Back when Michael Bay created the first Transformers film in 2007 it felt like an impossible task. How can you create realistic robots that transform into vehicles, and have them cohabitate with humans? The realism and visual effects were impressive and the story felt grounded with a focus on the human characters. The result was a success and since then we’ve had four sequels and a spin-off. The sequels may have gone down a path where the story was getting out of hand, but the spin-off, a kinda reboot as well, centred around Bumblebee was a fresh new look at the shapeshifting vehicles. It is Bumblebee which this latest film acts as a sequel to, set in the 90s and ignoring the original continuity, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is yet another reboot.
Reboots are overdone in this day and age, and it’s a lazy way of steering a story in a different direction. In some instances, reboots get it right, but then you have films such as this one, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, where you have to wonder why they rebooted it yet again instead of following on from before. The main villain in this film isn’t Megatron for a change, instead, it is Unicron, a planet-eating machine. It’s a pretty epic villain and the benevolent being looms large over the film as a threat but is unable to destroy anything without a device which the Autobots and Maximals are after - the latter of which are animal-like Transformers. The Maximals are a fun addition and are the only saving grace in the film, with more of the same with the Autobots.
The main human characters this time are Noah and Elena, played by Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback. There is very little development between both characters, they’re only used as a conduit for the audience in order for us to relate to someone in the centre of this robotic mash-up. The acting is not the problem though, it is the way they are written. It starts off promising with a mystery which Elena is exploring as she works at a museum, but Noah’s quest to look after his little brother gets a little side-tracked and lost within the story. Gone are the days of Sam Witwicky and Cade Yeager, both of whom had more interesting arcs, and instead we are treated to some characters who are promised to do more in future sequels. Sequel-baiting aside, there are not a lot of other human characters in the film and the emphasis is pretty much on the Robots.
The Transformers films do take pride in their action and entertainment value, hence why the series is so popular and how it makes so much money. Saying that the “Bayhem” practical effects mixed with the computer-generated effects are gone. It appears most of the effects are computer generated and it shows. It doesn’t feel as impressive as it once did in 2007. The lighting and the textures feel a bit more rugged and cartoonish, but only slightly, but it has an overall effect on the quality of the film. I would much rather re-watch the Micheal Bay-directed films. It is a shame to pick those films over this one, but there are bound to be people who will watch this film regardless, and like I said these films were made for the entertainment value and that is one thing this film does provide.
★★☆☆☆
2/5
Final Verdict:
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts still has remnants of Michael Bay’s films and also sets up a cinematic universe of its own, and the result is a wonky mess where the film lacks a coherent vision from filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. and crew. The visuals are great but overstuffed, and the action is what you can expect from the series, but sadly it doesn’t push the story in any interesting ways and instead opts for the reboot route where we are once again tortured with the whole stranded on Earth story. This may not be the end, but I do have hope that the series can still redeem itself.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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