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It’s still a movie about giant space robots talking trash and smashing into each other, but “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is better than most offerings in the franchise.

This latest summertime extravaganza, based on the Hasbro toys, doesn’t reach the heights of the unexpectedly delightful “ Bumblebee ” from 2018. But it’s far superior to the five cacophonous blockbusters Michael Bay directed between 2007 and 2017. Steven Caple Jr. (“ Creed II ”) takes over the reins this time, bringing a narrative focus and visual coherence that’s been woefully lacking in the past. You can actually see what’s happening in the gargantuan action sequences, which is always a plus.

Longtime fans will probably revel in the childhood nostalgia of seeing these beloved characters come to life once again. Besides the Autobots—led as always by Optimus Prime and voiced by Peter Cullen with his signature gravitas—“Rise of the Beasts” also features Maximals from the “Transformers: Beast Wars” TV series and various intergalactic villains doing the bidding of the planet-gobbling Unicron ( Colman Domingo ). They’re all in pursuit of the same ancient, McGuffiny doohickey which is super powerful and can cause massive damage.

But what makes “Rise of the Beasts” palatable for everyone else is the fact that it demonstrates surprising care with the human beings trapped in the midst of this epic battle between good and evil. That’s a rarity in this series, known more for the bland types and groan-inducing banter of the Bay movies. The screenplay, credited to five people, gives the likable Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback the opportunity to create characters we might even care about.

And yes, it does sound inherently contradictory to say: “I would like more humanity in my movie about otherworldly beings pretending to be cars and trucks.” But that’s what makes “Rise of the Beasts,” and Travis Knight ’s ‘80s-set “Bumblebee” stand out.

This isn’t exactly a sequel to “Bumblebee,” but it does begin soon afterward in 1994 and before the events of the first “ Transformers .” So it’s sort of a prequel and sort of a reboot. Whatever it is, it takes place in a grungy, pre-Giuliani New York City where Ramos’ Noah Diaz is a former military electronics expert looking for work to support his family. This includes his adorable younger brother, Kris ( Dean Scott Vazquez ), who’s suffering from a chronic illness. At the same time, at a museum on Ellis Island, Fishback’s Elena is fighting to prove herself as an artifacts expert who’s knowledgeable beyond her years. These are both young people of color being repeatedly underestimated and marginalized by the predominately white people in charge, which provides more context and social criticism than we usually see in these movies.

They both find themselves flung into the hunt for the all-important Transwarp Key—Noah when he tries to steal a Porsche that turns out to be an Autobot, Elena when she studies a new sculpture that’s come into the lab with mysterious symbols on it. One of the most enjoyable parts of “Rise of the Beasts” is the back-and-forth between Ramos and Pete Davidson as the voice of Mirage, the wisecracking sports car. The role calls for Davidson to showcase his irreverent, playful persona. It’s perfect casting, and it may be his best work ever.

Other heavy hitters among the voice cast include Michelle Yeoh as the majestic Maximal falcon Airazor, Ron Perlman as the roaring gorilla Optimus Primal, and Peter Dinklage as the vicious Scourge, the leader of the Terrorcons who’s Unicron’s right-hand man. The ever-charming Cristo Fernández basically does his sunny Dani Rojas personality from “Ted Lasso” as a 1970s Volkswagen bus named Wheeljack, but it’s still a pleasure. Nineties hip-hop classics from A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Diggable Planets, The Notorious B.I.G. and more are a great fit and provide an infectious vibe.

But ultimately, “Rise of the Beasts” does what every Transformers movie has to do: wrap up with a seemingly endless fight sequence in which big, shiny chunks of metal slam noisily into each other. The smaller and more intimate special effects are more impressive than these massive set pieces; Mirage evolves in a multitude of cool ways that look tactile and realistic, for example. But while this climax isn’t as dizzying and interminable as they so often are, it’s still rather dull compared to the action that came before it.

There is also the fundamental problem that there are no real stakes: We know what happens to these characters, and that they’ll not only be OK but also survive for several more movies. And of course, a mid-credits scene suggests that there’s even more to come from this cinematic universe, because there’s always more to come. So you may as well buckle up.

Opens Friday, June 9th.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language.

127 minutes

Anthony Ramos as Noah Diaz

Dominique Fishback as Elena Wallace

Luna Lauren Velez as Mrs. Diaz

Tobe Nwigwe as Reek

Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime (voice)

Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal (voice)

Peter Dinklage as Scourge (voice)

Michelle Yeoh as Airazor (voice)

Liza Koshy as Arcee (voice)

John DiMaggio as Stratosphere / Transit (voice)

David Sobolov as Rhinox / Battletrap (voice)

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as Nightbird (voice)

Pete Davidson as Mirage (voice)

Cristo Fernández as Wheeljack (voice)

Tongayi Chirisa as Cheetor (voice)

Colman Domingo as Unicron (voice)

• Steven Caple Jr.

Writer (story)

• Joby Harold
• Darnell Metayer
• Josh Peters
• Erich Hoeber

Cinematographer

• Enrique Chediak
• William Goldenberg
• Joel Negron
• Jongnic Bontemps

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‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Review: Here Come the Grease Monkeys

Things start out fun with this prequel, but frantic plot mechanics might steer your interest into a ditch.

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By Amy Nicholson

No franchise asks more — and less — from its audience than “Transformers.” The spectacle-first, logic-second series has given us six films to adjust to Optimus Prime, a semi-truck who whip-whop-whoomps into a humanoid with windshield wipers that tickle his nipples. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” a goofy seventh installment that rattles along well enough until the wheels fall off, ballyhoos an evolution: a biomechanical gorilla who calls himself Optimus Primal. Optimus Primate would have been too sensible. And before you ask, the movie offers no explanation why a bionic biped would bother shape-shifting into another bionic biped. Silly mammal — that’s not the point.

In fairness, these metaphysical questions were explored in the futuristic and bizarrely engaging ’90s cartoon “Beast Wars: Transformers” and its spinoff “Beast Machines: Transformers,” which felt like sipping on a spiked juice box in an ashram. When that Optimus Primal was asked if he was robot or animal, he mystically intoned, “Both … and neither. The key is finding the balance within yourself. Only then can you truly say, ‘I am transformed.’”

But also in fairness, those shows and this movie share zero DNA. “I don’t get ‘Beast Wars,’” Lorenzo di Bonaventura, one of this film’s producers, once said . Instead, he and the director Steven Caple Jr. have rewound the clock to 1994 for yet another demolition derby. Once the nostalgic touchstones have been inlaid — one-strap overalls, O.J. Simpson and a killer classic hip-hop soundtrack — Optimuses Prime and Primal (voiced by Peter Cullen and Ron Perlman) team up to combat a planet-gobbler (Colman Domingo) and his minion, Scourge (Peter Dinklage), whose thorax throbs angrily like someone installed a cigarette lighter on his lungs.

