‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ review: Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback breathe new life into the robot-loving franchise

The Transformers live-action franchise has an interesting place in the current mix of over-saturated sequels, reboots and superhero films in that it predates the Marvel and superhero phenomenon of the last decade. The first five Transformers films were helmed by Michael Bay, starting in 2007 and ending with The Last Knight in 2017. The Transformers went in a new direction with 2018’s Bumblebee directed by Travis Knight that was set in the late 80s. Optimus Prime and co. are back in the latest installment of the Transformers franchise, Rise of the Beasts, this time helmed by Steven Caple Jr., who last helped revive another franchise, directing Creed II. 

Rise of the Beasts is set in 1994 and introduces us to the G1 Autobots and a whole new faction of Transformers, the Maximals – a combination of animals and robots with its own leader, Optimus Primal (voiced by Ron Perlman). There’s new baddies in addition to the Decepticons including Terrorcons, Predacons and all the cons you can think of! Autobots, Maximals and two humans, Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos, In the Heights) and Elena (Dominique Fishback, Swarm) join forces to save Earth from the impending doom of planet-destroying Unicron and his servant, Scourge (Emmy winner Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones) and try to stop them from getting hold of the transwarp key. The key can open space and time for the one who wields it – think multiverse possibilities. 

The VFX have been the strength of the series and keeps getting better and better. With the Maximals, the mix of animal and robot would be tricky due to the combo of fur and technology but it looks so good and is captivating to watch. There are close-up shots of the Autobots where you can’t distinguish whether it’s a life sized robot or VFX. Industrial Light and Magic had been the VFX for the previous installments but Rise of the Beasts’ VFX were handled by Moving Picture Company and Weta FX. The VFX is supported with the familiar transform sound design, voice actor work and a fun 90s soundtrack sprinkled at the right time that enhance the action sequences. The iconic voice work of Peter Cullen’s Optimus Prime motivation never ceases to give goosebumps and even Pete Davidson’s voice work as Mirage is a fun addition to the Autobots. 

The premise is straightforward and is a refreshing continuation from Bumblebee’s back-to-basics approach. (As much as you can in a world filled with robot entities). The grounded approach is rooted in introducing the two new human characters of Noah and Elena and setting up their backstory before they encounter Optimus Prime, which is an essential element to why this film works so well.

Why should we care about them? If we don’t care about them, are they captivating enough to go on a world-saving journey with? The answer is yes. Ramos’ performance is able to capture the fun, action-comedic moments balanced with the emotional beats  along with his scene-stealing younger brother, Kris Diaz (Dean Scott Vasquez). Vasquez holds his own with Ramos and you can’t help but smile with their brotherly love and relationship. One caveat, the whole sick brother, lack of money to pay for the bills storyline feels tired. We’ve seen that story before so it feels like a bit of a cop out to pull at our emotional heart strings. Lucky for the film, Vasquez shines in this role and you can’t help but root for the Diaz brothers from Brooklyn. 

And then there’s Elena who’s an intern at a Brooklyn museum, over qualified and making her boss look good with her extensive knowledge in antiquities. She kickstarts the story and is integral to helping the Autobots and Maximals with the research she was able to do in regards to the trans warp key. She’s never a damsel in distress needing to be saved and is able to fend for herself. In action films, the trope of women having to be saved has been overdone and it’s nice to see that in Rise of the Beasts, Elena is an equal to Noah. They both compliment each other and have different facets to help in saving the earth. 

The long introduction into both their stories lets them breathe new life into the story without feeling forced or rushed. It’s why the first Transformers film worked so well because Sam Witwicky and Bumblebee’s relationship was the heart of the story. The subsequent films tried to find that in other characters in the later Bay series to not much success because it felt forced and superficial. 

Bumblebee found its way back to the heart with Charlie and Bumblebee and now Rise of the Beasts establishes a heartfelt connection with Mirage and Noah. The film is able to establish its own sense of self through Caple Jr. ‘s direction yet calls back to the fun, playful tone of the original series and even throws in a sudden nod to Bay’s quintessential 360 wrap-around shot. It’s a way to bridge the gap between the original Bay Transformers fans and new ones while maintaining the integrity of all the installments to find a connective tissue to keep it in sync.

With the stellar VFX, new addition of Maximals and cast, it can be easy to gloss over the glaring problem that not only Rise of Beasts has but other recent tentpole films have and need to address – the ‘end of the world is nigh and we have to save it’ problem. The recent DCEU film, The Flash had trouble showcasing the worlds they are trying to save..why and who is worth saving? Who cares because we all know it’s going to work out in the end and are desensitized with the overused trope. Eke!

There needs to be an examination of the summer blockbusters that made the impending doom of the end of the world mean something, like the 90s disaster film, Deep Impact or alien invasion in Independence Day. Both of those films showed what’s at stake, by highlighting the people around the world that will be gone and with loss of life. Not everyone will be saved in these disasters or alien invasions and fictional folks need to die for the impact of saving said world mean something. Even Bay’s disaster film, Armageddon did the job of making you feel like the world is worth saving with his ‘too on the nose’ shots of people all over the world waiting for their doom. Oh, how those points of references are missed right about now! 

It’s a thin line of needing to add humanity and consequential stakes back into these films or else it’s going to be an over reliance on whether the VFX is good or bad and that’s not what stays with you years later. It’s watching Leo Biederman and Sarah Hotchner go up a rocky terrain after her parents have been wiped out by the asteroid tsunami and hope they make it – even though this is your 50th rewatch of Deep Impact. 

Saving the world is a cinematic trope that will not and should not go away because it’s fun and captivating but there needs to be some serious thoughts on how to scale back on using this to not lose the impact of it. Rise of the Beasts rests on the cusp of these stakes because it’s not the focal point and finds its humanity in Noah and Elena and is close to that perfect summer blockbuster of yesteryear. Robots. Action. Saving the world. Cheesy lines. Ahh, a simple good time!

Grade: B-

Paramount Pictures will release Transformers: Rise of the Beasts only in theaters on June 9.

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Catherine Gonzales

Catherine graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelors in Radio-TV-Film in 2012. She resides in Austin, Texas and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved freelance critic. She is a member of the Hollywood Critics Association (HCA), The Association of Female Film Critics and CherryPicks.

When she’s not watching movies or television, she’s gardening, crafting and playing fetch with her dog, Rex.

You can follow Catherine on Twitter & Instagram @thingscatloves.

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