Skip to main content

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts | Review

 2023. PG-13. 127 mins. Directed by Steven Caple Jr.


Here we go again, it's another Transformers movie! This series has seen many ups and downs throughout the years. Age of Extinction and The Last Knight are certainly the downs while the first Transformers in the series as well as the excellent Bumblebee make up the highs of the series. Rise of the Beasts manages to be one of the better entries, however that isn't saying much as the of the series has mostly fallen flat. 

Taking place in 1994, a new faction of Transformers called the Maximals, join forces with the Autobots to help save the world from a new foe. Along for the ride are Noah (Anthony Ramos) and Elena (Dominique Fishback), two humans that lend their hand to help save mankind. Story-wise this isn't too different than what we've seen in essentially every other Transformers movie. Basically, it's just, "we have to go stop the bad guy from getting the thing that they'll use to destroy the world," and so on and so forth. 

While Rise of the Beasts is arguably one of the better entries in this franchise, it is not without its faults. It was hard to get invested this time around. It is nice that the focus of the movie is more so on the Transformers themselves and not so much on the humans, but we've seen this story play out time and time again and with not much different here it was hard to care about much that was happening. That's not to say there aren't things to enjoy with the movie overall.

The action sequences all tend to work fairly well. All the effects and CGI look well done and seem to be polished quite nicely. There really aren't many human characters outside of the two main leads. Both Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback do well, respectively, in their roles. More back story is given to Ramos' character so there is more weight for him to carry whereas Fishback's character is just kind of an added addition and not much is given to her than the bare minimum. Some big names show up in the voice cast such as Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh and Peter Cullen. However, it's Pete Davidson as Mirage that ends up stealing the show with his energetic performance.

At the end of the day this just felt like another entry in the franchise. It is not bad by any means but there is nothing overly great about it to make it worthwhile. Everything is perfectly fine and done well enough but ultimately there just isn't anything to put it over the edge. The best part of the movie is honestly the great soundtrack that is covered with great 90's hip hop classics. When the best part of your Transformers movie is the hip hop soundtrack that might be a bit of a problem. If you're a fan of the series, you should have a good time but this won't bring in any newcomers.

Rating: C+

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spider-Man: Brand New Day | Review

  2026 | PG-13 | 145 mins | Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton It has been five years since the last Spider-Man movie hit theaters. Spider-Man: No Way Home was one of the biggest post pandemic movies and was able to capitalize on bringing together all three live action Spider-Man actors. After taking some time off, Spider-Man is back with a new director and a new look at not just the superhero but Peter Parker himself. Picking up right where the last movie left off, everyone has not only forgotten that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, but everyone also has forgotten Peter Parker altogether. Now, living on his own and mostly keeping to himself Peter tries to live a life without his aunt, his best friend and the love of his life. Continuing with his duties as Spider-Man, he has been collaborating with the local police to help track down any villains that try to destroy the city. He still keeps tabs on Ned and MJ as they are now attending MIT and living their life post-Peter Parker. A new t...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

Swapped (2026) | Review

  2026 | PG | 102 mins. | Directed by Nathan Greno Swapped is the latest in what seems to be a never-ending cycle of animated talking animal movies. With the success of Zootopia 2 last year and recent movies like Hoppers and Animal Farm also getting into the mix, how does Swapped separate itself from the pack? On paper, it looks like just another generic animal movie with a heavy-handed lesson that the characters must learn and then everyone feels good in the end. Thankfully, Swapped stands on its own and separates itself by being creative with its character designs as well as taking big chances in its plot point. Throughout the movie we follow a small woodland creature named Ollie (Michael B. Jordan). When he is younger, he befriends a young bird, called a Javan, that he shows how to eat the food of his species. After doing so the bird invites the rest of her flock to come and try this food, which makes things difficult for Ollie and his family. Ollie's species, called Pookoos, ha...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | Review

  2026 | PG | 98 mins. | Directed by Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc After striking out in the 90s with a live action attempt at the character, Universal and Illumination finally struck gold with Mario and his pals in the 2023 smash hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The movie went on to gross over $1.3 billion at the box office and was the second highest grossing movie of 2023. It was inevitable based on well the movie did that a sequel would be right around the corner. Now in 2026 The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is hitting theaters with a bigger story and even more characters.  When Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) is kidnapped by the son of Bowser (Jack Black), Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), it is up to Mario (Chris Pratt) and the gang to try and save her. Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) set out on their own journey to try and find where she is being kept. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi (Charlie Day) stay back to help protect the Mushroom Kingd...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

Toy Story 5 | Review

  2026 | PG | 102 mins. | Directed by McKenna Harris and Andrew Stanton For over 30 years the Toy Story  series has remained one of the most consistent franchises. The original movie was the first computer animated film and has gone on to be remembered as one of the greatest animated movies of all time. After spawning three sequels, the franchise has gone on to become a cultural phenomenon. Now with Toy Story 5 , the toys are back once again and this time they are taking on a new foe that is putting their jobs in jeopardy. Buzz, Jessie and the gang have their hands full when their owner, Bonnie, has a problem making friends. While Bonnie still loves playing with toys and likes to be imaginative and creative, the kids in her neighborhood and in her dance class only want to do one thing, play with their tablets. Bonnie and her parents are unsure of how to get other kids to want to play with her so the parents end up getting Bonnie her own tablet so she can hopefully interact wit...
Post a Comment
Full Review »

The Mandalorian and Grogu | Review

  2026 | PG-13 | 132 mins. | Directed by Jon Favreau It's been seven years since the last time a Star Wars movie hit the big screen. After The Rise of Skywalker premiered in 2019 and was met with lukewarm reception, Disney decided to shift their focus for Star Wars. Over the last seven years the franchise has seen several series make their way to Disney+. These series have allowed Disney to expand the universe and create new stories within the world. The first series, and arguably one of the best, to hit Disney+ was The Mandalorian. Fan and critic reception has been mostly positive for the three seasons of the show. After toying with a fourth season, Disney decided to scrap the idea and do a new Mandalorian movie and return Star Wars to the big screen. With The Mandalorian and Grogu , the movie follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and Grogu on a new adventure. Now working for Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) and the New Republic, Mando and Grogu are hired by the Hutt family to track d...
Post a Comment
Full Review »