Along for the ride are two Homo sapiens from Brooklyn: Dominique Fishback as Elena, a museum intern, and Anthony Ramos as Noah, an electronics whiz. The charismatic actors struggle, through no fault of their own, to share scenes with sentient fenders. It doesn’t help that neither character’s behavior quite passes the Turing test. Elena’s job duties range from authenticating rare da Vincis to having her boss’s clothes pressed; Noah burns scrambled eggs while soldering a cable box. Of the dozen-plus additional creatures crammed onscreen, the only others who register are a motor-mouthed Porsche named Mirage (Pete Davidson), an armored falcon (Michelle Yeoh), and an eroticized motorcycle (Liza Koshy) introduced rump-first in a nod to the director of the first five films, Michael Bay, who sure loved to linger on a lady’s chassis.

Things start out fun, with some clever inversions. Noah steals Mirage and is horrified to realize that the car has, in turn, stolen him. The humans do a little shape-shifting themselves, through costumes and stolen IDs. And Noah is comically pained each time he has to explain that he’s working with alien automobiles to prevent Armageddon. Then the frantic go-here, get-the-gizmo story mechanics steer our interest into a ditch.

The plot is a bust. Five credited screenwriters and not one compelling stake. How pointless is it to threaten main characters — let alone Earth — in a prequel? Worse, at the climax, gray machines slug it out on gray terrain under a gray sky. It’s as visually pulse-pounding as thumbtacks on a driveway, and an invitation to close one’s eyes and concentrate on the A.S.M.R. pleasure of shuddering steel. When that gets old, at least there’s solace in the premise, however slapdash its execution. The very existence of a technorganic ape is evidence that computer-generated blockbusters know they still need a beating heart.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Rated PG-13 for language and the sci-fi violence of robots ripping out each other’s spines. Running time: 2 hours 7 minutes. In theaters.

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• Movie Review

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the start of something big, but it’s a terrible Beast Wars movie

Paramount’s new transformers feature barely capitalizes on beast wars’ maximals, but the action-packed movie has a couple of surprises sure to please a certain kind of fan..

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

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Very similar to 2018’s Bumblebee, director Steven Caple Jr.’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts plays like a clever course correction in the context of the rest of Paramount’s films. It’s one meant to bring in both a young, new generation of fans and aging millennials with fond memories of cartoons from the ’80s and ’90s. Rise of the Beasts finds quite a bit of time to pay tribute to older, classic pieces of Transformers storytelling from places like the original Transformers animated movie from 1986. But when it comes to maximizing — which is to say capitalizing on and making interesting use of — the Beast Wars mythos Paramount implied would be a large part of its story, Rise of the Beast falls short, which is disappointing but not exactly a surprise.

Though Rise of the Beasts pulls together characters from both the far-flung past and the distant future, it’s primarily set in 1994 and tells — shockingly — the story of how an unsuspecting human ends up becoming one of the most important participants in a longstanding Cybertronian war. As a young army veteran, all Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) really wants is to find a job to be able to support his little brother Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez) and their mom Breanna (Luna Lauren Velez). With steady work being hard to come by, though, it makes more sense for Noah to get into boosting cars with his buddy Reek (Tobe Nwigwe) than to sit around waiting for recruiter calls that simply aren’t coming in.

It being the ’90s, an old-fashioned slim jim is all Noah needs to get into most cars, like the silver and blue Porsche 964 Carrera RS 3.8 he plans to drive off with the evening of his very first robbery. Right as he’s finally able to work up the nerve to get into the car, however, Noah’s shocked and horrified when the vehicle powers up on its own and starts driving off in response to a radio message calling for the Autobots to roll out.

It should be said that, as predictable and somewhat clunky as Rise of the Beasts is, the movie isn’t without its charms, like the clever and flashy ways that it uses its first chase sequence to introduce you to Mirage (Pete Davidson), the Autobot who takes Noah’s attempt to steal him in stride and as a sign that they should probably be friends. Instead of just telling Noah flat-out that he’s an alien who merely looks like a car, Mirage uses the chase sequence to give his human companion an idea of where his code name comes from, and many of the chase’s smaller details, like the mirage-like clones of Noah the Autobot creates, work to illustrate his lighthearted sense of humor.

It’s quite clear from the jump that Noah and Mirage are going to be Rise of the Beasts ’ emotional core. But rather than using its time judiciously to make sure that its human / alien robot friendship dynamic has enough juice to sustain this story, Rise of the Beasts splits its focus between Noah and the Autobots and Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback), an archaeologist and researcher of mysterious objects of indeterminate origin. 

It’s actually Elena’s late-night tinkering with a strange, birdlike statue that actually sets the bulk of Rise of the Beasts ’ story into motion. But unlike Noah, who always feels like he’s being moved from one scene carefully crafted to build up his heroic framing, Elena constantly seems like something of an afterthought who ends up being saddled with spiels of exposition for dialogue. Fishback is doing her best with what little Rise of the Beasts ’ script gives her, but Ramos is able to shine as both a comedic and somewhat dramatic presence opposite Mirage, who mostly just feels like Davidson — dick jokes and all — in Autobot form.

Even though it’s a nod to Beast Wars , Rise of the Beasts ’ central MacGuffin is every bit as memorable as those in previous Transformers movies, which is to say “not very much.” But it serves the purpose of bringing all of this story’s new players into focus very quickly, which helps keep Rise of the Beasts from ever feeling like it has major pacing issues.

One significant problem the movie does have, unfortunately, is the way it starts to feel overfull and like it doesn’t know how to manage all of its characters once Mirage and Noah have linked up with Optimus and the other Autobots and once the movie’s villains all begin to mobilize.

Similar to his cartoon counterpart, Rise of the Beasts ’ Unicron (Colman Domingo) is a Galactus-like, planet-devouring being of such massive proportions he needs emissaries to help him find suitable sources of food. Unicron’s presence is one of the stronger links Rise of the Beasts has to Paramounts older Transformers movies by way of 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight , where the character was teased out. But rather than following up on threads from that film, here the character exists more as a looming presence in the dark distance who pushes Terrorcons Scourge (Peter Dinklage), Nightbird (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez), and Battletrap (David Sobolov) to do his bidding.

When it was first announced that Paramount was finally going to introduce elements of its Beast Wars series to the live-action Transformers franchise, one of the more interesting questions looming over the movie was how it was going to go about approaching characters like Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman), Airrazor (Michelle Yeoh), and Cheetor (Tongayi Chirisa). Despite being directly connected, the original Transformers and Beasts Wars cartoons were so chronologically and logistically separated that it seemed unlikely that Rise of the Beasts would go the direct adaptation route. But the movie’s title did imply that the Maximals would play a rather significant role in Rise of the Beasts ’ plot, which is what makes the way they kind of just… show up and don’t do all that much another spot of disappointment.

To be quite clear, all of the Maximals look fantastic — like horrifically cool mechanical beasts whose fine features have an uncanny way of making them feel like organic creatures. And the movie does gesture toward their complicated, messy lore that made Beast Wars so fun to obsess over. But ultimately, the Maximals really only end up serving to pad out the Autobots’ ranks as Rise of the Beasts brings the somewhat benevolent humanoid robots and the explicitly nefarious robots together for a fight over the fate of multiple worlds.

