Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

This weekend, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts released in theaters. Transformers: Rise of the Beast follows Noah Diaz as he is brought into the world of Transformers and their fight against Unicron. During the fight, the Transformers must team up with a new faction called the Maximals to save Earth. I have always had a fun time with the Transformers movies. They are in the group, I call Junk Food movies. They're not high-quality cinema but they are still very fun to watch.

Just like the rest of the Transformers films, this movie is a fun ride. It delivers all the action and set pieces one expects from a Transformers movie and never has any dull moments. This movie is a significant step up from most of the other Transformers films. The story here is much simpler and the action is less "boomier". It still has the over-the-top action that you want but it is not outrageous like the Michael Bay films. The story is very straightforward and easy to follow. There is only a single plot line to follow with no subplots or an overabundance of human characters. The movie also doesn't overstay its welcome. A lot of the other Transformers films feel like the third act just keeps going on and on but this film keeps at a good length and ends things at a natural place. This movie also introduces some new characters that are a lot of fun. Mirage is probably the best character in the film. He is the Transformer that has the most personality and always manages to supply some funny one-liner. The human characters are also very likable. Both Noah and Elena are very fun and each has clear goals about what they want to accomplish and the arcs they need to go on. Finally, this movie introduces the Maximals which are just a lot of fun. It is just so entertaining to see the robot gorilla fight the evil Tericons.

However, while this film is pretty entertaining, it still definitely has its issues. This movie does take a bit of time to get going, it takes about 30 minutes before we get to see any Transformers. For a movie about Transformers, I would prefer we see them sooner rather than spend a bunch of time establishing the human characters. I also felt that the movies underutilized the Maximals. They are the highlight of the trailers so they should really be in a majority of the movie but unfortunately, they don't show up until the second half. The movie also has a pretty generic villain. There isn't much of anything about him that stands out. He just feels like your normal let's destroy the world because I'm the evil villain. The movie also establishes quite a few plot holes in the franchise considering this is supposed to be a prequel. For example, where are the Maximals during the events of the other 5 Transformers films? Finally, I felt like the CGI in the third act of the film was a bit spotty. It looked good for most of the movie but that third act looked kind of rough.

In the end, this movie delivers exactly what I was expecting out of a Transformers movie. It doesn't have much in terms of plot or characters but in reality, I'm here to watch the Robot monkey punch the bad robot in the face.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B Recommendation: Check it out if you are a Transformers fan.