Review of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) by Extrashotlatte — 11 Jun 2023

I watched the previous films to prepare for this, but turns out Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is set in 1994 so although I relived some unapologetically outrageous 2000s filmmaking, it provides no relevant backstory to this movie.

ROTB spends a lot of time in Brooklyn baby! with its human characters and tends to drag on about the struggles of main character Noah, introducing his ill younger brother and shady neighbourhood buddy. Enter the museum intern who happens upon an artefact which gives us a map to find this key thing.

We get to see some stunning robot action sequences as well, which is probably the closest feeling you’ll get to the original 1986 animated movie. The Transformers, Maximals and bad guys all look amazing. The voice work is both personable and commanding, and well-executed by all involved. Pete Davidson shines as Mirage. Peter Cullen is Optimus. We see Optimus in a way we’re not used to, and it's oddly refreshing although I missed his overt leadership and kick-assery.

While there’s a whole lot of conveniences that push the story along, there appears to be at least some effort in making the characters realistic enough to not render them absolute morons or overly powered/awesome.

It’s a lot of fun and definitely has the original 1986 movie vibe.

Unicron is terrifying. Make sure you’re in a cinema with the best sound possible.