Like many a Transformers movie before it, Rise of the Beasts puts an inordinate amount of focus on its human protagonist, who often feels like he’s pulling focus (to be fair, charmingly so) in a movie that really should just be about robot-on-robot violence. Rise of the Beasts does try to differentiate Noah from other Transformers human heroes like Sam Witwicky by giving him a legitimate means of following the Autobots into battle . But the way that the film props Noah up has the unintended side effect of highlighting how Rise of the Beasts doesn’t give Elena all that much to do in its final acts and how the film as a whole has a tendency of sidelining its female characters in a way that really jumps out as being unnecessary.

To some extent, it feels like some of Rise of the Beasts ’ uneven characterizations can be chalked up to there just being so many moving parts in play, but that’s a problem of the movie’s own making and something that might have been wholly avoidable. Especially in its final acts, Rise of the Beasts really starts to feel like the kind of Transformers movie that first kicked the live-action franchise off: it’s big, explosive, and very nice to look at for a few minutes before it all starts to blend together. Whether or not that’s intentional on Paramount’s part isn’t quite clear, but what does seem more certain is how the studio sees Rise of the Beasts as the beginning of its next big movie franchise play.

That’s an odd thing to say about the seventh installment in an ongoing franchise, especially one that doesn’t exactly take advantage of its own prime opportunity to really start steering the ship in a new direction. But for anyone who’s just trying to see some robots turn into some cars and / or animals, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will get the job done.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts also stars Liza Koshy, Cristo Fernández, and John DiMaggio. The movie hits theaters on June 9th.

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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

During the '90s, a new faction of Transformers - the Maximals - join the Autobots as allies in the battle for Earth. During the '90s, a new faction of Transformers - the Maximals - join the Autobots as allies in the battle for Earth. During the '90s, a new faction of Transformers - the Maximals - join the Autobots as allies in the battle for Earth.

• Steven Caple Jr.
• Joby Harold
• Darnell Metayer
• Josh Peters
• Anthony Ramos
• Dominique Fishback
• Luna Lauren Velez
• 832 User reviews
• 215 Critic reviews
• 42 Metascore
• 1 win & 9 nominations

• Elena Wallace

• Breanna Diaz

• Receptionist

• Hotel Security Guard

• NYC Police Officer

• Bridge Security Guard

• Museum Guard
• Amaru's Son
• Amaru's Wife
• (as Santusa Cutipa)
• Amaru's Granddaughter
• (as Yesenia Inquillay)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Scourge's grill is decorated with insignias taken from his slain enemies. The insignias are of various factions from Transformers history: Autobot, Decepticon, Maximal, Predacon, Mercenary, Terrorcon, and Wrecker.
• Goofs Kris is playing a Game Boy, claiming he's unable to beat Bowser. The film is set in 1994; none of the Super Mario Bros. games for the Game Boy in existence at the time had Bowser as their villain. Additionally, the sound effects heard are from the NES, not the Game Boy.

Bumblebee : [clip from "A Few Good Men"] You can't handle the truth!

Optimus Prime : I do not want you going to that drive-in theater any more.

• Crazy credits The film title forms from debris that gets sucked into Unicron's maw, with the Terrorcon insignia flipping to the Maximal insignia and finally the Autobot insignia.
• Alternate versions In some international markets, the end credit song is performed by a local artist (e.g. in the French version it is performed by M.C. Solaar while in Germany the song is by Eko Fresh ).
• Connections Featured in Projector: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
• Soundtracks Unicron Theme From the motion picture The Transformers: The Movie (1986) Written by Vince DiCola (as Vincent L. DiCola)

User reviews 832

• Jun 9, 2023
• How long is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts? Powered by Alexa
• June 9, 2023 (United States)
• United States
• Official Website
• Cuzco, Peru
• Paramount Pictures
• Skydance Media
• New Republic Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $200,000,000 (estimated)
• $157,066,392
• $61,045,464
• Jun 11, 2023
• $438,966,392

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes
• IMAX 6-Track
• Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Digital

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Review: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ marks a franchise in free fall

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The “Transformers” film franchise, spawned in 2007 with Michael Bay’s “Transformers,” was one of the first straight-faced blockbusters based on a toy (and an ‘80s cartoon series). It is now, astonishingly, seven films deep with the release of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” which is both a prequel to “Transformers” and a sequel to 2018’s “Bumblebee,” set in 1987. “Rise of the Beasts,” set in 1994 Brooklyn, is also based on the “Transformers: Beast Wars” media franchise of comic books and anime that introduced the Maximal characters, alien robots that look like giant animals, not shape-shifting cars.

Got all that? It’s OK if you don’t, because the screenplay, by Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber, with a story by Harold, will repeat the pertinent information ad nauseam until you never want to hear the phrase “trans-warp key” ever again. The basics are as such: A giant, planet-eating dark god known as Unicron needs a gleaming key that has been hidden by the Maximals (reminder, those are the beastie bots) in order to gobble as many planets as he’d like, Earth included. What does the key do? Honestly, who knows, it’s just the necessary thingamajig over which the primary players can fight over for two hours.

When aspiring archaeologist Elena ( Dominique Fishback ) accidentally uncovers half of the key hidden in an ancient Incan bird statue and triggers the beacon, the benevolent Autobots, stranded on Earth and led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), send their new human friend Noah ( Anthony Ramos ) to retrieve it. Noah, an Army vet looking for work to support his sick younger brother, got caught up with the Autobots while trying to boost a snazzy Porsche, the Autobot Mirage, voiced by a surprisingly lively Pete Davidson. Thus, the two kids from Brooklyn have to team up with the Autobots to prevent Unicron and his minions the Terrorcons — including a particularly nasty one known as Scourge (Peter Dinklage) — from feasting on Earth and destroying the planet. Crashy-crashy action ensues.

The Michael Bay “Transformers” movies brought an almost fetishistic approach to auto bodies; he is a filmmaker who understands machines better than human beings. In the first couple of films (his five-film run suffered from wildly diminishing returns), there was a certain sensory satisfaction in all that was shiny and chrome, the clicks and whirs of metallic pieces sliding into place with an almost ASMR-like tingle. Though his camera’s gaze at star Megan Fox was icky and leering at best, his approach to the mechanic spectacle of the Autobots was undeniably sensual.

In “Bumblebee,” director Travis Knight and writer Christina Hodson went for cutesy and kiddish, riffing on ‘80s teen movies and turning the yellow Transformer into a cuddly golden retriever type, infusing the series with a sense of heart. Now, “Rise” director Steven Caple Jr., who has the gritty indie film “The Land,” and the boxing sequel “Creed II” under his belt, has to establish himself as an artist within this sprawling blockbuster franchise. He doesn’t go all in on tugging heartstrings or mechanophilia, as his strengths lie in establishing a sense of place and time. The best parts of “Rise of the Beasts” are Caple Jr.’s evocation of 1990s New York City, the soundtrack pumping with classic East Coast hip-hop including the Wu-Tang Clan, the Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J and Black Sheep.

