TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (2023)
The Transformers live-action movie franchise has been somewhat of a “slippery slope” since it began back in 2007. Overseeing by director Michael Bay, the cinematic saga (based on Hasbro’s classic toys line of “robots in disguise”) has been called many things, including loud. bloated, slightly racist / stereotyping, nonsensical, too silly, repetitive, mindless, etc. However, despite these glaring problems, the films have never been boring, creating a big visual spectacle worthy of the very definition of what man would consider a classic summer “popcorn” blockbuster from Hollywood. The first film (2007’s Transformers), the first installment in the live-action franchise) was met with problematic scrutiny and criticism from both moviegoers and critics alike, but was still able to garnish the most positive acceptance from its viewers (of the entire film franchise no less) and did score big at the worldwide box office. Naturally, this prompted the studio hivemind to green light future installments, further continuing the adventures of the Autobots, the Decepticons, and their alien conflict on Earth. Unfortunately, after the success of the first film (setting the cinematic foundation for the large-scale sci-fi tale of giant alien robots with their war brought to Earth, the Transformers sequels (2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, 2014’s Transformers: Age of Extinction, and 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight) missed their mark, with series director Michael Bay helming each installment and ultimately pulling the saga down with his signature barrage of explosions, excessive action, and other senseless elements.
Thus, the Transformers franchise has been “on the decline” of movie popularity, with many loosening interests in the cinematic series altogether. Even series director Michael Bay has lost interest in directing the franchise, stepping down the role and moving on to other projects and endeavors. Still, hope remains as 2018’s Bumblebee, a prequel spin-off project, proved that the franchise had life in it, especially since the movie had a more limited focus on characters and smaller scale narrative in scope. While that may sound a bit backwards for a blockbuster endeavor, Bumblebee succeeds with critics and moviegoers, enticing viewers for more Transformers movies. So, after five years since the release of Bumblebee, Paramount Pictures and director Steven Caple Jr. present the newest Transformers film with the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Does this blockbuster feature continue the trend of the last movie or is it another bloated endeavor that’s more noise than substance?
THE STORY
The year is 1994 and Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is ex-military, who is trying to get a job to help pay for his younger brother’s, Kris (Dean Scott Vaquez), cancer treatments, coming up short on employment opportunities. Turning to petty car theft to make money, Noah unknowingly comes into contact with Mirage (Pete Davidson), an Autobot who has recently made contact by his leader, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), when a mysterious signal of the Transwarp Key appears in the sky. The device is powerful relic that is capable of opening the paths through space and time, offering the Autobots that are stranded on Earth a chance to return to their home world of Cybertron. Also after the Key is the Terrorcon named Scourge (Peter Dinklage), who’s servant for the all-powerful Unicron (Colman Domingo), a massive machine that’s hungry for new planets, needing the Key to feed once more. Thrown into the mix is also Elena Wallace (Dominque Fishback), a young artifact researcher who unearths the key and who is suddenly thrusted into the middle of a fight, along with Noah, when Optimus and his Autobots battle for control of the device in New York City. Their journey to find the Transwarp Key’s location leads the group of heroes all the way to Peru, where they encounter the Maximals, with their leader Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) and his cohorts ready to face Scourge and the coming onslaught of Unicron for a second time.
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