Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts (12A)

In 1990s New York, electronic expert Noah Diaz becomes embroiled in the fight for humanity alongside Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and the Autobots. Creature compatriots the Maximals led by Optimus Primal, who can transform into a hulking gorilla, pledge to fight alongside the Autobots to thwart a deadly faction of the Decepticons led by Scourge. The battle for Earth reaches a critical juncture.

LondonNet Film Review

Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts (12A) Film Review from LondonNet

The infinite monkey theorem in mathematics suggests primates randomly hitting keys on a typewriter could eventually produce a literary masterpiece. I’d contend that an army of robot monkeys, similar to the Optimus Primal gorilla in director Steven Caple Jr’s picture, could eventually replicate the work of the five human screenwriters of this seventh chapter of the blockbuster series. Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts lumbers through two hours of treasure-hunting hokum that introduces characters from the Transformers: Beast Wars saga and feigns suspense by threatening our existence with a gargantuan villain that devours planets like Earth…

Caple Jr’s film is chronologically positioned as a sequel to Bumblebee and a prequel to the first Transformers film released in 2007 so there is 100% probability that pivotal characters will survive to interact with Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Mark Wahlberg further along the timeline. Dramatic tension evaporates and this latest overblown jaunt resorts to the usual blitzkrieg of bombastic action set pieces and perfunctory human protagonists including a museum worker played by Dominique Fishback, who exists solely to forcibly shepherd a flimsy plot from A to Zzzzzz. She portrays the most important character in Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts and the least interesting. An entire back story is shoehorned into one throwaway scene in the hold of a cargo plane.

In 1994 New York City, ex-serviceman Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) urgently seeks work to support his mother (Luna Lauren Velez) and cover the spiralling medical bills of a sickly 11-year-old brother (Dean Scott Vazquez). He reluctantly accepts a job from neighbourhood chancer Reek (Tobe Nwigwe) to steal a sports car from a hotel parking garage. The high-end motor turns out to be robot-in-disguise Mirage (voiced by Pete Davidson), who propels Noah into the midst of a hunt for a precious Transwarp key, which will allow Autobot leader Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and his mechanised compatriots to return home to Cybertron.

The precious artefact is in the possession of museum worker Elena Wallace (Fishback), who is blissfully unaware of the key’s importance. Alas, Terrorcon assassin Scourge (Peter Dinklage) and his deadly hench-bots also seek the trinket to summon their planet-devouring master Unicron (Colman Domingo). The fate of Earth hangs in the balance and creature compatriots the Maximals led by Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) bolsters the Autobot ranks in the fight against Scourge.

Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts is an emotionally hollow retread that relies heavily on fans’ enduring affection for the robots. Ramos is an appealing hero with a strict moral compass but he eventually gets lost in the Iron Man-lite bluster of a lacklustre showdown. A post-credits tease establishes Caple Jr’s film as the opening salvo of a new trilogy, regardless of whether we want one.

– Jo Planter