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ is just as good as its predecessor

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ is the latest multiverse-traversing superhero movie and one of the most acclaimed, with a 95% ‘fresh’ score on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

June 2, 2023

Too bad the movie takes place predominantly in Peru, where Ramos and Fishback run around tracking down artifacts and codes in some half-baked Indiana Jones subplot and attempting to express real emotions about their new Transformers pals. Stoic Indigenous Peruvians look on while the Autobots, Terrorcons and Maximals face off on a dusty, gray volcano (thankfully, there’s only minimal damage done to Machu Picchu), in some of the most visually uninspired and shallow action sequences of the franchise.

All the while, Optimus Prime repeatedly intones some form of “protect the key,” “get the key,” “we need the key.” It took five screenwriters to come up with this utter nonsense that has all the dramatic intrigue and emotional depth of a “Transformers” Saturday morning cartoon. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” feels like a film that is at war with itself as Caple Jr. tries to balance character work with the profoundly silly Autobot lore, which talents such as Michelle Yeoh dutifully recite (she voices the eagle bot Airazor).

Unable to rise above this internal conflict, it’s a film that’s both dull and disposable. Though it sets up the opportunity for more interconnected franchise filmmaking, this is a beast that needs to be put down.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'

Rating: PG-13, for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language Running time: 1 hour, 57 minutes Playing: Starts June 9 in general release

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‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Review: A Less Bombastic, More Relatable Sequel Shows That There’s Still Life in the Machine

Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, plus a few old Transformers and some wild-animal new ones, minus Michael Bay's overkill, equals the kind of fun you don't have to hate.

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The film was directed by Steven Caple Jr., who made “Creed II,” the most prosaic entry in the “Creed” series, and when I say that he has staged “Rise of the Beasts” in a scruffy plain grounded way, I mean that as a (moderate) compliment. The film invites you in. Set in a hip-hop-inflected 1994, it’s got a relatable human story that works, and thanks to a script that actually has sustained bursts of dialogue, the robots felt more real to me as characters than they usually do. But they’re still the Transformers.

There is Scourge, the central villain and leader of the Terrorcons, a fascist hulk voiced by Peter Dinklage in tones so dark and ominous they just about shake the earth. And then there is Scourge’s boss, Unicron — a metallic outer-space ring of evil with pincers large enough to wrap themselves around an entire planet. He’s voiced by Colman Domingo with a scary dark majesty that sounds like it could scrape the bottom of the ocean.

One of the best decisions Caple made was not to let any of these figures overstay their welcome. The human story in the foreground is an obligatory and often boring part of any “Transformers” movie, going back to Shia LaBeouf maniacally zooming around in the first few. But the way that Anthony Ramos , from “In the Heights” and the original Broadway production of “Hamilton,” plays Noah Diaz, a military veteran from Brooklyn who’s trying (and failing) to land a job as a security guard, even as he looks after an 11-year-old brother (Dean Scott Vazquez) with sickle-cell anemia, he gets us on Noah’s side. Ramos reminds you of the nervous dudes, all antic jokes and feelers, that the young John Leguizamo used to play. Especially when Noah gets drawn, against his better judgment, into participating in a robbery, and the silver Porsche he’s stealing turns out to be Mirage, an Autobot voiced by Pete Davidson as a winningly good-hearted trickster bro.

The plot, which coincidentally mirrors that of the upcoming “Indiana Jones” movie (the film is aware enough of the parallel to try and defuse it with an Indy in-joke), revolves around the Transwarp Key, a space-time conduit that’s been split in two. One half of it shows up inside an ancient artifact that’s being studied by Elena Wallace ( Dominique Fishback ), a museum researcher whose boss likes to take credit for her research. Elena and Noah, after bonding over their Bushwick youth, join forces to help the Autobots locate the other half of the key in the Aztec wilds of Peru.

Peru, with its photogenic ruins, gives the movie a nice vibrant spacious green backdrop for the robot showdown to come. If Scourge gets his metal claws on the key, Unicron will use it to destroy Earth; Optimus wants the key so that the Autobots can return to their home planet of Cybertron. And the Maximals? They’re on hand to provide the novelty a franchise needs, and do, though I’m not sure if animal robots will prove as compelling to viewers as monster trucks. I expect a box-office ground-rule double, rather than the home runs the old Bay overkill used to provide. That said, Michelle Yeoh makes her valorous presence felt as Airazor, a glittering peregrine falcon whose devotion to the cause takes a surprise turn.

Reviewed at AMC Empire, June 4, 2023. MPA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 117 MIN.

• Production: A Paramount Pictures release of a Skydance Media, Hasbro, New Republic Pictures, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Bay Films production. Producers: Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Duncan Henderson, Don Murphy, Mark Vahradian. Executive producers: Steven Spielberg, Valerii An, David Ellison, Bradley J. Fischer, Dana Goldberg, Brian Goldner, Don Granger, Brian Oliver.
• Crew: Director: Steven Caple Jr. Screenplay: Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber. Camera: Enrique Chediak. Editors: William Goldenberg, Joel Negron. Music: Jongnic Bontemps.
• With: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Peter Cullen, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, Ron Perlman, Pete Davidson, Colman Domingo, Dean Scott Vaquez, Luna Lauren Velez, Cristo Fernández, John DiMaggio, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez.

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‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Is the Best ‘Transformers’ Movie

By Chris Vognar

Chris Vognar

Transformers : Rise of the Beasts triggers a frisson not uncommon to happily mindless franchise movies. It exudes the energy of talented filmmakers trying to wring something creative, unique, or, heaven forbid, human, from a generic template, or trying to sneak just a little bit of flavor into the boxed mix. This palpable effort makes Beasts watchable on a moment-to-moment basis. It has talented actors, Dominique Fishback and Anthony Ramos , doing their best to interact with green-screen concoctions. It has a sense of humor. It has a Nineties hip-hop soundtrack put together by someone who knows and appreciates that music and understands how to utilize it for dramatic effect. In short, it has some of the joy necessary to counteract the paint-by-numbers numbness that often defines these affairs. And that qualifies as a minor victory.

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Caple and his team understand that, beneath the mythical gobbledygook, these movies are about sensations and nostalgia. Beasts encourages you to let your eyes glaze over through the plot exposition and embrace the visceral nonsense. Beasts is dumber than a box of hammers, but it doesn’t drip with the rote cynicism of, say, Fast X . It doesn’t smirk at you. There’s something almost innocent about it, befitting a movie that counts Steven Spielberg as an executive producer (and that shamelessly shouts out E.T. and the Indiana Jones movies). Beasts puts its audience on cruise control, easy and painless. It makes the toy aisle look pretty good.           

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'Transformers' movie review: 'Rise of the Beasts' rolls out with renewed franchise vigor

The genius who cast Pete Davidson as a talking robot that turns into a Porsche deserves an honorary Oscar. Perhaps an MTV Movie Award or something.

There’s actually a bunch of inspired choices in “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters Friday), the latest installment of the popular sci-fi action franchise with metal aliens punching and blasting other metal aliens. The series has thankfully, found its way out of the doldrums of the Michael Bay era and discovered a satisfying groove of nostalgic bliss. It’s still a whole lot of earnest diatribes, hokey zingers and assorted nonsense but it’s at least crowd-pleasing, candy-in-your-popcorn nonsense.

