Transformers: Rise of the Beasts: An Honest Review of the Latest Addition to the Franchise

I had the pleasure of watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts this weekend, and I have mixed feelings after leaving the theater. In some aspects, this movie was enjoyable but there were times the movie felt flat. Now we are going to discuss all of this in this review. It’s almost impossible for me to fully explain my thoughts on this film without giving you any spoilers, so feel free to come back and read this article after you’ve seen the film.

What Is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts? 

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is set in the 90s, and follows a young man named Noah played by Anthony Ramos. Nothing in life seems to be going well for Noah at the time of his introduction, his younger brother Kris suffers from sickle cell anemia, and his family is behind on paying for the medical facility where his brother is in dire need of treatment.

Noah is also unable to find work and is turned down for an interview which he so desperately needed and turns to some shady work to steal a car parked in a parking garage. When Noah reaches the unattended vehicle and is just about to back out of the job, Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots calls them all for a very important meeting as they may have just found a way home. The vehicle takes Noah on a wild ride, and we get to see a pretty cool car chase sequence, and it turns out that this vehicle is the transformer Mirage. 

Now you will follow Mirage and the other Transformers, as they work to gather pieces of the Transwarp Key before the villain Scourge can obtain them for his master which is a planet-eating dark god called Unicron. 

How Was It? 

This film is probably one of the worst-rated films in the Transformers franchise, and I’d say the negative reviews are entirely justified. But with that being said there are some things I did enjoy about this film. 

The Fight Scenes 

If you are a fan of the previous Transformers films, then you will enjoy the fight scenes in this movie. I guess we can say that this franchise is probably geared more toward kids, but there were many unexpected character deaths in this film. But sadly these deaths were hidden behind such a muddled mess of a story, that most of them barely had any impact. Even with the mistakes in this movie, I was still able to find enjoyment in the many battles. 

The Story

You can enjoy the story if you try not to think about it too much. The film starts off fairly interesting as we learn about the Maximals, their home world, and we see Scourge’s appearance. After he earns an Autobot kill, he takes their badge and wears it which already makes him an extremely interesting character for me.

This movie really feels like it’s unsure of itself, and there are a variety of plot points that just seem to pop out of nowhere.  Scourge and his henchmen just kinda appear on Earth with the Autobots, but how did he know what planet they were on in the galaxy? How did he know to follow the Autobots to Peru? I may just be really picky here, but there were times I thought while watching this film, how did they know to be there at this specific time? It’s not to say that all other movies are perfect, there is a mistake in every film if you are willing to look hard enough. But these missing pieces and story elements were just too noticeable. 

Now let’s talk about the different characters in this film. 

Noah and Optimus Prime

Noah is an okay character, he is a likable protagonist for the most part, but he just doesn’t seem to fit in this world. The script tries to make him and Optimus Prime somewhat similar, but even while this was explained it just didn’t have an emotional impact. I think the reason for this is Optimus Prime’s story in this movie maybe just needed a little more flushing out. Optimus Prime primarily felt like a completely different character than what I’ve come to now. This version is still very much learning what it means to be the leader of the Autobots and it shows. He acts primarily on emotion and is seeking vengeance primarily throughout the film, but he does have some pretty cool dialogue with Scourge during their fight scenes.

Elena

Elena is well, let’s just say I didn’t like her character. Her acting seemed very poorly done, and she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with her face at times. But I do like the fact that she breaks the trend of having a female character in these movies for the sake of just being eye candy. Her knowledge does add value to the story, especially when we approach the conclusion. I’ll try not to be too hard on the actress here because the script didn’t really give her much to work with.

Scourge

I did like Scourge, and he is for all intents and purposes the main villain of the story. Unicorn is there and has some dialogue, but we only see it for a few brief moments. We don’t really learn much about Scourge in the film, other than that he’s there to do his master’s bidding, and he enjoys what he does. He was definitely a genuine threat to the Autobots, especially when he was first introduced, but he was an interesting character and would have loved to learn more about him.

The Maximals 

The Maximals aren’t on screen nearly as much as the Autobots, but they were the real standouts for me. Optimus Primal, the leader of the Maximals, is the opposite of Optimus Prime, he’s a great leader and has learned to work with humans. I would’ve loved to see more of him in this film, especially with what happens in the introduction. After THAT scene, we don’t see him pop up again until much later in the film, and that felt a little off. Early on in the film, we see them flee to another planet (which we assume is Earth), and then they aren’t seen or heard from again until they just show up later in the movie which was an ongoing trend in this film. 

Final Thoughts 

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is simply not a good film, but it is enjoyable enough for fans of the Transformers franchise that want to see cool fight scenes and the return of popular characters with some good moments at times. I just wish that Hollywood gave us an epic tale. One with heart, and one that we would love to talk about over the next few years. Unfortunately, this one will be talked about but for the wrong reasons. I’ve decided to give Transformers: Rise of the Beasts a 6 out of 10. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. How did you like Transformers: Rise of the Beasts? Let me know by leaving a comment down below.