Review - Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the newest entry in the long-standing Transformers film franchise, and serves as a standalone sequel to the franchise's 2018 reboot, Bumblebee. This movie stars Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, along with the vocal talents of Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Pete Davidson, Michelle Yeoh, Liza Koshy, and Peter Dinklage, and was directed by Creed II director Steven Caple Jr. 

        The movie is set in 1994, and introduces us to Noah Ramos, an ex-military Brooklyn native looking to support his mother and younger brother, who is suffering from illness and needs urgent care. We also meet Elena Wallace, another Brooklyn native who interns at a museum on Ellis Island. The two end up caught up in a conflict that involves multiple factions of Transformers all vying for an artifact called the Transwarp Key, which can open doorways through spacetime. The factions include the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime and living on Earth after losing Cybertron to the Deceptions, the Maximals, led by Optimus Primal who are also on Earth after fleeing the destruction of their world, and the Terrorcons, led by Scourge who seek the Key to summon their master Unicron. 

        Okay, so clearly this movie is taking a few cues from the 90's animated series Beast Wars, which was to children of the '90s what the original G1 Transformers was to children of the '80s. I, myself, watched a little bit of Beast Wars as a kid, and I got excited to see the characters from that particular series finally get to be on display in a big screen Transformers movie. And I will say this: the Maximals looked awesome! Seriously, Optimus Primal, Airazor, Rhinox, and Cheetor all looked like their original versions, and their respective voice actors of Ron Perlman, Michelle Yeoh, David Sobolov, and Tongayi Chirisa all did an excellent job. The Autobots were, once again, on point. Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, Pete Davidson as Mirage, Liza Koshy as Arcee, John DiMaggio as Stratosphere, and Cristo Fernandez as Wheeljack all did very well. And I can definitely say the same for the trio of Terrorcons, with Peter Dinklage as Scourge, Michaela Jae Rodriguez as Nightbird, and David Sobolov as Battletrap. Lastly, I want to mention Colman Domingo, who gives a very chilling and haunting performance as Unicron, who THANKFULLY is his own character and planet in this movie, and NOT Earth itself. Seriously, I can't get over how STUPID that was in Transformers: The Last Knight. I'm glad Steven Caple Jr. got that right.

        Now, much like every Transformers movie, Rise of the Beasts does have a human story as well. However, the story is centered on two specific humans, Noah and Elena, and it ties directly into the story involving the Transformers, which is good. Both Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback do a fantastic job here, and are definitely enjoyable throughout the movie, unlike Shia LaBeouf and Mark Wahlberg in previous films in the series. 

        The visual effects for the various Transformers is excellent. And, I can very easily tell which Transformers are which, as they all look unique and stand out from each other. And while other Transformers, like the Predacons, all look pretty generic and uniform with each other, the Autobots, Maximals, and Terrorcons all stand apart from each other and are easy to identify in the fight scenes, which are pretty cool. 

       However, despite being set in 1994, and having nods to the early '90s, there wasn't really a '90s aesthetic in this movie, which was noticable but not enough to drag the movie down. The soundtrack is easily the most '90s the movie gets, and it's pretty much comprised entirely of '90s hip-hop music. Good '90s hip-hop, to be sure.

       Overall, I enjoyed this movie and I do recommend it. Now, while it's not nearly as good as Bumblebee was, it's still better than the crap that Michael Bay gave us for years. And, at least, it's clear that Steven Caple Jr. and his writers are fans of the franchise, especially Beast Wars. So, I'm giving Transformers: Rise of the Beasts a rating of 4.75/5. There's more I want to mention with the movie, but I don't want to spoil anything. But, this is definitely one to check out. 

       Okay guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time. 

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