- Rise of the Beasts opens with Noah who struggles to find a decent job to support his family and Elena who works in a museum and is interested in researching artifacts. But oh my, we couldn't care less about them. They really spent almost 30 minutes on their stories which as you can guess, are very bland and dull. Noah's story might seem relatable for some people as we're in a tough economy now but audience doesn't want you talking about finding a job. This ain't for the Oscar. And Elena barely has any story. We don't even know who she is. No really. Who is she? 😅ðŸ˜
- They could cut to the chase and skip some of the parts in the first act. It becomes worse when there's no comedy, everything is just so serious. A total opposite of Sam Witwicky (Shia Labeouf) and Mikaela's (Megan Fox) where comedy was top-notch and the plot was simple and fun. Even Sam's parents were comical. We're not exactly sure why they chose the serious road this time around, but we prefer Sam Witwicky's world.
- On the other hand, the robots have better chemistry and a better story to tell. Mirage, voiced by Pete Davidson is goofy af. For the first time ever, we can tolerate with Pete Davidson. And we might even like him now. Bumblebee is Bumblebee, we all know we love him. Arcee is very acrobatic, she's the eye candy and yes, she can also fight. But the common thing that stands out is they actually have a soul. We feel close to them, we can relate to them, they are not JUST robots. They are living beings. And somehow, we care about them more than what Transformers 4 & 5 can offer to us.
- Without a doubt, there are plenty of actions from beginning until the end. You don't have to worry about that. But the question is, 'Are there good?' We could say you'll be entertained. But goshhhh, we miss Michael Bay so much so that this movie tries to do what Bay did but it doesn't work. Bay's skills and talents put him as the master of action scenes and we know that. His directorial left a big mark and we're dying to see something that is at least, on par with what Bay did. But what we saw something in the middle. They couldn't achieve the bar that Bay had set but it wasn't disappointing either. It is still entertaining.
- Entertaining being that this movie is action-packed especially when the middle part starts to kick in. Fun fact that it has more action than Fast X or Guardians of the Galaxy. You know when Bay did his Transformers films, there were plenty of WOW/WOAH moments (we are referring to the first three) because Bay included slow-mos that looked very cool, upbeat music that synced with the choreography, customized sound-design explosions that only he could pull off amongst many other elements. Rise of the Beasts has its WOW/WOAH moments as well (not as many) but it felt short compared to Bay's. Slow-mos were almost non-existent, music was okay at best but doesn't help with the action and explosions are explosions, nothing unique or refreshing.
- However, thanks to its choreography, they are able to create some truly WOW moments that will literally WOW you. Some of the stunts have been done many times before but we're pleased to see they are able to create a few action stunts that are purely amazing.
- Let's talk about tracking shots. This film does use this technique a few times where the cameras follow the characters from behind and it creates this sense of POV that we love coming from a sci-fi robot film. This may be a nitpicky thing and it deals with our preference, but this film could be so much better if they have more tracking shots especially with the two leads, Noah and Elena running for survival or on Arcee, the superbiker. But we really applause the use of tracking shots, just beautiful.
- There was a subplot/twist in Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen that apparently this film borrows and uses it almost quite the same way. Now this depends entirely on your opinion, being that it is rehashed, on whether you like it or not. If you're asking us, we have a mixed feeling because it seems super duper predictable, like we KNOW where it's headed.
- You know in every Transformers movie, Optimus Prime would give his closing speech and the credits roll as it ends? Well, this film offers a surprise. It is quite different than all the previous films. And what even surprise us is that the ending got us good. Real good. You won't know what's coming. And if there's a sequel, we don't know how they're gonna make it happen. The ending is worth watching this in cinemas.
Verdict: Incredibly better than Transformers 4 & 5, Rise of the Beasts offers itself to be quite entertaining with above-average action sequences and some genuinely WOW moments, thanks to its choreography and tracking shots. However, the uninteresting human drama and lack of comedy make this a subpar entry compared to the first three Transformers films.