The Transformers movie franchise has always been silly and plotless - all it needs to do is deliver enough robotic CGI-laden action so the audience can have fun. Their newest film Rise of the Beasts, somehow both a prequel and sequel, forgets to have fun, meaning the whole thing is an engine without pistons.
This is the seventh official entry of the series, and while not as boring as the horrible last mainstream film The Last Knight, that’s a pretty low bar to leap over. The main twist of this latest adventure is that they’ve discovered new robots on Earth called Maximals: robot aliens that can transform, but also look a lot like Earth mammals for some reason.
Having a silly premise makes producing any film a challenge, but once it’s bogged down by such a terrible screenplay the movie has little hope left. Rise of the Beasts credits five screenwriters, all with different tones and all hopelessly in defining a clear plot.
What disappoints me is that the Transformers series was already on a upward swing with the quality of their storytelling: 2018’s Bumblebee was by far the best entry of the series because the writers and producers found the right balance between human drama and the mechanical conflict.
And there’s the problem: Rise of the Beasts reverses the positive changes and instead of focusing on the humanity, the main stars revert back to being the shallow, largely unfunny robot aliens.
That’s really a shame when you have such likeable new human characters like electronics expert Noah (Anthony Ramos, famous from In The Heights and Hamilton) and museum curator Elena (Dominique Fishback), both giving way more effort than the lousy script they have to sell its concept of.
All of the human actors are giving the necessary commitment to make the robot fights seem real, and the voice cast delivers on the overhanded gravitas. It’s all then sadly overshadowed by the (admittedly crisp) visual effects of meaty, heartless robots fighting each other while destroying as many different sets as they can.
Worst of all, Rise of the Beasts sells itself on the showstopper element of having cool, animal-looking robots joining the good vs. evil fight. With the exception of a short prologue, however, the Maximals (animal robots) don’t show up on screen for the first 75 minutes of the movie.
If you’re going to be a movie about alien animal robots, they need to be in more than just one-third of the movie. Otherwise, it’s a boring waste of everyone’s time.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
4 out of 10
PG, 2hrs 8mins. Sci-Fi Adventure Action.
Directed by Steven Caple Jr.
Starring Anthony Ramos, Peter Cullen, Dominique Fishback, Pete Davidson, Ron Perlman, Michelle Yeoh and Peter Dinklage.
Now Playing at Film.Ca Cinemas, 5 Drive-In, Cineplex Winston Churchill & VIP and Cineplex Oakville & VIP. Also in IMAX.
