Transformers: Rise of the Beasts — Are Bayless Transformers Still Worth It?
Riding on the success of 2018’s “Bumblebee,” the Transformers are back. But… is something missing?
A Fall Followed By a Rise
I think we can all admit that the Transformers film franchise, which started all the way back in 2007, has been on a rocky decline (I’m disregarding the standalone prequel, Bumblebee, for the moment) since fans were slapped in the face with Revenge of the Fallen. While director Michael Bay’s signature style was evident in the first Transformers movie, it seemed to rise to new (inglorious) heights as the series progressed — that, or fans just got sick of the overbearing relentlessness of his humor and explosive (literally) style.
Yet, in 2018, the Transformers franchise seemed to make a comeback with Bumblebee (as mentioned before). Helmed by a new director, Travis Knight, the prequel was devoid of all of the Bay-isms that had pushed fans away from the franchise in the first place. It even sat well with many critics, something the franchise hadn’t seen since the 2007 film that started it all.
However, I must admit that Bay’s films are my guilty pleasures. I recognize their flaws — and there are many — but I always get this giddy feeling when I witness the mind-blowing action Bay pulled off so well, as well as the electrifying soundtrack that still sits as one of my favorites in all of film history. Needless to say, the less-than-amazing films still find themselves with more stars from me than the average movie-goer would give it.
Even so, I enjoyed Bumblebee and thought a fresh direction would bring the franchise back into the good graces of casual audiences and critics alike. And guess what? It was successful, and I knew that it was a matter of time before the entire Transformers team came back to the big screen. Upon its announcement, I was excited to see what director Steven Caple Jr. would bring to the franchise. Could he continue the success that Bumblebee brought? Could he make the convoluted story tying all the films together make sense? Could he create an explosive, action-packed movie reminiscent of the (subjectively) fun action Bay knew how to include, just without the humor, sexualization, and overly convoluted storytelling Bay was heavily disliked for? Well, I have news for you.
Beware: spoilers lay ahead.
Riding on Bumblebee’s Heels
The box office intake of this movie is going to be heavily reliant on whether or not people thought Bumblebee was a good enough revival. And let me give it to you straight: Rise of the Beasts isn’t amazing. I wouldn’t even call it great, and I’m extremely worried that Paramount’s obvious plans (did someone say HCU?) are gonna fall flat. Bumblee was a far better film — I would even say it’s on par with the first Transformers movie — and, to me, it’s obvious Paramount wanted to continue down the path that it tried to create.
See, Bumblebee was a light-hearted, cartoon-reminiscent romp that works because it tells a simple story about a girl and her car (that happens to be a robot). It moves away from the gritty brutality of Bay’s films because it’s telling a story on a much smaller scale. While Bay’s films heavily dealt with the world almost ending multiple times and the destruction of major cities, Bumblebee pulled it back to give viewers space to breathe. Rise of the Beasts tries to stay pulled back while still leaning ever-so-forward into the realm of worldwide destruction… and I don’t think it entirely works. While we don’t see New York City crumble, we do see the entire world nearly get destroyed by Unicron, and I personally think that warrants a bit of grittiness. But director Steven Caple Jr. and the many writers decide to play it safe, and I think that degrades the film’s quality. And I’m not saying this to diminish the obvious talent that everyone who worked on this film has. I’m only saying it because I expected — and wanted — more.
Is It Okay to Be Bay?
Perhaps it’s controversial to say that Bay’s grittiness and brutality worked, but I found all of it to be extremely alluring. When dealing with end-of-the-world themes, I think grittiness is necessary. It was obvious from the start that Bay was attempting to take a cartoon made for kids and flip it on its head, much like it was obvious that Bumblebee — and, subsequently, Rise of the Beasts — was trying to bring back the cartoon-like qualities that made the original show so cool. Yet, as I hinted at before, Rise of the Beasts sits right at the line between cartoon and Bay, but it is too afraid to cross into the controversial territory.
Sadly, I think the film would have benefitted from it. See, in Bay’s films, when the Transformers do their thing (transform, that is), you see every cog turn and every piece shift into a new position. Similarly, when Transformers died (and boy, did they fall), you could see every little piece come apart — you could feel the violence as you were seeing it. In Rise of the Beasts, you don’t get any of that. In the rare occurrence where you see a Transformer actually transform, it doens’t feel authentic. In much the same way, when you see a Transformer die, large chunks break away leaving behind little in terms of debris. The brutality that Bay captured so well is missing. The Transformers don’t feel like sentient life in the form of robots — they just feel like robots. I found myself missing Bay as the action on the screen played out. As more and more goons fell and more and more main characters continued to stay alive, I started to miss what Transformers used to be: brutal epics that, while controversial, managed to tell dark tales of humans caught in the midst of a violent alien civil war. As I’ve said multiple times, Bumblebee was a good, small breath of fresh air. But I think I’m ready to see the dark stories return. Hell, we almost get a little taste of it when Bumblebee “dies” (becomes incapacitated for the majority of the movie). I wish it would have been a different character because I love Bumblebee so much, but I understand what they were going for. While I assumed he would come back in the end, it still made me care just a little bit. It just wasn’t enough to push the film over the edge.
What The Timeline?
If you’re like me, you’re probably a little confused about the chronology of the Transformers film universe. In the 2007 film, it appears that the Autobots are arriving on Earth for the first time… but then Bumblebee makes it clear that they have been to Earth before. So… what gives? Well, it appears that Bumblebee has all but been confirmed as being a reboot for the franchise, completely erasing the Bay films from canon — or, more likely, creating a new canon. I think this movie continues to prove that erasure, with a small comment about Mark Wahlberg made by Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) standing as proof that Bay’s films do not exist in this canon. Moreover, it seems that Paramount and Hasbro want to use this new canon to launch a brand-new cinematic universe (a bit late, but okay), with one of the final scenes of the movie announcing that G.I. Joe exists alongside the Transformers. I laughed out loud when I saw this, and I hope to God this doesn’t end up failing as badly as Universal’s Dark Universe. I also hope they don’t try tying the forgettable G.I. Joe films into the mix — or worse, Snake Eyes. Might as well just reboot that, too. Or just keep them separate.
What About the Positives?
I feel as if I have been a bit harsh. For the most part, I found this movie to be extremely enjoyable. The performances were good (even though I found Pete Davidson’s voice coming out of a Transformer to be a bit offputting). The action, while missing something, was fun. The plot, for the most part, was short and sweet. The villains, while nothing special, were menacing enough (although I expected more from Unicron). Rise of the Beasts is a good movie, it just fumbled with the potential it held. I don’t want to say I’m disappointed… but I’m going to. I’m disappointed.
The Verdict
With all of that being said, I can’t say I didn’t at least enjoy my time in the theater. Sure, the film wasn’t great, but at least I could see the potential. Am I worried this film won’t do well enough at the box office? Yes. Do I think it’s worth checking out? Yes. Do I think it will spawn the next best cinematic universe? Yes.
Just kidding. Absolutely not.
Overall, Rise of the Beasts, as entertaining as it was at times, makes me miss Bay. Laugh at and criticize that statement all you want — I’m going to state it proudly.
I give Transformers: Rise of the Beasts a…
6/10
For effort.
