On July 11, the digital release of the film 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' took place. The new part of the film franchise, once started by Michael Bay (and broken by him), returns the series to the old track and pretends that the mileage accumula...
Michael Bay moved to the producer's chair after the failed fifth installment, so the last two films of the franchise were directed by other directors. 'Bumblebee' was directed by Travis Knight, while 'Rise of the Beasts' was helmed by Steven Caple Jr., whose portfolio of notable works only includes the second part of 'Creed'. It's funny that five years ago, the sixth film of the franchise was released on the same day as the animated film 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse', and half a decade later, 'Rise of the Beasts' hit theaters a week later. Only Sony created two animated masterpieces, while Paramount, after a breath of fresh air in 2018, ended up with 'Transformers' again.
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Open materialWhat's the Plot?
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a giant planet-devouring robot, Unicron, attacked the home of the Maximals (those very same Beast Warriors) with the goal of capturing the Transwarp Key, capable of instantly transporting through space and time (with its help, he plans to actively and unhinderedly feast on tasty worlds). The Maximals, not without casualties, manage to escape the planet with the Key and take refuge on Earth, trapping Unicron in a spatial prison. However, the titan has no intention of giving up. He orders his loyal henchman Scourge to search the entire universe if necessary, but to retrieve this Key.
Then the viewers are transported to Earth. It's 1994. Puerto Rican Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is trying to find a job to financially support his family. His brother Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez) is sick, but due to an overdue bill at the clinic, doctors refuse to treat the boy. Noah is a former military man and also quite good with electronics, but he's ready to settle for a security guard position, just to improve his difficult situation a little. Unfortunately, even that job doesn't take him for unclear reasons, so the guy decides on a criminal adventure proposed by a familiar dude from the neighborhood. It's a simple task: just break into a closed parking lot and steal a Porsche 911 that's been languishing there, unwanted by anyone.
Parallel to these events, a dark-skinned museum worker and scientist Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback), who is disrespected by her boss, discovers a curious specimen of unknown origin among the newly arrived artifacts. Getting to study it, Elena accidentally breaks the item and finds a surprise inside in the form of another mysterious artifact, sending a pillar of energy into space, invisible to the human eye.
That's why things aren't so simple in the parking lot, because the car Noah was supposed to steal is an Autobot named Mirage, whom Optimus Prime calls to a general meeting at the most inconvenient time for the theft. It turns out that the energy pillar is a beacon formed by the long-lost Transwarp Key. The Autobots are aware of this artifact's functionality, and therefore hope to use it to return home to Cybertron. Mirage drives off to Prime's call, locking the thief inside himself, dragging the guy into an adventure cooler than a car theft. As a result, Diaz and the Transformers are forced to unite into one team to save not only Earth but the entire universe from Unicron, as Scourge and his minions have also noticed the beacon and intend to get the Key at any cost.
This is Our Hood! This is Our Earth!
Before starting to talk about the film 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts', we need to understand its place in the franchise. After 'The Last Knight' flopped at the box office, the universe was given a soft reboot. That's how 'Bumblebee' came about, rewinding the timeline to 1987 and immersing viewers in an atmosphere of nostalgic retro sci-fi that didn't stake the fate of the universe.
This decision provided a breath of fresh air, so Paramount immediately began developing a sequel, but over five years of production, 'Bumblebee' turned into a standalone film, and the next 'Transformers' was attributed to a new trilogy. That is, in essence, 'Rise of the Beasts' is a reboot of the universe that is supposedly connected to 'Bumblebee' (the events of the film are directly mentioned) and not connected to Michael Bay's pentalogy, even though it sins with references to it. Therefore, Optimus Prime and other Autobots are already on Earth, although the first film showed how they arrived.
So, based on this information, Steven Caple Jr.'s film can only compete with Bay's later installments in the franchise, although even there are points where it loses. So to speak, a lower pipe with thinner smoke. Take, for example, the actors. Previously on screen, besides explosions, you could see Mark Wahlberg (there's even a reference to him here), Anthony Hopkins, and Stanley Tucci, but now we've been deprived of even that. 'Rise of the Beasts' abandons the groundedness of 'Bumblebee', but at the same time doesn't want to match the level of pathos and flight of Michael Bay's 'Transformers', so it hangs somewhere in between, contributing absolutely nothing, and even, on the contrary, taking away.
