Reel Review Roundup

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (M)

Directed by: Steven Caple Jr.

Starring: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback

Review by: Julian Wright

The warring, shape-shifting alien robots are back on the big screen in a prequel of sorts, as they battle over a key in the 1990s.

In Brooklyn, 1994, Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) is struggling to hold down a job to support his young brother and mother.

Meanwhile, smart museum intern Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) struggles to get the recognition of her demanding boss.

The two strangers are thrown together when they become embroiled in the battle between allies Maximals and Autobots and the Terrorcons over a key that can get them back to their home planets.

But in the wrong hands, the key can also be used to destroy Earth.

Providing a novelty to the franchise in the animal-like Maximals gives little to elevate this entry above many of the others that have cone before it.

There is a freshness with the diverse casting and characters with eclectic backgrounds (though the struggling Latin family is a little iffy), but once the action gets going, there is little we haven’t seen before.

Sure, it whips along at a speedy pace, there is a slew of amusing one-liners and the 90s nostalgia is sure to tickle those who were around to experience them – it serves as a nice, big, loud diversion from reality.

But once those credits role and that post-credits scene is done (of course there is one), there is little that lingers in the memory.

This entry was posted on June 22, 2023 at 5:37 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.