Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’

Written by Shae Rufe

OPTIMUS PRIMAL and OPTIMUS PRIME in PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE Present In Association with HASBRO and NEW REPUBLIC PICTURES A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production A TOM DESANTO / DON MURPHY Production A BAY FILMS Production “TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS”. (Photo Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.)

There have officially been six Transformers movies now and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the best one by far. The film was a great way to introduce the Maximals from the Beast Wars: Transformers series. In fact, this movie is a perfect Combination of Beast Wars and the original animated Transformers movie. The Autobots have to team up with the Maximals to defeat the planet eating Unicron. Every 80s kid fell in love with this movie and to see the recreation on the big screen is the feature of the summer. It’s well worth it!

The best part about the Transformers movies so far is that they don’t adhere to any one specific timeline, with the exception of the first live action trilogy. Beyond that, the Transformers movies have jumped around, giving various past and future points with varying human leads. We get to see our favorite characters evolve and change. Not to mention, the sheer amount of Autobots we get to see come and go, since the franchise has brough in various members of the over 300 that we met during our childhood. Of course, let’s all be honest, Bumblebee is by far our favorite. He stole our hearts and we’ve never stopped loving him. He even got his own stand-alone movie, making him the coolest Autobot of them all!

With the 1986 cartoon film, we were all introduced to Unicron, a planet eating massive robot. Unicron actually enslaved Megatron, using him to do his bidding. Unicron wants to eat Cybertron, and our band of Autobots have to stop him! Transformers: Rise of the Beasts marries the concept of the movie with the Beast Wars cartoon in a wonderful way. This movie takes everyone’s favorite characters and draws in both old and new fans. For those of us who have been with the series since the 1980s, played with the toys, and watched our VHS copies of the cartoon movie over and over, it’s a hit of nostalgia. Awakening our inner child and reliving the excitement of seeing our favorite characters come to life before us. For new fans, it’s an expansion into the Transformers Movie-Verse that brings back old characters and introduces some new amazing characters.

The franchise is kept fresh. This is a remake of epic proportions with a twist. Allowing us older fans to introduce one of our favorite series to the next generations. It’s quite the epic adventure. And maybe it reawakens the kid in us just a bit, reminding us to have fun in life and to enjoy what we love. For all the collectors out there, it’s a new opportunity to expand their collection too! Let’s be really honest, the Transformers toys were the coolest back in the day.

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UNICRON and SCOURGE in PARAMOUNT PICTURES and SKYDANCE Present In Association with HASBRO and NEW REPUBLIC PICTURES A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production A TOM DESANTO / DON MURPHY Production A BAY FILMS Production “TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS”. (Photo Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.)

​In this movie, we’re introduced to some new characters, Noah a young man struggling to help keep his family afloat after being discharged from the army. Noah’s younger brother is sick, and their mother is behind on medical bills, and he’s trying to find a new job when his life is turned upside down. Admittedly, seeing a car turn into a sentient giant robot has to be terrifying. Still, Noah gets onboard with helping Mirage and the Autobots pretty quickly. Then we meet Elena, a museum assistant who knows far more about art and artifacts than her actual boss. She works hard to try and get the recognition she deserves. When a strange new artifact is brought in that piques her interest. She stays late to try to determine the origin of the statue, only to be thrown into a world with sentient robot aliens, and now it’s up to them and the Transformers to stop the evil Unicron from eating everything in the galaxy.

Speaking of the stars of the show; the Transformers themselves are not to be outdone. The voice casting for this movie is beyond perfect. Except for Bumblebee, who still has his broken voice here. But we have Peter Cullen, forever our Optimus Prime. He’s joined by Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, leader of the Maximals. Pete Davidson as the iconic Mirage, and Liza Koshy as the fierce Arcee. This amazing cast is joined by Oscar Winner Michelle Yeoh as Airazor, Peter Dinklage as the right hand of Unicron, Scourge. And the world eater is voiced by Colman Domingo. Quite the shoes to fill since the Orson Welles was the original Unicron, and Colman is up to the task, making Unicron his own while keeping the fear he instilled in us back in 1986 as fresh as when we first saw Unicron on the silver screen.
 
Voice cast aside, the film is visually stunning, with the latest in CGI that blends seamlessly, making the movie have a more realistic feel. Which makes the action scenes utterly amazing. However, it’s the soundtrack that really sets this movie apart from all the others. This film is set in 1994, and the Rap and Hip Hop that they utilized from the 90s is just timelessly perfect. Music can make or break a film, and this Transformers movie found the perfect mix with the best music choices to bring together the greatest remake from our childhoods. This fun action-packed movie makes for a great summer blockbuster. It’s a fantastic adventure for all ages!

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