TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS Review

Sixteen years removed from Michael Bay’s original foray into live-action robots in disguise and if one were to only watch that initial film and the latest from Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) they would be accurate in feeling like we haven’t come nearly as far as the journey has felt. There would be more to it than meets the eye if you will. As the interim between these two films has offered four sequels and a spin-off though, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts doesn’t feel so much redundant as it does refreshing; the franchise growing from the humble reset that was Bumblebee while never allowing itself the arrogance of believing it takes anything near two hours and forty-five minutes (yes, that’s the actual runtime of 2014’s Age of Extinction) to tell what would easily be a three episode arc in the cartoon. 

Rise of the Beasts is, for all intents and purposes, another Transformers film where the thing a bad guy needs to complete/destroy/take over has somehow made its way to earth and the stranded autobots must help a couple of humans who’ve become tangled in the intergalactic mess defeat the antagonist and save the world. The film adheres to these familiar archetypes while executing them in clear and endearing ways. This is especially true when it comes to the action sequences as well as the human characters. Both Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback are so appealing with Ramos lending his effortlessly cool aura to the tone of the film while Fishback infuses things with a certain amount of gravity that feels more authentic than put upon. The New York-based nineties setting doesn’t hurt either as Caple and his set designers go all in on the pop culture references, specific car models, and of course - the soundtrack. Wu-Tang, Tribe Called Quest, Biggie, and LL Cool J tracks all drop at opportune times, enhancing the procedural nature of the plot points and invigorating the vibe again and again.