‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Movie Review: Autobots Roll Into a Lifeless Sequel
Photo from Paramount Pictures
From Jeff Nelson
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts isn’t the worst installment in the live-action film universe’s erratic run thus far, but it doesn’t come close to meeting its potential. It entirely misses out on the heart, humor, and compelling action that made the 2018 prequel, Bumblebee, a successful entry.
Set in 1994, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts comes after Bumblebee, but before the events of 2007’s Transformers. The tech-savvy Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) struggles to land stable employment to help support his family, especially his sick younger brother (Dean Scott Vazquez), whose medical treatment comes with a hefty pricetag that his family can’t afford. Noah puts his technological skills to use in a heist, where he meets a sassy Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson).
Unicron (Colman Domingo) tasks his minion, Scourge (Peter Dinklage), with tracking down the transwarp key, which gives him the power to travel space and time to consume planets, resminicent of Marvel’s Galactus. A group of animalistic Transformers called Maxmials protect the key to ensure that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, but they’ll have to work with the Autobots if they hope to keep it safe. Noah and a deuteragonist named Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) unite with the alien species to put an end to Unicron’s plan.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts introduces an iteration of Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) who has yet to see humanity’s value. He internalizes the Autobots’ plight, revealing the cracks in his natural leadership qualities. Optimus and Noah are frequently at odds with one another, but this stubbornness comes from their similar characteristics. They both fight for the safety of their loved ones, although their individual missions put that safe space into jeopardy in ways that progressively chips away at their armor.
The stakes don’t get much bigger than the fate of every planet across all of space and time, but the witless humor that reads as equally intentional and unintentional overshadow all personal stakes. Ramos and Fishback do what they can with the material, although it lets them down. The action kicks into high gear in the climactic final act, but it isn’t enough to save the severe underutilization of the Maximals, who don’t offer much more to the film than plot exposition. However, their occasional team-ups with the Autobots are exciting.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a soulless blockbuster that ticks the franchise’s boxes in the most monotonous way possible. The human drama is often the least riveting part of the Transformers universe, but Bumblebee showed its potential, if the story insists on continuing to sideline the Autobots and their allied groups.
Rating: 2/5
