Transformers Rise Of The Beasts is the sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee and the first full entry (that’s not a spinoff) in the franchise since 2017’s Transformers The Last Knight. When it was first announced, this movie grabbed the attention of Transformers fans everywhere for featuring the iconic Maximals from the Beast Wars 90s animated series. Is the movie worth the hype?

More Than Meets The Eye

Bumblebee and Cheetor in PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE Present
In Association with HASBRO and NEW REPUBLIC PICTURES
A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production A TOM DESANTO / DON MURPHY Production
A BAY FILMS Production “TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS”

Transformers Rise Of The Beasts sort of functions as both a standalone movie and a soft reboot of the entire franchise. Technically, you can watch Transformers Rise Of The Beasts and understand everything without having watched any of the previous movies, including 2018’s Bumblebee. However, the plot of the movie doesn’t really make it any clearer if this is set in the same continuity or timeline as the Michael Bay Transformers movies. On the bright side, Transformers Rise Of The Beasts features a straightforward plot that’s not as messy as any of the Michael Bay Transformers sequels, though some finer details do feel convoluted in the context of the franchise narrative as a whole (though perhaps it’s better not to think about that).

At best, Transformers Rise Of The Beasts feels like a remix or greatest hits of the Michael Bay Transformers movies, but without the Michael Bay-ness of those movies (cringeworthy inappropriate jokes, an obsession with showing off the US military, unstable movie aspect ratios, etc.). That said, director Steven Caple Jr. didn’t do much to make the movie more unique or distinctive. It follows a lot of the same formulaic elements from the first movie, from the protagonist’s reaction to meeting the Transformers for the first time, and more. Watching Transformers Rise Of The Beasts gave me a sense of déjà vu; like I’ve seen it all before or like everything feels too familiar. Even without Michael Bay, this definitely feels like it’s from the same franchise. Sure, the movie is action-packed with lots of metal-on-metal action, but they’re the same generic action we’ve come to expect from the franchise.

Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback star in PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE Present
In Association with HASBRO and NEW REPUBLIC PICTURES
A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production A TOM DESANTO / DON MURPHY Production
A BAY FILMS Production “TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS”

No one watches a Transformers movie for the human characters, but I still have to mention them. Anthony Ramos does the best he can as protagonist Noah Diaz, but the script doesn’t help make him more interesting despite how much the movie wants him to be relatable. Dominique Fishback’s Elena Wallace is as interesting as cardboard and basically there as a plot device to move the narrative forward. Still, at least they’re just boring and not annoying like some of the human characters in the Michael Bay Transformers movies.

Rather than Industrial Light And Magic from the previous movies, the film’s visual effects for Transformers Rise Of The Beasts were provided by Moving Picture Company and Weta FX; and it definitely shows. The CGI VFX isn’t bad but they don’t really look as good as the Michael Bay Transformers movies did. Thankfully, kudos to the voice actors who brought the Transformers (Autobots, Maximals and Terrorcons alike) to life, because they’re amazing as always, especially Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, Michelle Yeoh as Airazor and Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal. However, fans of Beast Wars will probably be disappointed to learn that the Maximals only truly appear about one hour plus into the movie’s two-hour runtime and that the major Predacons are practically a no-show.

The best thing about Transformers Rise Of The Beasts is perhaps the ending, which teases and sets up something that pop culture enthusiasts and fans of the franchise have been waiting for, for years (that’s all I can say without going into spoiler territory). Will that surprising and fan-pleasing ending be enough to justify a mediocre movie? We’ll have to wait and see. P.S. There’s only one mid-credits scene for Transformers Rise Of The Beasts.

Arcee and Wheeljack in PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE Present
In Association with HASBRO and NEW REPUBLIC PICTURES
A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production A TOM DESANTO / DON MURPHY Production
A BAY FILMS Production “TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS”

Robots In Disguise

MIRAGE in PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE Present
In Association with HASBRO and NEW REPUBLIC PICTURES
A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production A TOM DESANTO / DON MURPHY Production
A BAY FILMS Production “TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS”

Just like most of the Transformers movies before it, it’s best to go into Transformers Rise Of The Beasts and enjoy it for what it is; big robot action and cool transforming robots. Transformers Rise Of The Beasts is definitely not the worst in the franchise, but it’s probably one of the better ones. For some fans, it might be worth watching for that ending alone, but that’s depending on preference, of course. Transformers Rise Of The Beasts is not a bad movie, but to best describe it, I would say that it just barely hits the minimum of being decent enough to justify more Transformers sequels.

FINAL SCORE: 50/100

We attended an early screener of Transformers Rise Of The Beasts courtesy of United International Pictures Malaysia. Transformers Rise Of The Beasts is slated to premiere in Malaysian cinemas on 8 June 2023.