Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)

[Eric Loves Rey]

LET THEM COME

[Mulder]

The most 5/10 kind of movie I've seen in ages. I commend it for genuinely trying with its human characters, but there's so much wrong with it. Pacing's way too fast, the transformers feel underdeveloped, there's a moment in the final battle which made me genuinely feel embarrassed that I was watching this movie. Personally not really getting the 'This is the first good Transformers' movie talk.

[Webslinger]

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts occupies strange, paradoxical territory for me: while it is too flawed to merit a legitimate recommendation, it also is not as enjoyably unhinged nor worthy of ironic hate watches as any of the Michael Bay-helmed sequels. Under the direction of Creed II helmer Steven Caple, Jr., Rise of the Beasts is a competent if uninspired blockbuster whose early light touch and nice character moments give way to an uninvolving, generic second half. Though it is a reasonably well-assembled film, it isn’t as fun to unpack as the much bigger, messier, and – admittedly – more daring Bay affairs. Looking outside of the ironic viewing lens, it also does not match the 2007 original for effective character development and world building, nor the 2018 Bumblebee for its heart and solid use of its period setting – in fact, after the first hour, when the CGI mayhem takes over completely, it’s all too easy to forget that the film is supposed to take place in 1994. The “chase the MacGuffin to do the thing” plot is too generic to really work, and the stakes for the humans and robots alike don’t feel all that high. That said, the choreography and CGI effects in the action sequences work well, and there are some emotional moments that hint at the stronger film Caple, Jr. could have made if not hemmed in by the need to make a two-hour action film that hits all the expected beats in paint-by-numbers fashion. After their terrific work in In the Heights and Judas and the Black Messiah, respectively, it’s a little disappointing to see Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback stuck playing characters whose interesting qualities are limited by the needs of the script, but they both do appealing work that elevates their characters past what’s present on the page. The voice work is also decent, though the robots are sketched with such thin personalities that they never feel all that interesting. Though Rise of the Beasts may technically be better than most of the films in its franchise, it’s too forgettable to earn a legitimate recommendation, and too bland to earn the fun, ironic hate watch value of its fellow sequels. 

 

C+

[LegionWrex]

Honestly, I thought this was really fun. I can't say that it will likely stick in my mind, but compared to the Bay films it's certainly an improvement in that it's more of what I wanted from Transformers in terms of characterization, tone, and story. The best parts of this is the stuff that feels like a Saturday morning cartoon in a good way - Unicron is literally a planet with a face, you love to see it. Optimus Prime is actually a character now, albeit a simple one without much depth, but it's a start, and the human cast is genuinely compelling, even if they pale compared to Charlie from Bumblebee. In general, the movie isn't nearly as good as that film is, which makes me think that film could end up being an anomaly within the franchise, at least in live action. As for the Beast Wars stuff, I have a strong nostalgic attachment to those characters in particular (used to watch it with my dad when I was really young), and while I'm disappointed they weren't in the movie a lot they were great when on screen and Ron Perlman kills it as Primal.

 

The voice work across the board is strong, honestly. Pete Davidson especially surprised me with how much I enjoyed his version of Mirage, and Colmon Domingo is definitely trying to go full Orsen Wells here with Unicron. If the movie does have any legit missteps is that the climax is really bland compared to Bay's stuff, which it tries to imitate without the flair - though the 90s hip hop throughout the finale was definitely a smart choice. I don't know, count as one of the people who thought this was a good time.

[filmlover]

Finally saw this for National Cinema Day, and it honestly feels like the perfect sort of movie to be seen for such an occasion where you're looking to catch up on stuff at the theater you wouldn't pay the full ticket price for otherwise (it's impossible to label it a "streaming feature" when it was clearly designed to be seen in a movie theater). That said, this never rises above mediocrity either. Impressive visual effects as ever for sure, but that's not enough to overcome a hopelessly bland script that insufficiently mixes giant robot action (complete with the now required for $150M+ movies overblown third act) with underdeveloped human characters (wasting the talents of Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback in the process), with its existence as a prequel ensuring there's no dramatic tension of any kind. Oh yeah, and we get newly-minted Academy Award Winner Michelle Yeoh as a huge talking metallic falcon as her random first post-Oscar film appearance. This just comes across as a more tolerable version of the horrible Bay-directed sequels without the obnoxious filmmaking or overall aura of classlessness that turned those films into endurance contests, and a disappointment after Bumblebee proved it is possible to make a Transformers movie that is fun and charming instead of an attack on the senses.

 

Also, this is probably a bit on the nitpicky side, but was there an actual reason as to why this was set in 1994? The only way it ever seems to truly convey the time period is through some song choices, and the most blatant attempt at a nod to the era is a groan-inducing in-joke to Marky Mark (whose decision to abandon rapping for acting resulted in starring in some of these movies two decades later). Comes off as if they just drew the year out of a hat as to when they could set it in for nostalgia-chasing purposes, not because 1994 is at all integral to the story.

 

C

[interiorgatordecorator]

On 6/9/2023 at 4:24 AM, Mulder said:

The most 5/10 kind of movie I've seen in ages. I commend it for genuinely trying with its human characters, but there's so much wrong with it. Pacing's way too fast, the transformers feel underdeveloped, there's a moment in the final battle which made me genuinely feel embarrassed that I was watching this movie. Personally not really getting the 'This is the first good Transformers' movie talk.

 

pretty much my opinon, though im a bit meaner and just say 4/10

but considering what we ended up getting, i'd rather they had not tried with the human characters

outside of the first half of 2, shia is a more entertaining protagonist 

Edited August 28, 2023 by interiorgatordecorator

[interiorgatordecorator]

2 hours ago, filmlover said:

 

 

Also, this is probably a bit on the nitpicky side, but was there an actual reason as to why this was set in 1994? The only way it ever seems to truly convey the time period is through some song choices, and the most blatant attempt at a nod to the era is a groan-inducing in-joke to Marky Mark (whose decision to abandon rapping for acting resulted in starring in some of these movies two decades later). Comes off as if they just drew the year out of a hat as to when they could set it in for nostalgia-chasing purposes, not because 1994 is at all integral to the story.

 

 

pretty sure they havent decided if they want this movie + bumblebee to be in the same continuity as the bay movies, so I guess that's a way to leave the door open