The previous outing, 2018’s coming-of-age charmer “ Bumblebee ,” revisited the 1980s – the decade that spawned the Transformers toy and cartoon craze – and “Beasts” catches up with Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) and the Autobot heroes in 1994. An artifact called the Trans Warp Key is sought after by a world-eating being called Unicron (Colman Domingo), so he can travel through time and space for a planetary smorgasbord that would rival a high-end Las Vegas buffet.

Naturally, this key is on Earth, Unicron’s henchman Scourge (Peter Dinklage) and the Terrorcons are after it, and the Autobots – stuck on our world and trying to get back to their home of Cybertron – team with a group of animal-themed transforming robots called Maximals, who ended up here after Unicron drove them off their planet. (The Maximals were introduced into "Transformers" lore with the '90s animated "Beast Wars" series.)

The plot hinges on human characters, too, and they’re a step up from the Bayhem days of Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Mark Wahlberg. Noah (Anthony Ramos), an ex-Army tech expert who cares for his sick little brother, and Elena (Dominique Fishback), a fledgling anthropologist who knows her ancient history but isn't getting to use it in her museum day job, are proud Brooklynites recruited into the effort to foil Unicron’s meal plans.

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'Transformers': Here's how Pete Davidson's racy riff made it into 'Rise of the Beasts'

Directed by Steven Caple Jr. (“Creed II”), “Beasts” boasts a diverse cast, spiffy visual effects and big robot-battling-robot action scenes that are much more coherent than the cacophonous Bay days. The writing is sharper and smarter as well, including a knowing Marky Mark jab, and while there are still lines like “Cross my spark and hope to die,” at least the characters know it’s corny and go with it. 

More importantly, attention is paid to where the main players have been and where they're going. For example, this isn't the human-loving Optimus Prime of the 2000s "Transformers" films yet; since "Beasts" is sort of a prequel, the Autobot leader and Noah are distrustful of each other and verbally spar before finding common ground.

Autobots, roll out! Every 'Transformers' movie (including 'Rise of the Beasts'), ranked

Another integral aspect: The characters are mostly likable. Noah and Elena give the narrative heart and purpose, plus Noah’s fist-bumping buddy dynamic with new Autobot rebel Mirage is the main reason the film works. There's an all-star squad voicing the various Transformers, including nerd legend Cullen (who’s voiced Prime for four decades), Ron Perlman as Maximals’ gorilla leader Optimus Primal, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as wise Maximal falcon Airazor and Cristo Fernández (aka Dani Rojas on “Ted Lasso”) as Autobot mechanic Wheeljack.

Kids of the now will adore Davidson’s comic timing and humor as Mirage, the transforming robot role he was born to play. Kids of the ‘80s will appreciate the inclusion of Unicron – a character from the 1986 “Transformers” animated movie that was one of the late Orson Welles’ last film roles – as well as a major final-act surprise.

This is no “Beasts” of burden for anyone. It’s a rather enjoyable step in the right direction for a formerly flailing fan-favorite franchise.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Reviews: What Are Critics' First Reactions?

Following the world premiere event for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts , fans got the first reactions from critics who saw the film ahead of its theatrical debut.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts brings a thrilling new cast of characters to the forefront as the franchise continues to evolve, with the latest film serving as a sequel to 2018’s Bumblebee with Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena .

Story details remain under wraps for this new sci-fi outing, although it will boast a longer runtime than any of its predecessors as the Autobots and Decepticons take the spotlight once more.

Rumors teased that Rise of the Beasts was "a mess" at one point during production , leading to many being curious about what critics would say when the first screenings arrived.

'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' Reviews on Social Media

Critics shared their first reactions to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts after the movie had its official world premiere.

Gizmondo's Germain Lussier noted that the film has "some issues in the middle" after a strong start, ranking it alongside Michael Bay's original Transformers movie along with Hailee Steinfeld's Bumblebee from 2018:

"Totally dug 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.' It’s got some issues in the middle but it starts strong, has fantastic 90s hip hop, makes great use of the humans & the 3rd act is a blast. Plus I damn near jumped out of my seat at the end. Right up there with the 1st Bay & 'Bumblebee.'"

Fandom's Eric Goldman praised Transformers 7 for being "quite funny" and boasting strong action, placing it above all of Bay's movies, even though it didn't reach the same highs that Bumblebee did for him:

"'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is really fun. It’s actually quite funny and the action is strong. I did find my eyes glazing over when they’d talk about this movie’s special object (this series sure loves those) but way better than Bay’s movies if not quite 'Bumblebee' level."

CinemaBlend's Mike Reyes called the movie "a blast," ranking this new entry as "arguably the BEST Transformers movie" yet while highlighting the way that it "[makes] for throwback popcorn fun:"

"'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' was a blast! The Beast Wars crew finally shows up in what's arguably the BEST Transformers movie in the run. There's a lot of heart, humor, and Brooklyn pride in here; and it all makes for throwback popcorn fun."

ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis compared this movie to "the ultimate Saturday morning cartoon," praising Anthony Ramos and Pete Davidson's efforts and noting that the film gets "really fun" once it gets going:

"'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' plays like the ultimate Saturday morning cartoon. Some dope Transformers action. Anthony Ramos & Pete Davidson are great, even if some of the dialogue is a little clunky. It’s a lean, fun movie and a promising start to something exciting. I don’t think I can give it a number but I liked it. Could’ve cut some stuff in the first 20 mins cause it takes a bit to get going but when it does it’s really fun."

ScreenRant's Joe Deckelmeier also highlighted Ramos and Davidson's efforts while also using a "fire" emoji to describe Transformers 7 's music:

"'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is a lot of fun! Anthony Ramos carries the movie and Pete Davidson steals every scene as Mirage. The ending blew my mind and the music in the film is *fire emoji*"

Collider's Steven Weintraub ranked Transformers 7 as "one of the best installments in the franchise," highlighting the great GCI and action while noting that his screening "had people clapping in the theater:"

"Happy to say 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is one of the best installments in the franchise. It’s a lot of fun, CGI looks great, and it has well staged action that’s easy to follow. The screening I saw actually had people clapping in the theater and the kids laughed a lot."

Fandango's Erik Davis singled out Pete Davidson's Mirage as stealing the show in Rise of the Beasts, while also praising the '90s tracks on the movie's soundtrack:

"The new 'Transformers' movie is pretty solid! LOVE the Brooklyn setting - Maximals & Scourge add a new spin & the action pops, especially the NY scenes. Mirage steals the show, but the true star is the absolute best soundtrack full of early ‘90s hip-hop hits. This ‘90s kid had fun"

Despite some cheesy moments, Nerd Reactor's Mark Pacis felt the movie packed "a lot of heart" while also delivering "a terrifying and powerful villain" in Scourge:

"'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' makes good use of the animated movie's storyline and integrates the Maximals and Terrorcons to good effect. Stakes are high and Scourge is a terrifying and powerful villain. Action-packed with a lot of heart (albeit with some cheese on top)."

