TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS - Review
DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount Pictures
SYNOPSIS: Set in 1994, somewhere in between 2018’s “Bumblebee” and 2007’s “Transformers,” Optimus Prime and the Autobots must team up with the Maximals, Noah Diaz and Elena Wallace to stop the planet-eating dark god Unicron’s “henchbots” the Terrorcons, led by Scourge, from getting the Transwarp Key.
REVIEW: TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS is the seventh installment in the Transformers live-action film series. It has all the elements of a summer blockbuster but personally felt it suffered a bit from franchise fatigue.
The plot has many similarities to the previous films. The Transformers have been in hiding, a threat that humanity could never face on their own threatens the earth and the Autobots, humans and the robots team up, and the earth will never be the same as the Autobots are left on earth longing for their home planet of Cybertron. There is a bit more character development in terms of the ex-military electronics expert Noah Diaz then the museum intern Elena Wallace. Diaz has a hefty plate of personal issues that all are driven by his younger brother’s illness and trying to support his family, impeded by a shady military service. Optimus Prime also has issues, and comes off with a bit of an attitude for most of the film, but eventually Prime & Diaz experience personal growth and team up to overcome the threat. There are plenty of Autobots. As the audience probably has history with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, Mirage stands out, voiced by Pete Davidson. His is a simple story and Davidson adds a lot of his charm and character to bring the Autobot to life. Likewise, Michelle Yeoh as Airazoris a Maximal sage warrior who offers her wisdom and insight. The dialogue is fine, there are some lines fans are expecting, and the one liners are okay in the grand scheme of the tale.
Of course the production values are fantastic. The Maximal design is a tad confusing, it’s mechanical and animal flesh, an organic element we’ve yet to see in other characters in the franchise. The Unicron design here is a totally new and different take from what fans might remember from the movies or comics, and first appeared in 1986's The Transformers: The Movie. There are some great special and visual effect sequences, but the final battle sequence is so fast and furious it’s hard to appreciate the work required to bring it to life, or maybe to hide a few shortcomings. Director Steven Caple Jr. does a fine job, but there were moments between the action where it dragged a bit and that may have been due to the screenplay as opposed to the editing. I enjoyed composer Jongnic Bontemps’ score and his new orchestration and remix of the Transformer’s theme.
The live action cast is likable. Anthony Ramos, who came into the spotlight when he played the lead, Usnavi de la Vega, in “In the Heights,” does a fine job as a sympathetic character who has to come to terms with issues in his life and find the hero in himself. Actress Dominique Fishback feels like the helpless heroine of a classic action film until she has to step up in the final battle because of something she has learned due to her skill set. There are no memorable secondary live action performances as in the first three films and with the other notable celebrities voicing the animated characters it lacks the intensity and excitement of the first couple of films.
TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS is everything a fan of the franchise has come to expect with a couple of nice surprises added to the mix, including a scene in the credits. Given the period, the characters, and some of the locations, it's clear they were trying to skew the film to a broader demographic. I enjoyed it, found it dragging in a few spots, and overall didn’t leave me feeling energized after viewing. Having said that, you might. Again, it has all the elements that make it deserving of the label “summer blockbuster,” it just needs to deliver on that at the box office.
CAST: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Dean Scott Vazquez, and the voices of Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Pete Davidson, Liza Koshy, John DiMaggio, David Sobolov, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Colman Domingo, Cristo Fernández, and Tongayi Chirisa. CREW: Director - Steven Caple Jr.; Screenplay - Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber, & Jon Hoeber; Based on Hasbro’s Transformers™ Action Figures; Producers - Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto, Don Murphy, Michael Bay, Mark Vahradian, Duncan Henderson; Cinematographer - Enrique Chediak; Score - Jongnic Bontemps; Editors - William Goldenberg & Joel Negron; Production Designer - Sean Haworth; Costume Designer - Ciara Whaley; Special Effects Supervisors - Ilya Churinov,Guillaume Murray, & J.D. Schwalm; Visual Effects - MPC, Weta FX, and Halon Entertainment. OFFICIAL: www.transformersmovie.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/transformersmovie/ TWITTER: twitter.com/transformers TRAILER: https://youtu.be/RjNAZ1n7_Hc RELEASE DATE: In Theatres June 9th, 2023
**Until we can all head back into the theaters our “COVID Reel Value” will be similar to how you rate a film on digital platforms - 👍 (Like), 👌 (It’s just okay), or 👎 (Dislike)
Reviewed by Joseph B Mauceri
