Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - Cheap Thoughts

We certainly live in an odd time for Blockbuster Movies, or some would say a straight up bad time for them. Many would say the problem lies within the production. Overblown budgets, tight deadlines, a thousand rewrites and IP mining nostalgia-bait. Others would say the problem is external factors such as the simple quantity of them ruins the magic as we used to only get several a year and now its one a week, and with the prices of cinema tickets they hardly seem worth going to as they’re less special yet treated more like a commodity. Naturally the problem is of course both.

There is an irony that a property like Transformers which is heaped in nostalgia-bait as a long running IP, as the newest film has some yearning for the live-action films of the past, which they themselves were lampooned as the lesser blockbusters of their time. On one hand Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a much simpler, crisper and functional film, it has a basic narrative and working character arcs that would pass an introductory screenwriting class, and it is even aware of the praises and shortcomings of prior Transformers films and attempts to offer something new. Instead of Bumblebee being the leading Autobot we now have Mirage (Pete Davidson), instead of Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) being a noble altruistic leader he is a desperate soldier who must overcome his flaws, instead of 2000’s Linkin Park we have 90s hip-hop…to each their own.

Are the comparisons justified or even fair? The short answer is yes; the film is very aware of what came before it, and is trying to avoid replicating it entirely, which comes with its own hills & valleys, by avoiding the bad, you also avoid the good. Michael Bay’s Transformers films, specifically the first one is a very polarising film, it has many flaws such as Bay’s reliance on stereotypes, pro-military propaganda and incoherent theming. Yet it is also visually dynamic, memorable characters (not necessarily good, but memorable) and has a very underrated score from Steve Jablonksy.

Rise of the Beasts in comparison feels hollow. It has better theming, but a story just as basic as before, yet the visuals, the action and the effects are all hollow and basic. The Transformers seemingly have no weight to them, you’d never believe these trucks with legs were walking around you, the fight scenes are shot from a distance with little impact and there is no gravitas to the events happening. For all its issues, 2007’s Transformers made it feel epic, like an event, and that the action meant something instead of just being the film equivalent of a seat filler.

In an attempt to avoid having any major lows the film has failed to try for any highs and is left a hollow and forgettable film. It is perfectly serviceable and is far from the worst Transformers film but it is unlikely anyone will feel something while watching it or even remember what happened the day after.

-Danny