Transformers Rise of the Beasts: Latest Installment Seeks to Correct Confusing Continuity

By John Kirk

Rating: B+

Maybe giant robots that turn into cars, or in this case, animals, isn’t your deal. But despite the goofy premise and the formulaic nature of the story in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, it isn’t that bad.

But where does it belong in the franchise’s continuity?

I never was a fan of the Autobots, who waged their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons. (That’s the original theme song, by the way... just proving my nerdiness.) But as someone who dwells in the same geekosphere, you can’t dismiss the incredible attraction it has had for devotees of the 1980s toys, cartoons, and even comics over the last 40 years.

It has spawned multimillion-dollar films that might make some folks wonder how they all relate to each other. However, one of the positive side effects of this particular movie is that fans can actually dismiss them and start again.

Well, if they want, that is.

This film has been called a prequel, as it’s set in 1994, years before the other films, but it’s more like a reboot in which movie-going fans may have to adapt to. Admittedly, it’s a bit confusing.

The film happens after Bumblebee (2018) which is set in 1987 but then there’s the 2007 Michael Bay films that director, Steven Caple, Jr. told The Hollywood Reporter that “he tried to protect.” Still, the continuity errors with the arrival of the Autobots on Earth are glaringly hard to ignore. Nerds like their canonical continuity but I think the best way to enjoy this film is to simply accept its – ahem – “Prime” nature.

Jeez … I just made an Optimus Prime joke.

Let’s look at the story. The film starts with a back story of the Maximals, animal versions of the Transformers who swore a sacred oath to protect life on other planets from the evil planet consuming Unicron (Colman Domingo).

They are led by Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) and Airazor (Michelle Yeoh) who escape their planet and Unicron’s servants led by Scourge (Peter Dinklage). They take with them the Transwarp Key, a device that can allow Unicron to travel to all parts of the universe in his ambition to sate his hunger and consume planets.

That brings them to Earth and then we are introduced to struggling returned ex-serviceman, Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) struggling to find a job to help care for his mother (Lauren Velez) and his sick younger brother, Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez).

He gets mixed up in an attempt to steal — you guessed it — a car, that turns out to be an Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson). That brings him into contact with Elena (Dominique Fishback), an intern at a local museum that houses the missing Transwarp Key disguised as an artifact. From there, the struggle to return the Transwarp Key to the evil Unicron ensues.

It's a fairly straightforward premise, right?

The Maximals escape to Earth and we then see familiar Transformer characters like Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and Bumblebee. Optimus sees the Transwarp Key as a way of getting he and his fellow Autobots home to their planet of Cybertron, but the Maximals see the device as something to be protected. This all brings them into conflict with Scourge and his crew and for the rest of the film, it’s giant robot versus giant robot.

Which is exactly what fans of this franchise want. However, what differentiates this from the Michael Bay films is that the focus of the story is on the robot characters and not the human ones. In a film about giant, alien robots, that’s the given expectation and that’s a difference fans will appreciate.

I can also appreciate that Peter Cullen is the voice of the original Optimus Prime. Even though this isn’t my particular fandom, I like consistency. All fans will appreciate hearing his deep tones bringing one of their favourites to life and this helps to establish the reboot nature of the film.

The combat action is also toned down in comparison to the Michael Bay-esque explosions that have come to be synonymous with his films. It does focus more on the story and while that opens the door for many formulaic patterns, the predictability is in line with what fans would expect from these characters.

So, on that note, again, fans are getting what they want. Non-fans will actually get the comfort of a story they can understand. Come on… it’s a story based on a 1980s cartoon and kid’s toy. You can’t expect a sophisticated story that will challenge your expectations. There’s going to be campy dialogue and some things that go boom.

However, if you stick around to the end of the film, there’s an event that will definitely take some fans by surprise. I hate to reveal spoilers, so I won’t, but I will say that it opens up the door to other franchises.

It’s a pretty cool development that, in my opinion, definitely adds to possibilities in the future that will make fans even more grateful and might even interest some non-fans as well. In fact, you might even say that it gives this film “Prime” importance over its Bay-era predecessors.

Ah no… another Optimus Prime joke.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Directed by Steven Caple, Jr. Starring Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Velez, Dean Scott Vazquez, Tobe Nwigwe, Peter Cullen, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Liza Koshy, John DiMaggio, David Sobolov, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Pete Davidson, Cristo Fernández, Tongayi Chi, and Colman Domingo. In theatres June 9.