Dir: Steven Caple Jr.
The latest film about giant space-robots smashing into each other is still loud and clunky, but is better than most of the entries in the franchise.
This latest blockbuster, based on the classic Hasbro toys, does not reach the unexpectedly charming heights of 2018’s Bumblebee. However, it is a vast improvement on the five incomprehensible and misogynistic instalments directed Michael Bay prior to that. This latest release is directed by Creed II‘s Steven Caple Jr. and introduces an actual human element to the franchise that gets you emotionally invested in the two lead characters, played by Anthony Ramos (In the Heights) and Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah).
Rise of the Beasts takes place in 1994, several years after the events of Bumblebee and 13 years before the Autobots would go on to meet Shia LeBeouf and Megan Fox. In case you forget the film is set in the nineties, there are plenty of references to video games such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros. As well as several swooping shots of the Manhattan skyline with the World Trade Centre still standing. It is here in 90’s Brooklyn we are introduced to ex-military electronics expert Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) as he struggles to support his mother and younger brother Kris (Dean Scott Vasquez), who suffers from sickle cell disease. Out of desperation, Noah is convinced by his criminal friend Reek to steal a Porsche 911 so they can sell it, only to discover the car is an Autobot known as mirage (Pete Davidson).
Meanwhile, intelligent but overlooked museum intern Elena (Dominique Fishback) investigates an ancient artefact bearing an unknown symbol and unintentionally breaks it revealing a Transwarp Key inside. The key releases a signal, in the form of the typical genre trope – a sky beam. This gets the attention of the Autobots, lead by the ever present Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen). The Autobots wish to recover the key to return to their home world of Cybertron. The signal however, also leads to the villainous Terracons arriving on earth – who intend to use the key to teleport their master, the planet sized transformer Unicron (Colman Domingo), to earth so he can devour our planet. Both Noah and Elena are flung into the middle of the worldwide hunt for the second half of the key in order to save Earth and Cybertron from complete annihilation.
The most refreshing thing about the latest entry, in a relatively dumb and emotionally thin franchise, is the introduction of these two new lead characters. Both Noah and Elena are young and capable individuals of colour, who are prevented from progressing in life due to them being constantly marginalized by the the white people who sit in charge. This social criticism and Noah’s bond with his younger brother Kris, bring a surprising emotional weight to the film, and both Ramos and Fishback do all they can to elevate this to something more than just a 2-hour advert for children’s toys.
Despite all the promise, Rise of the Beasts eventually does what is expected of any film in the franchise – wrap up with an overlong final act in which big, clunky pieces of metal smash into each other. Another problem the film has to deal with, is that it sits in the middle of the franchise chronologically, which means there is no real stakes. We know that the likes of Bumblebee and Optimus Prime, survive for several more films yet to come, so they will have to make it out of this one pretty unscathed.
I went into this with relatively low expectations, but ‘Rise of the Beasts‘ is a solid enough entry in what is otherwise a generally poor franchise. I was pleasantly surprised by it but not to the same level as Bumblebee. The screenplay allows for the lead actors to create characters to care about but at the end of the day the film has it’s one job, and that is to deliver what the Transformer fanbase wants – which is to see trash-talking robots fight each other in visually confusing action set-pieces. I am sure long time fans of the franchise will love the latest entry and hopefully it is a sign of better things to come in a franchise that is not going away any time soon.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is now showing in cinemas.
Dan Loves Film 
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