By Matthew Moorcroft

Solid Recommendation

• Directed by Steven Caple Jr.
• Starring Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Ron Perlman, Peter Cullen
• PG-13

In 1996, Beast Wars: Transformers hit television screens to divisive reception from old school fans and mostly non-existent critical attention. The series, meant to reignite interest in the Transformers brand a decade of stagnation and give it the boost that it needed to survive into the new millennium, eventually gained something of a cult following of it’s own thanks to it’s then revolutionary CGI work, rock solid storytelling, and darker then usual tone for a Saturday morning cartoon. As somebody who was born in the tail end of the 90s, I remember staying up in the youth – about 4 or 5 years old – to watch Beast Wars with my dad, which had moved to Friday nights after it finished it’s run. It was the only time my dad allowed me to stay up and had the excuse of “he had to watch it with us” in order to stay up. Years later I would learn that he only did it cause he loved the show more then I did and wanted an excuse to watch it. Go figure.

So saying I have a nostalgic attachment to this era of the franchise is an understatement, so my eyes have been glued to Rise of the Beasts, the latest live action installment in a series long past it’s expiration date, with curiosity and morbid fascination. Sure, Bumblebee was shockingly great, but the franchise had run out of steam prior to that, and The Last Knight (outside of being just an abysmal piece of shit) was seemingly the nail in the coffin. Paramount must know more then me though cause they are trying again, and they are so confident in this one that it’s supposed to be the start of a new trilogy of films.

Thankfully, while Rise of the Beasts never reaches the height of Beast Wars in terms of quality or even Bumblebee, it’s still fun time that reminds you why Transformers is such a cool concept from the getgo. It has the kind of childlike glee that should be in these kinds of stories – which is to say, it’s about cool cars and vehicles turning into even cooler robots. I think sometimes we get lost in the bigger picture of the lore and the background stuff, and one of the things Rise of the Beasts does very well is mostly keep the lore stuff to a minimum. It’s certainly there, and there is a MacGuffin that requires a bit of explanation, but there is a confidence in a movie throws in a planet eating sized Transformer and says “yeah he’s just a thing” and moves on. You need that kind of nonchalant attitude in these franchise films I feel, which is that the audience can pick up on these things pretty quickly. You don’t need to explain it to them, just let them vibe.

And Rise of the Beasts vibes a lot. It really wants you to go with the flow of it, moving from one setpiece to the next with a quick pace and a couple of breather scenes in between just to make sure you connect with the cast of both humans and CGI creations. The Transformers actually have arcs this time, what a concept! Optimus Prime in particular feels like a fully fleshed out character, even if his character arc is as simple as “I don’t trust humans until one is nice to me and then now I trust humans”. The more interesting arcs actually come from the human cast, who are compelling in a way that the other movies just aren’t. Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback use the 90s setting as a way to make their characters feel lived in and authentic to that time period – the best lesson that lead writer Joby Harold and the four other guys (jesus) learned from Bumblebee.

Where Rise of the Beasts begins to falter a bit is in it’s climax, which returns to the bombast of the Bay films but without his trademarks. In it’s place is compentent action without much flair, which should work for audiences who grew tired of his constant white fireworks and shaky cam. But for those who might have grown to enjoy the Bayhem, it’s a little underwhelming at points outside of a couple of solid one on one moments, particularly when the criminally underused Optimus Primal is involved. In fact, the Maximals themselves, despite the heavy marketing push, aren’t in it as much as you think, though their roles are clearly being saved for a possible more standard Beast Wars adaptation down the line.

But that’s more then enough, at least for me. Rise of the Beasts just needed to prove more Transformers wasn’t a dead end, and thankfully it’s not save a ending scene that hints at one of the most insane things ever promised to a movie audience (and I hope they go through with it cause WOW). It’s a fun time at the movies, if slight, and frankly for a series that’s again mostly about cool cars turning into cooler robots that might be the best you can ask for.