Geeks of Color's Dorian Parks noted that Transformers 7 built upon all the strengths of Bumblebee , leading to an enjoyable ride for a fan of the franchise:

"'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' took everything that worked from ‘Bumblebee’ and amplified it! Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback delivered great performances, and Pete Davidson’s Mirage stole every scene he had. As a fan of the cartoon and franchise, I really enjoyed this film!"

Nerd Reactor's John Nyugen praised director Steven Caple Jr.'s filmmaking style in the movie, as well as for paying respect to cartoons of Transformers past:

"'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' is a blast! Director Steven Caple Jr brought his style with 90s hip hop and heart while also pouring his love for the Transformers and Beast Wars. The biggest inspiration is the 80s animated movie. Mirage will be the new favorite Autobot."

Will Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Succeed With Fans?

Considering how wildly the Transformers franchise has fluctuated over the last 16 years, seeing positive reactions like this is certainly encouraging for Paramount Pictures.

This is also the first effort from this series of movies since Bumblebee debuted in 2018, which will hopefully let fans feel a little more fresh going into Rise of the Beasts with a five-year gap between the sixth and seventh films.

With a mid-June release, Transformers 7 will face stiff competition debuting between Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 2)  and The Flash (June 16), all while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 continues its impressive box office run .

But considering the positivity surrounding the latest efforts for Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and the rest of the robotic protagonists in this film, optimism is high for the Transformers saga to add an exciting new chapter to its legacy.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts debuts in theaters on Friday, June 9.

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Transformers: rise of the beasts, common sense media reviewers.

Fun (if unnecessary) reboot has heart, explosive action.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Centers on teamwork, courage, and perseverance in

Noah and Elena are brave, intelligent, selfless. T

The two main human characters are Noah, a young Pu

Big explosions, one-on-one fights, and large-scale

Elena rests her head on Noah's shoulder and occasi

Occasional use of "s--t," plus "ass," "damn," and

The entire film is virtually a commercial for Hasb

Parents need to know that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the seventh film in the popular toy-based franchise. Based on the 1990s Transformers TV series Beast Wars, the story is set in 1994 New York City, where an ancient artifact acts as a beacon to all-powerful villain Unicron. To help save the…

Positive Messages

Centers on teamwork, courage, and perseverance in the face of difficult odds. The story also requires humans to have empathy for the Transformers and vice versa. The groups must put aside selfish interests in favor of a unified front to stop Unicron, and they learn to trust and rely on one another.

Positive Role Models

Noah and Elena are brave, intelligent, selfless. They don't hesitate to put their own lives in danger if it means saving their families or the world. The Autobots and Primals are dedicated to protecting humans and the Earth, but Optimus Prime isn't initially ready to trust humans the way that Optimus Primal does.

Diverse Representations

The two main human characters are Noah, a young Puerto Rican man (played by Anthony Ramos), and Elena, a young Black woman (Dominique Fishback), who are both from Brooklyn, New York. Elena is also a smart and capable archaeologist. Introduces Noah's close-knit Puerto Rican family, including his single mother and younger brother, who has sickle-cell anemia. The actors who voice the Transformers are from a variety of racial/ethnic backgrounds; director Steven Caple Jr. is Black and Hispanic.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Big explosions, one-on-one fights, and large-scale battles that threaten property and individuals. Combat to the death between robotic (but intelligent and self-aware) aliens that seems to kill a couple of beloved Transformers. The rest of the kill count is villains. Serious high-speed pursuits lead to many accidents, although it's unclear whether any of them are fatal (they would at the very least cause severe injuries). The main villain wants to devour and destroy the entire planet.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Elena rests her head on Noah's shoulder and occasionally accepts his hand as they run or move out of the way of danger. One suggestive comment: Noah introduces Mirage as a "work friend," to which Mirage replies "Friends? But you've been inside me," referring to the fact that Noah has been in the driver's seat of Mirage in Porsche form.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional use of "s--t," plus "ass," "damn," and the euphemism "fudge." The Spanish term "cojones" is said (it translates to "balls" in English).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

The entire film is virtually a commercial for Hasbro toys. On camera, the Transformers disguise themselves as specific cars/vehicles: Porsche, Ford, Volkswagen, Chevrolet Camaro, Nissan Skyline GT, Ducati 916, Freightliner FLA, GMC C7000 Tow Truck, as well as Twizzlers. Off camera: merchandise includes apparel, games, figurines, and other tie-ins.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the seventh film in the popular toy-based franchise . Based on the 1990s Transformers TV series Beast Wars , the story is set in 1994 New York City, where an ancient artifact acts as a beacon to all-powerful villain Unicron. To help save the world, two young humans ( Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback ) team up with the Autobots and animal-like Primal Transformers. You can expect the usual big, boomy action, with lots of explosions, chases, crashes, intense fights (some of which seem fatal), and large-scale battles that threaten property and individuals. But with the exception of one suggestive comment, this movie is far less crude and crass than previous Transformers films. It also centers on a more diverse human cast and setting (Brooklyn and Manhattan in the mid-1990s) and has themes of empathy, teamwork, courage, and perseverance, as well as the importance of duty to family and community. Language includes "s--t," "ass," and "damn." There's virtually no romance or substance use. Peter Dinklage , Pete Davidson , Michelle Yeoh , Ron Perlman , OG Optimus Prime Peter Cullen , and YouTube star Liza Koshy are part of the voice cast. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (12)
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Based on 12 parent reviews

Okay movie; however, note that not all races are cast in a positive light

No sex or nudity, a bit too much swearing., what's the story.

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS begins with a prologue introducing how the Primals (animal-like Transformers) defeated the evil, plant-devouring Unicron (voiced by Colman Domingo ), abandoned their planet, and settled on Earth in ancient times. Millennia later, in 1994 New York City, 20-something Noah Diaz ( Anthony Ramos ) needs to find a job to support his little brother, Kris ( Dean Scott Vazquez ), who has sickle-cell anemia. Desperate, Noah agrees to steal a Porsche during a gala -- only to discover that the sports car is a self-driving Transformer named Mirage (voiced by Pete Davidson ). Meanwhile, Elena Wallace ( Dominique Fishback ) makes an interesting discovery as an intern with the New York Archeology Museum on Ellis Island. It turns out to be an ancient beacon that can summon Transformers, including Unicron's loyal servants, led by Scourge (voiced by Peter Dinklage ). Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen ) and the Autobots want the beacon key to get back to their home planet, Cybertron, but with Scourge and his associates ready to turn the key into a portal for Unicron to destroy Earth, the Autobots, humans, and Primals must work together to stop the villain.

Is It Any Good?

