Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Review

A distinct lack of John Cena isn't the only problem with this so-so sequel.

We’re entering a new era for Transformers. Hasbro's property is old enough nowadays that my generation is nostalgic for the original Michael Bay film, let alone the action figures and animated show that took over the world several decades before. Depending on who you ask, the likes of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Megatron are all very different characters.

The success of Bumblebee brought that historical significance full circle with a film that both honoured the original designs while telling a smaller story that had fun and cracked a few jokes. John Cena and Hailee Steinfeld were there too, which is a winner for most things in my book. Rise of the Beasts trades small town energy for globe-trotting fights with intergalactic foes intent on destroying the universe and keeps the fun, but loses a bit of the quality.

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While it's technically a direct sequel, aside from the presence of our favourite Autobots, this feels like a fresh start all over again. Rise of the Beasts follows Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) an ex-military electronics expert who finds himself struggling to land a stable job and support his family in New York City. He's rejected time and time again from potential gigs, with the film taking a deliberate stab at racial prejudice in the workplace as Diaz is rejected simply for being a ‘certain type of person’.

It's a heavy-handed theme Rise of the Beasts focuses on without ever having much to say, which is fitting for a Transformers movie if nothing else. Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) is much the same, a research assistant at her local museum who is constantly belittled by some very white and very privileged superiors. It's a compelling foundation for an urban Transformers story that begins on the streets of Brooklyn in 1994, but like a lot of the ideas here it tends to fall flat.

Out of desperation, Diaz turns to a life of crime by stealing a car from an extravagant gala, a car that happens to be a dormant Autobot. At the same time, Wallace is across town digging up an ancient artefact that happens to be the first half of a key that will allow a bunch of evil robots known as The Scourge to summon planet eater Unicron from centuries of slumber. It is a clumsy setup filled with awkward exposition and hamfisted character development, with the majority of non-action scenes boiling down to slovenly shot exchanges where everything said is in service of going to the place or finding a thing that will advance the story.

This pedestrian approach to narrative isn't lessened when The Maximals are introduced. A new class of robots pulled from the original Beast Wars cartoons that have been hiding out on Earth for years, not afraid to befriend humanity because they might never go back home. Given the movie's name, I expected to see more of them. A few of my personal favourites like Rhinox and Cheetor have barely any screen time, while others such as Alrazor and Optimus Primal play second fiddle to old favourites. Almost no effort is made to embrace the beastly brilliance of their animal designs, especially when the final battle has them transform into bipedal killing machines regardless.

Optimus Prime's selfish nature and determination to return to Cybertron to avenge his fallen allies is frequently juxtaposed with The Maximals’ closeness to humanity, and how we can't fairly doom one race to save another purely because we’ve become consumed with our own guilt. Autobots presented as more conflicted personalities reminds me of the 1986 animated film, which Rise of the Beast makes ample reference to with both its visuals and narrative. It could have been the foundation for a fascinating battle of ideologies in a story that would have benefitted from it, but instead we’re expected to care about tired human drama and family dynamics that are so dryly written that you can call their conclusions immediately.

Action scenes are stellar at least. Solid animation and liberal use of slow motion allows for fights to feel weighty, consequential, and surprisingly violent. Optimus Prime tears off the limbs of his enemies or rip out spines in displays of dominance. He is a bitter and traumatised warrior here dealing with the ramifications of his own failure, a potentially stellar character arc that is put on the sidelines time and time again for human characters I struggle to care about. Rise of the Beasts at times feels like the classic cartoon come to life through absurd, anime-esque brilliance as Arcee dodges countless rockets in a delicate routine of ducks and dodges, a nostalgic brilliance that is continually undermined by bloated tedium.

Hasbro clearly has big plans for Transformers - and other properties if the ending is any indication - and if it can comfortably pass its $200 million budget at box office we could see plenty more Autobots and Decepticons in the years to come. I just hope future instalments aren't afraid to be more creative, or at least tell smaller, more ambitious stories in the vein of Bumblebee that aren't about saving our world in the most generic manner possible. Also, why not just ditch the humans and take us to Cybertron already? Go hard or go home, literally, otherwise we’re going to keep getting forgettable movies like this doomed to be forgotten in a matter of days.

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Jade King is Lead Features Editor for TheGamer. Previously Gaming Editor over at Trusted Reviews, she can be found talking about games, anime and retweeting Catradora fanart @KonaYMA6.