Transformers Rise Of The Beasts review: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ : Transformers: Rise Of The Beast Wars was an alternative Transformers animated show that was a different version of the original animated series. Similarly, after countless iterations in the live-action franchise, Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts comes along and takes the franchise in a new direction. Check out my Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts review to see how the movie breathed new life into the franchise.
Please note: this Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts review will be completely spoiler-free
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Is A Sequel To Bumblebee
After some diminishing returns from the live-action franchise that saw worse and worse critical reactions, it was time for a change. Enter the 2018 live-action movie Bumblebee went more for a little girl and her pet vibe with a story that kept things on a smaller scale than its predecessors. The story largely focuses on a girl who lost her father, finding companionship in a deserted Transformer, Bumblebee himself.
Set in the 80s, Bumblebee was a sort of soft reboot and a prequel to the other Michael Bay-directed Transformers movies. And while it was a great little story, it didn’t really connect in any way to the larger Transformers lore, except for an amazing introductory sequence set in the Transformers home planet of Cybertron. And despite some middling reactions and so-so box office collections, Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts is a direct sequel to Bumblebee.
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Review Is Spoiler-Free
Despite it being a sequel, Rise Of The Beasts keeps the references to Bumblebee pretty minimal; just one direct line of dialogue, actually. However, in a way, this is a true reboot of the franchise in a brand new direction. The story focuses on Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) who is an out-of-work former Military Private trying to support his mom and sick brother. Noah comes across a Transformer named Mirage (Pete Davidson) and gets dragged into their conflict.
The larger threat is how a creature named Scourge (Peter Dinklage) is trying to access a key to open a portal for his master, Unicron (Colman Domingo), who consumes planets like Earth. The Maximals, Unicron’s sworn enemies have kept the key safe for decades, but now it’s been discovered. And the Autobots, who were stranded on Earth since the events of Bumblebee see the key as a way to return home to Cybertron. Noah and Elena (Dominique Fishback) are the humans who are caught up in these events.
Characters That Make Sense
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts is an awesome new movie that introduces a new brand of Transformers, the Beasts. Adapted from the 90’s animated Beast Wars series, the movie actually makes these new Transformers a different kind of alien robots entirely, from different home planets. This small change expands the Transformers live-action universe into a brand new territory with so many more possibilities.
The movie also gives so much more depth to the characters than any of the previous films. The legendary Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) is an embittered leader who’s lost a lot, making him very hardline and untrusting. This plays with Noah’s own individuality as well, as both of them are fighting to protect their own planets from Scourge. These different priorities often put them at odds with one another, which is a great conflict that both these leads have to overcome. It’s a much more collaborative dynamic than we’ve gotten from the other Transformers movies thus far.
The characters are also voiced and written in a way that actually makes audiences care about them. So the stakes feel earned and the danger they are in throughout actually creates tension and conflict in the story that further engages audiences.
The Special Effects And Character Designs Are Top Notch!
Another thing that Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts has to focus on, is the special effects, and the design of the new Transformers. With the Beast characters introduced, the look of the characters is unique and a perfect blend of machine and animal. Even the battle sequences of multiple robots clashing and fighting stand out so much, and are clear to see. It’s easy to keep track of all the characters, and the CGI never takes away from the story at large.
These elements also make the characters much easier to relate to, making the thought of losing them that much more impactful. The serious moments of the movie are further enhanced by this connection to the Transformers characters, due to their unique designs.
Verdict- A Must Watch For Transformers Fans
Overall, the Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts review is all about the heart that the story infuses into this plot about robots fighting other robots. The humans anchor the emotions, and their internal conflicts mirror those of the Transformers, making the connection between them much stronger. I hope this takes the Transformers live-action franchise in a new direction with more movies to come.
Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts is now streaming on Paramount+.
What did you think of Rise Of The Beasts? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter (X) at @theshahshahid.
Rating: 4/5 stars
