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I’ve always consider myself more of a Yo Joe fan than a Roll Out fan but don’t get me wrong. I’ve enjoyed Transformers just as much as GI Joe and I still remember to this day going on vacation with my family and seeing Transformers The Movie at a local cinema in South Carolina and walking out a changed kid when I witnessed Optimus Prime meet his end.
A lot has been said about the live action films and they have definitely been hit or miss with the original movie and Dark of the Moon being my two faves. Don’t look at me like that. The ending of the third movie was like Blackhawk Down with robots. Just awesome on so many lives. Change my mind I dare you. You won’t.
After that and with Mark Wahlberg joining the franchise, it massively went off the rails but in a guilty pleasure way. The Last Knight was so unapologetically way out there that I loved all its glorious chaos and eye bleeding visuals. Bumblebee was a return to form and I dug the low key vibe and the fact that it wasn’t as bombastic as Michael Bay’s creations. Plus I thought the chemistry between Hailee Steinfeld and Bee was sweet and simple.
Now we have the latest entry titled Transformers Rise of the Beasts and with it and like Bumblebee we have a more stripped down installment. No worries though, there’s enough action set pieces to satisfy the last 30 minutes is spot on. In the middle however, there seems to be more substance and the humans get to do more than just run around.
This time around, the action and story take place in 1994 so it’s a prequel to the original series of movies and that aspect was refreshing. Also, throw in the fact that we have Unicron, the planet eater, and a new arch nemesis besides Megatron in Scourge, I liked what was brought to the table and adding the Primals from Beast Wars was icing on the cake and they looked terrific on screen and made these movies fresh again.
The plot deals with the Primals, led by Optimus Primal (one cool ass looking mechanized gorilla), fleeing their refuge after Unicron and the Terrorcons destroying the entire planet. With Unicron on his way to destroy everything in its path, they team up with Optimus Prime and his team consisting of Arcee, Bee and Mirage who I loved as a character. He’s hilarious and Pete Davidson, who lends his voice talent to him, is is spot on with the timely levity. There’s also the human element in Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), an ex-soldier who’s a whiz with electronics and his little brother Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez) who is suffering from an illness. They’re dynamic gives the movie its heart and along with Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback), an expert in ancient culture and civilizations, they get sucked into the battle to save earth and the galaxy for that matter.
It’s a simple plot in that Unicron wants the Time Warp Key so it can go from planet to planet and…well…eat them. It’s what he does. Optimus and crew need it so they can get off earth and head back to their home of Cybertron. Its a simplistic plot, like in the cartoon show, but it works and is far better than the last two flicks.
The movie as a whole looks and just like always, the interaction between humans and CGI robots looks believable. With the movie taking place in the 90’s, we’re treated to some memorable favorites in song usage and the original score is fitting and epic molding each set piece into a thrill ride of sight and sound.
The action was handled differently as well, with a few sequences of adrenaline and special effects laced chaos peppered through the first two thirds. It’s the finale that is a true testament as to why these movies make for great popcorn eating affairs. It’s exciting, exhilarating and the choreography is easy to follow and even though there are the usual quick edits, fit the most part, it’s shot with fans in mind.
Noah is very instrumental to the action at the end too and it was nothing short of original to have him factor in so much to the outcome. His Transformer suit was pretty rad to boot.
The voice cast is incredible too with the iconic Peter Cullen back as always as Prime with Ron Pearlman as Primal, Peter Dinklage as Scourge, Michelle Yeoh as Airazor and Liza Koshy as Arcee. It’s like adrenaline team for a movie like this and adds another element to the experience.
Overall. I went into watching with my expectations set to low and because of that, I was thoroughly entertained and the characters were ones that you cared for and wanted to see win and overcome. Not to mention, the fact that there is more than enough carmageddon action to be had with a new set of animalistic protagonists, and Rise of the Beasts takes the franchise one step in the right direction.
*SPOILER ALERT* If you haven’t seen the film yet, then stop reading as I need to talk about the final scene in detail. The last scene culminates in Noah being recruited into a secret, clandestine organization that is…Wait for it!…GI JOE! That’s right. After years of teasing us about a potential crossover between the two Hasbro toy properties, it might finally become a reality. I have reservations to go along with my elation as this undertaking will be massive and one has to think about how they will actually be able to do it. There’s so many characters in both properties and it will cost a large furtive to bring it to life.
I feel that if they do this, they will need to make their own separate franchise with a series of films having the Autobots and GI JOE take on Cobra and the Decepticons. It could truly be epic with action set pieces that will make fanboys like me grin for days. Can you imagine Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow taking on killer robots? Glorious!
Hopefully, it does happen and it’ll be very ambitious to say the least. For now, Rise of the Beasts is a solid entry in the franchise with heart and humor to go along with the ass kicking. Fans should enjoy themselves as I know I did and the last act is worth the price of admission. I always get in touch with my inner child when I watch these movies and it’s like it’s 1984 all over again. What else can I say but…Autobots! Rooooolllll Out!
Verdict: 3.5 Out of 5 Stars
ACTION-FLIX APPROVED
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts strips the franchise down, lowers the bombastic factor and delivers an exhilarating action spectacle with heart and humor.