Better than many of its crass, overly sexualized predecessors, this installment in the franchise has a top-notch 1990s hip-hop soundtrack, likable leads, and no cringe-inducing characters. Forget the exposition about Transformers lore -- only devoted fans of the animated shows will truly care about that. Ultimately, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a formulaic (except for the lack of romance, which is a nice change) action film featuring an angstier Optimus Prime and yet another seemingly indestructible Transformers supervillain. (Unicron is pure evil, ravenous for yet another planet to consume.) Domingo and Dinklage do an admirable job with their deep, sinister character voices, and Cullen is, as always, the one true voice of Optimus Prime. Ron Perlman gets to be a good guy for a change as the gorilla-like Optimus Primal, and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh lends her gravitas to the character Airazor. Ted Lasso fans will instantly recognize the voice of VW bus Wheeljack (Cristo Fernandez, aka Dani Rojas). Ramos and Fishback have a sweet platonic chemistry as two Brooklyn-raised young adults who've been thrown together under ludicrous and dangerous circumstances, and the well-cast Davidson provides much-needed comic relief as the jokey, conceited Mirage.

There are moments that seem lifted straight out of Iron Man , Pacific Rim , Godzilla , or any of a dozen other (usually better) action movies, but there's no denying that audiences will have fun while they watch this story unfold. The human drama feels authentic, thanks to Noah's relationship with his baby bro, Kris. But there's not really enough time to dwell on family dynamics. In fact, Elena doesn't even get a family; her entire backstory is limited to reminiscing about her late father. On the alien machine side, Optimus' devotion to Bumblebee (and vice versa) is genuinely touching. Director Steven Caple Jr. isn't reinventing the wheel with this movie, but he is keeping with the vibe of Bumblebee : nostalgic and family friendly, with lots of action sequences. It's unclear what else needs to be explored in the Transformers universe, but this entry has enough heart to be crowd pleasing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the violence in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts . Is it realistic and frightening, or does it have less impact because Transformers don't really exist? Do you feel different watching Transformer-on-Transformer violence than watching violence involving humans?

How do you think this installment compares to the previous Transformers movies and franchises?

Previous Transformers films have been criticized for their depiction of women and people of color. How does this installment take a different approach?

Discuss the time period and setting. How does the movie make it clear that it's set in 1994 New York City?

Movie Details

• In theaters : June 9, 2023
• On DVD or streaming : July 11, 2023
• Cast : Anthony Ramos , Dominique Fishback , Tobe Nwigwe
• Director : Steven Caple Jr.
• Inclusion Information : Latino actors, Female actors, Black actors
• Studio : Paramount Pictures
• Genre : Science Fiction
• Topics : Adventures , Friendship , Robots , Space and Aliens
• Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 117 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language
• Last updated : May 1, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Transformers

Based on the popular 1980s transforming robot toy line and animated TV series, Michael Bay's explosive live-action spectacles have deflected critical drubbings to rack up tons of cash and make Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee household names again.

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Movie Review: Who let the beasts out? New ‘Transformers’ tries but fails to energize the saga

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Wheeljack and Arcee in a scene from “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” (Paramount via AP)

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Bumblebee, left, and Cheetor in a scene from “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” (Paramount via AP)

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Dean Scott Vazquez, left, and Anthony Ramos in a scene from “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” (Paramount via AP)

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Anthony Ramos, left, and Dominique Fishback in a scene from “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” (Paramount via AP)

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Primal in a scene from “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” (Paramount via AP)

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With the “Transformers” franchise clearly at a crossroads, its latest protectors have turned to their deep bench of characters. But just adding more robots won’t transform this tired series.

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” returns the franchise to its galaxy-wide self-importance after taking a nice detour with 2018’s smaller “Bumblebee.” We have a new cast of animal robots and a very evil enemy in the planet-eating Unicron, but they’re not used right and the movie limps from fight to fight.

The key to the film is actually a key, some sort of ancient glowing shaft that will open a portal in space and time. Everyone wants it — to go home, to kill planets or to save planets. The audience may also want to use it to beam into a more interesting movie.

Directed by Steven Caple Jr. — using a screenplay by Darnell Metayer, Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber and Josh Peters based on a story by Joby Harold — “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is a big swing that seems to portend a multi-film arc nestled in time after “Bumblebee” and before the first live-action “Transformers” movie.

The problem with “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is the same problem faced by all of the installments — balancing the humanity with the metal. “Bumblebee” got the ratios right by bringing the machine down to size.

But a wide gulf between the humans and the giant space robots immediately appears in the new movie, with Optimus Prime being his classic, anal drill sergeant self — “If we are to die, then we will die as one,” he’ll intone. As the movie stutters on, the robots seem to soften only when the beasts show up for the last third — they mourn, get angry, feel protective, love even.

The filmmakers also have tried to bridge the divide with none other than Pete Davidson, who voices the juvenile robot Mirage, a wisecracking, fist-bumping silver Porsche 911 with a less rigid way of expression: “Don’t mess with my boy!” and “Prime, you got to learn how to relax, my man.” It mostly works — best line: “I’m not scared. That’s just engine oil!” — but Davidson seems trapped inside that steel.

The special effects are astounding but sometimes numbing at the same time. The beasts — especially a nostril-flaring gorilla — are gorgeously realized and the baddies look cool as they control elements in space and time, like building sky walkways as they move on them.

Setting the movie in 1994 gives the filmmakers some vintage fun, like adding beepers and references to O.J. Simpson, plus a soundtrack including A Tribe Called Quest and LL Cool J. But even here they get stuff wrong, like using Biggie’s “Hypnotize,” which came out in 1996, and having a character sing “Waterfalls” by TLC a year before it came out.

The Autobots are represented by Optimus Prime (voiced by veteran Peter Cullen), Bumblebee and Arcee (voiced by Liza Koshy). Then there are the Terrorcons, led by Scourge (Peter Dinklage), who controls swarms of horrifying insect robots and says things like: “Rip the flesh from their bones.”

On the puny human side, Anthony Ramos plays an ex-military electronics expert from Brooklyn named Noah, who has a sick younger brother — Dean Scott Vazquez, the best actor of the bunch — and is tempted to criminality to get him proper care. On his first heist, he accidentally gets into Mirage and, after an excellent high-speed chase, meets the rest of the Autobots.

Looking for the portal key, he meets Elena, played by Dominique Fishback , a museum intern with an astonishing ability to recognize everything from a fake Leonardo da Vinci painting to an Nubian sculpture even though she’s never been outside New York. Soon she’ll be roaming ancient tombs in Peru like Indiana Jones.

Real-life friends Ramos and Fishback have talked about their chemistry, but none of it made it onto the screen. Just like the robots, their scenes are overly heightened and overacted, like an intense bubble of distilled humanity between giant robot fights. It’s not clear even what their relationship is — more siblings? Would-be-lovers?

Much too late come the titular stars of the show — the beasts. There’s Optimus Primal, a 13-foot-tall metallic silverback gorilla voiced by Ron Perlman; Cheetor, a cheetah the size of a small truck voiced by Tongayi Chirisa; Airazor, a peregrine falcon who shoots fire, voiced by Michelle Yeoh; and Rhinox, a battering ram on legs, voiced by David Sobolov. The film comes to life with them.

They’ve been hiding out on Earth, too, and a lot longer than the Autobots. They’ve even become sort of fans of us humans: “There is more to them that meets the eye. They are worth saving,” says Optimus Primal.

