The Transformers franchise continues to find new ways to expand on the lore with over decades of storytelling as it makes huge strides into the big screen. The latest installment Transformers: Rise of the Beasts introduces audiences to the Maximals, a new breed of heroes who are all about preserving life, much like the Autobots. As a sequel to Bumblebee, we see the Autobots coming together to help the Maximals in their fight against the Predacons under the leadership of the gigantic Eater of Worlds Unicron. Optimus Prime is once again at the center of the action with a few new allies like Optimus Primal and the Maximals. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is ultimately what every Transformers fan wants and it delivers on that promise.
Taking place in 1994 after Bumblebee, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts follows Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) as they are caught in the middle of a battle between the Maximals and the Predacons once an artifact is discovered that can lead his team back home to Cybertron. The film introduces some new characters from the classic mythology like the wise-cracking Autobot Mirage (Pete Davidson) who develops a friendship with a human named Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), a Brooklyn native struggling to care for his brother and mother. The Autobots also get some help from Elena Wallance (Dominique Fishback), a museum curator who gets fascinated by what she finds, unaware of its connection to the robotic species. The Autobots also find themselves at odds with the Maximals under the leadership of Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman), a sub-species of the Transformers. As the Predacons and Terrorcons have their sights on this discovery, the Autobots and Maximals must team up to save Earth from the wrath of Unicron (Colman Domingo).
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts brings in a lot of action that really brings forth what the other films in the franchise lacked. The film goes to full speed and continues with these epic battle sequences. There is plenty to love with these action set pieces that fans will get a kick out of. When it comes to pacing, the film does go by pretty quickly, but there are moments when audiences can catch their breath and get to know these characters. Director Steven Caple Jr. sees pretty well how these action sequences are shot and are pretty on point when it comes to those close-up shots of these big robots duking it out onscreen.
The cinematography is also really gorgeous and well shot as it captures the beauty of 1990s Brooklyn and the stunning locales of Peru. There’s plenty to love about how well Brooklyn looks for those who grew up in that neighborhood. However, the real highlight is how beautiful Peru looks once the film shifts to that part of the world. It is a delight to see how the Autobots and the Maximals interact in a landscape setting full of mountains and forests rather than the city full of skyscrapers and big complexes.
What is excellent about Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is that the humans aren’t always the focus of the story as everyone will be spending plenty of time with the big Autobots and Maximals. Peter Cullen continues to impress with his stern personality and heart as Optimus Prime as we see him keeping his team together. The same goes for Ron Perlman, who steps into the shoes of the strong and noble Optimus Primal. It is a real treat to see these two come together to team up and plan strategies to win the fight against a common foe.
The one who steals the show is Pete Davidson as Mirage. He puts in some great comedic chops by putting his personality into it, which completely fits with his character. His interactions with the Autobots and Anthony Ramos’ Noah keep the film entertaining and well-paced. With Ramos, he takes on the lead with enough focus to be an everyman trying to make ends meet. He helps become the audience from an outside perspective as Noah gets his hands dirty in this new world he knows nothing about. Even his costar Dominique brings in enough investment into her character as audiences explore where she comes from and her knowledge of history helps bring the story together and keep it fascinating.
While the story is nothing too special, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts does reinvent the wheel when it comes to properly adapting a popular franchise. It follows the same beats as previous entries, so audiences can predict where most of the story is going. It can be quite tough to build up the tension when everyone can figure out what’s happening next, but when it does do that, the film does take big swings when it can. There are also some homages from classic cartoons that fans will get excited to see once they spot them. The film integrates the characters and storylines from Beast Wars and takes some of the 1986 animation film into the mix, which works well into what the new installment is trying to achieve.
One of the film’s biggest draws is the incredible soundtrack from Jongnic Bontemps. The music feels like the movie’s setting in the 90s with its selected songs from artists like Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G., and A Tribe Called Quest. The soundtrack also makes references to the first film when hearing the score by Steve Jablonsky. For fans of the 1986 animated film, there’s also a nice musical nod in one of the battle sequences.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts goes all out on the action and has plenty of heart. At this point in the franchise, Transformers has put itself in an interesting position where it is now hitting its stride and giving exactly what the films need. It is a big-budget spectacle that is worthy of the big screen after many attempts from Michael Bay-directed films. With how the film ends, there’s a lot to look forward to for the future of this franchise. Caple Jr. does a remarkable job of giving some personality to these characters and the cast puts in the work to make them likable. It is all the more reason why the film succeeds and will have viewers clamoring for more.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts releases in theaters on June 9th, 2023.