Perhaps Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback are good actors, but they are not allowed to shine due to the poor script and the film's format. There is absolutely no chemistry between the characters, they don't evoke empathy from the viewers, and their motivations are held together by very flimsy threads. And while Noah's everything is tied to family (salute to Dom), Elena simply agrees to a dangerous mission surrounded by giant alien robots. A woman imbued with a spirit of adventure that Indiana Jones himself would envy. So, with an almost verbatim phrase from 'Attraction', humans and Transformers unite against a common enemy.
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Open materialIn general, it's a sin to nitpick the script of a film where the main task is to make the movie not too stupid and to fill the gaps between the action with at least non-empty and unnecessary dialogues, but even here 'Rise of the Beasts' doesn't always cope. For example, Noah is endowed with knowledge of technology, which is clearly shown at the beginning of the film, but this skill turns out to be simply unnecessary. It disappears from the plot almost immediately. It is forgotten just as the very Beast Warriors mentioned in the title are sometimes forgotten. The rhino is shown only a couple of times, and in the final battle, the beast doesn't even seem to participate. Moreover, all the individuality of the Maximals evaporates the moment they take on the form of ordinary robots, so in the final battle, the Maximals blend into the gray CGI mass.
By the way, 'Transformers' is now also a franchise stuffed with modern trends, where the viewer is forced to observe the blatant injustice of society towards the main characters on racial grounds. It is society that pushes Noah onto the path of crime, and the creators seem to justify his action by the fact that the guy is trying for his sick brother and his family. The characters feel like strangers in this world, just like the robots they set out to help.
Only the aliens want to return to their home planet to their own kind who are waiting for them, while Elena and Noah will return home and continue their daily struggle with this unjust world. The couple of white characters presented in the film are, of course, portrayed as villains and racists who do not respect other people. Well, bravo. This approach is a clear sign that the franchise is so deep in crisis that it has nothing more to offer except an old action plot about saving the universe in a crude fusion with the modern agenda. The modest box office only confirms this fact.
Wheels, Wheels, and a Beautiful Steering Wheel
Despite all the criticism, 'Rise of the Beasts' does have things to praise. Firstly, the graphics in the film are very high quality. On the one hand, this is not surprising given the budget of almost $200 million, but if you compare the film with 'Quantumania', 'The Flash', and 'Love and Thunder', the new 'Transformers' is definitely a step (or even two) above. Explosions, the robots themselves, action scenes — the visual effects specialists did their best, so this point makes the film at least not disgusting and watchable. The franchise has never sinned with poor visuals and at least continues to maintain the proper level of skill somewhere.
Secondly, a good soundtrack. The film's action takes place in the 90s, so the creators stuffed the film with all the attributes of that time. For example, the Diaz brothers use the call signs 'Sonic' and 'Tails' in radio negotiations, and Kris wears a 'Power Rangers' T-shirt. So the creators also tailored the playlist to the times. And what was popular in America in the nineties? That's right: rap. So in the background you can hear tracks by artists such as Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, and Biggie (the latter two even got a poster in the main character's room). Of course, without Tupac the set looks incomplete, but Shakur himself appears on the TV screen, so they didn't forget about him. Apparently, they just couldn't afford the copyrights.
And finally, the third point is the comedic component, for which Mirage is responsible here (it's no coincidence that in the original his voice was given by comedian Pete Davidson). The Autobot got the archetype of a joker and prankster. He's like Michelangelo (the ninja turtle, not the artist and sculptor of the Renaissance) among robots. He is very hyperactive and unserious, so almost every one of his lines is aimed at making the viewer laugh. Sometimes it even works out well, but sometimes the jokes sink below the belt.
Unfortunately, that's all the new 'Transformers' deserves praise for. If we start talking about the robot protagonists, they are either very nondescript (all the new Autobots and Maximals, except Primal), or absent for almost the entire film (Bumblebee), or don't look like themselves (Optimus Prime is completely unrecognizable compared to Bay's pentalogy). The antagonists also don't stand out — another robo-threat of universal scale. Against this background, one involuntarily recalls the first part, which, perhaps, was not a masterpiece, but was certainly a good blockbuster capable of surprising. Oh, those were the days.
What's the Verdict?
If you don't set cosmic requirements for 'Rise of the Beasts', then as a 'one-time watch' film, it might work, but as part of the franchise, the film turned out very weak. Although the ending slightly intrigues with a new turn in the franchise's development, no one is likely expecting anything grandiose. 'Transformers' has long since lost its best parts, leaving only a beautiful body. Unfortunately, even the pit stop in the form of 'Bumblebee' did not bring any benefit, so the universe, apparently, needs either a full-scale overhaul or to be scrapped.
P.S. The film 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' has a post-credits scene, so don't rush to leave the cinema or turn off the movie if you're watching it digitally.
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