job to support his family and provide his younger brother with the medical attention he needs. The film does an excellent job of building up the emotional weight of the opening act.
After missing a job opportunity, Noah tries to steal a Porsche. However, it’s not just any Porsche. He finds himself in an Autobot who helps him escape from the police. This leads to a fun chase where Mirage gets to show off some of his skills. While Transformers: Rise of the Beasts could have benefited more from this, the sequence is fun because it allows an Autobot to do more than just fight, which many have become accustomed to with this series. He takes Noah with him on the journey while the Autobots must retrieve a transwarp key before it can fall into the wrong hands and cause world destruction.
This film has everything a blockbuster needs. Doomsdays are at stake, a young hero ready to take charge, timely humor and a few stars. It can be almost easy to confuse this film with a Marvel Cinematic Universe film as sometimes it feels like this film has everything that people complain about about these films. This movie can seem a bit generic at times and doesn’t capture the soul of a non-superhero blockbuster like Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves did earlier this year.
That’s not to say that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts isn’t lacking in fun, though. The film’s action sequences are a lot of fun, as watching robots tear each other apart is the epitome of popcorn entertainment. However, the locations of these action scenes are far less memorable than those of Bay’s films. Though the film largely benefits from removing Bay’s masculine gaze and risqué humor, so much personality is removed as well. The film ends with a battle pitting two opposing armies against each other, which we recently saw in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While Marvel certainly didn’t invent these scenes, they saturated them enough that in this film it feels like they’re disposable.
Speaking of saturation, the film also has that desaturated “gray” look that MCU viewers love to complain about. However, Transformers fans won’t be disappointed when they see the introduction of their favorite Autobots. Mirage is a fun character with an entertaining personality, and he’s joined by franchise favorites like Bumblebee, Arcee (Liza Koshy), and of course, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen). Just as Bay’s original Transformers reflected the quintessential 2007 blockbuster, this film is a shining example of a 2023 blockbuster.
The first and third acts are fun, but the second act could have used some work. There’s a fun Indiana Jones-style adventure, but it doesn’t add much to the characters or the emotions. While it’s a bit predictable and won’t blow you away, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is engaging enough to draw you to its side. It doesn’t feature Bay’s rich color palette, but neither does his endless government subplots, allowing for a more focused narrative. Some of the humor doesn’t go over well, especially with Reek (Tobe Nwigwe). However, Ramos is outstanding alongside Dominique Fishback.
After all, this vehicle has just enough gas in the tank to create an entertaining popcorn blockbuster. The film’s lack of personality might be the biggest obstacle. Even though there are five scriptwriters, it feels like an artificial intelligence watched thousands of hours of MCU content and then wrote a Transformers script that repurposed what they saw in those films. Caple, who directed the eighth Rocky film and the seventh Transformers film, has yet to develop a distinctive, recognizable voice as a filmmaker. However, he knows how to entertain with all the joy, humor and thrill that a film like this needs.
SCORE: 6/10
As explained in ComingSoon’s Rating Guidelines, a rating of 6 equals “Fair”. It does not reach its full potential and is an experience of the extra class.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press preview for us Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Review.