When it comes to toys, lines like G.I Joe and Barbie have defined their share of childhood experiences. Yet the toys that stuck with me were none other than those robots in disguise the Transformers. What started as Japanese toys became a pop culture phenomenon as the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons has been in various mediums with TV being the most prominent outlet. The silver screen has been no stranger to the Transformers as, along with having a feature based on the hit Tv series, the robots in disguise would receive a live action adaptation in 2007 directed by Michael Bay. To prevent blood shooting out my eyes, I will simply state that I have not been a fan Bay’s Transformers as their sense of entertainment became an endurance test for me. However, I will not deny that these movies have been successful as they have become a high grossing film franchise. It has been some time since the Autobots have rolled out onto the big screen with last outing being 2018’s Bumblebee, which I ended up enjoying, but at long the series has made its return the summer blockbuster Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Directed by Steven Caple Jr Rise of the Beasts centers on Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) leading a team of Autobots during the 90’s. When the Terrorcons led by Scourge (Peter Dinklage) invade Earth to summon Unicron (Coleman Domingo), the Autobots must join forces with not just humans like Noah (Anthony Ramos) but also the Maximals led by Optimus Primal (Ron Pearlman) to stop this cosmic threat. While continuing from the continuity established in Bumblebee, the filmmakers stated that the new movie would have some connection to the 2007 film; though also stated that this installment would be a standalone film. However, the more intriguing aspect to this movie was bringing the popular 90’s series, Beast Wars, to the forefront as it utilized certain plot points from the show. Between the new continuity as well as the inclusion of Beast Wars characters, the latest installment definitely had my interest. It took me longer than expected to see this latest installment but after experiencing Rise of the Beasts I can say that the new Transformers movie may not have been more than meets the eyes, but it was still enjoyable.

After seeing Bumblebee, I was curious to see where Transformers would go next as the 2018 movie showed potential for the series to get a fresh start. However, after seeing this new installment, I felt that the potential was still there, but it was more of the same for the Robots in the Disguise. The plot to Rise of the Beasts was simplistic as the Autobots, and their human allies, travel the globe to stop the latest threat. While this concept was understandable, it felt formulaic and it made the plot too predictable (though it did have a few surprises). However, an aspect I appreciated was the story’s message of uniting to face a greater challenge. This idea was compelling and it made within the confines of the Transformers franchise; though the execution could have been a little stronger. While the plot had its issues, it did have a sense of adventure along with moments that this Transformers fan grinning from ear to ear.

When it came to the cast, I was not expecting much. While the franchise can be surprising with its characters, the cast to this series tends to be simplistic in nature. So, in the case of this cast, this group was a decent one to be sure. In the case of the Autobots, the team of Transformers were an enjoyable crew. From Bumblebee to Arcee (Liza Koshy), each of these characters brought something to the film. Of course, the character to get the most development was none other than Optimus Prime. Optimus’ development could be off-putting in places, but the direction of the iconic character went through was understandable. The other Autobot to get the most development was Mirage (Pete Davidson) who ended up being better than I thought. As for the human characters, they were decent to say the least. Noah was compelling with his development playing off Optimus while Elena (Dominique Fishback) could be contrived in her role-but she did have her moments. As for the Maximals I enjoyed seeing characters like Optimus Primal and Airazor (Michelle Yeoh) but I wished a little more screentime. Last and not least were the film’s villains, the Terrocons. This group of evil Transformers were impressive as Scrourge was quite possibly the most imposing villain this film franchise has seen in its entire tenure; and being played by Peter Dinklage certainly did not hurt the character’s presence.

The Transformers movies are known for two things which are their visuals and their action and these areas vary in quality. In the case of the Rise of the Beasts, these aspects were acceptable. While the effects could be spotty, they got the job done in bringing the Transformers to life-especially when it came to their designs. In the matter of action, the movie was enjoyable as it featured a variety of sequences that were explosive and had a spark of creativity to them. As for the music, the score by Jongnic Bontemps was a fair composition. While capturing the music by Steven Jablonsky, the score had an adventurous sense to it which helped the movie’s enthusiastic tone.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, in my opinion, played out as expected. The new installment lived to its series name by being an enjoyable adventure with decent sense of spectacle. However the formulaic direction held the movie back from breaking new ground and this made it difficult to enjoy the movie in certain places. I feel that, in regards to live action, we have yet to see the definitive Transformers movie; but despite its faults I do think that Rise of the Beasts is a step in the right direction as this new installment is an enjoyable blockbuster for the summer season.