We Earthlings turn out to have been housing an awful lot of secret sentient robots and this latest clutch arise from the shadows like cicadas at a time when A.I. and ChatGPT are a societal worry. Look, maybe we should be anxious. ChatGPT clearly could have a written a better movie.

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,” a Paramount Pictures release which arrives in theaters Friday, is rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language.” Running time: 127 minutes. One star out of four.

MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Online: https://www.transformersmovie.com

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts review – another thunderous mess

The hapless humans do the best they can to lift this supremely dumb seventh instalment in the alien robot series

I t’s the early 1990s. A new subspecies of Transformer – the part-animal, part-robot Maximals – joins forces with Optimus Prime and his Autobots to fight against a ruthless foe, the Terrorcons, who are in the service of Unicron, a planet-munching monster deity. We know all this because every 10 minutes or so, the imbecilic bombast of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts grinds to a halt so that one or more of the characters can explain the story to us.

You could argue that any film that requires this much leaden exposition to nail down its plot points really shouldn’t be trusted with heavy machinery. But then, smashing stuff up was always the point of the metal-for-brains Transformers series, the dumbest and noisiest of all the billion-dollar movie franchises. And the latest instalment certainly delivers on needless destruction and world-class stupidity. Plus points include a punchy soundtrack of 90s hip-hop, and Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, heroically holding their own as the hapless humans roped into the Transformers’ thunderous mess.

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(Photo by Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection)

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Debuting in 1984, the Transformers TV show rolled out to viewers the eternal mecha battle between Autobots and Decepticons here on Earth and beyond, though its prime drive was to get Hasbro action figures flying off Toys “R” Us shelves. That may just sound like a cynical moichandising ploy, but the series had strong characters and world-building, and kids were instantly hooked on the toys’ triple-play pleasures of robots, automobiles, and tactile hand interaction.

It’s a bond not even its creators anticipated when they released The Transformers: The Movie . The 1986 production had big-screen action, power pop ballads, and a feature-length massacre of fan-favorite Autobots, including leader Optimus Prime. Hasbro and Takara (the American company licensed the physical toys from the Japanese one and created the Transformers brand and lore) got the hint after fan outcry, where mailed letters were sealed with sad kid tears, and resurrected Prime in Season 3 of the series, comprehending they had created a media empire.

Transformers entered a new level of mainstream with the five movies from Michael Bay, directed across a decade, starting with the 2007 original and continuing with the sequels Revenge of the Fallen , Dark of the Moon , Age of Extinction , and The Last Knight . Bumblebee , a prequel set in the ’80s, brought the critical success that had eluded Bay, but not so much the box office. Rise of the Beasts cashed in on ’90s-era nostalgia by exploring the Beast Wars mythos.  — Alex Vo

Bumblebee (2018) 90%

The Transformers: The Movie (1986) 62%

Transformers (2007) 57%

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) 52%

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) 35%

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) 20%

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) 18%

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) 16%

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The Transformers And G.I. Joe Crossover Movie Is Lining Up Chris Hemsworth As Its Lead, And Now I'm Racking My Brain On Who He Could Play

Anyone have any guesses?

For years, there’s been talk about pairing the Transformers and G.I. Joe properties, both owned by Hasbro, on the big screen, and now it’s finally happening. Last year, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ’ ending revealed that G.I. Joe, the secret military organization, exists in this universe also populated by robots in disguise. This past April, the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie was finally confirmed to be moving forward at Paramount Pictures, and now that word’s come in that Chris Hemsworth is being lined up as the lead actor, I’m starting to rack my brain about his role.

Per Deadline , the Thor actor has is in talks to board this crossover movie, which hasn’t been officially titled yet. This news comes shortly after the release of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on the 2024 movies schedule , which saw Hemsworth playing main antagonist Warlord Dementus. He also already has ties to the Transformers franchise, as he’s voicing Optimus Prime in the upcoming movie Transformers One , which dropped its first trailer in April.

Now, for anyone who’s concerned, it’s unlikely that Hemsworth will be voicing Optimus Prime in the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie, as Transformers One isn’t expecting to take place in the same continuity as the live-action movies highlighting the Autobots, Decepticons and everything in between. If Optimus Prime does appear in the crossover, it stands to reason that Peter Cullen will continue voicing him like he’s been doing with all the live-actions movies and the original Transformers animated series from the ‘80s. It could still be possible that Hemsworth will voice a different Transformer, but it’s surely better to bet on him playing one of the G.I. Joe operatives.

Assuming that the crossover is coming out sooner rather than later, this will be the tenth theatrical Transformers movie, as let’s not forget The Transformers: The Movie from 1986, and the fourth theatrical G.I. Joe movie. 2021 saw Paramount attempting to reboot the latter film series with Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins , but it critically and commercially flopped . It’s unclear if the crossover will acknowledge Snake Eyes ’ continuity or the one that The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation took place in, or if it’ll start fresh again. It also remains to be seen if the movie will take place shortly after Rise of the Beasts or perhaps jump to the present day instead.

In any case, if Chris Hemsworth is indeed playing one of the main G.I. Joe characters another reboot, this gives him another opportunity to show his action chops. In addition to his long run as Thor in the MCU and time on Furiosa , he also plays Tyler Rake in the Extraction movies, which can be streamed with a Netflix subscription , and also reunited with Ragnarok co-star Tessa Thompson in 2019 for Men in Black: International . He also previously played a soldier in 2018’s 12 Strong . Personally, if the reboot button is being pressed on the G.I. Joe side of things again, I could see Hemsworth taking over as Duke, whom Channing Tatum originally played. 

If/when it’s confirmed that Chris Hemsworth will appear in the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie, we’ll let you know about that, as well as who he’ll play. Meanwhile, feel free to revisit the previously-released movies from both of those franchises with a Paramount+ subscription .

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Lily tomlin talks about jennifer aniston’s ‘9 to 5’ remake and why the original co-stars passed on a sequel, chris hemsworth in talks to star in paramount’s transformers/g.i. joe crossover movie.

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EXCLUSIVE: Chris Hemsworth is in talks to star in Paramount Pictures’ untitled Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie, Deadline has learned, based on the Hasbro toy lines.

Upon finalizing the deal, this will put the Melrose Ave. lot back in business with Hemsworth who is already starring in Paramount Animation/Hasbro’s Transformers One which hits theaters on Sept. 20, 2024. That movie was one of the highest-testing Paramount Animation titles ever.

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What’s clear hear, and evident following Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation, is that despite all the noisy talks of a merger, whether the groom is Skydance or Sony/Apollo, the studio is relentless about mining its coffers for big screen IP. The Transformers and G.I. Joe movies combined have grossed a lifetime total of $6 billion at the global box office.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto & Don Murphy are producing. Steven Spielberg and Hasbro Entertainment are EPs. 

Hemsworth is repped by CAA and Greenberg Glusker.

The Australian actor broke through to U.S. audiences as Thor in the Marvel Studios movies including the second highest grossing movie of all-time, the Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Endgame with $2.8 billion.

Hemsworth teamed up with the Russo Brothers yet again for the Netflix original film  Extraction  making history for the streaming service. Bringing in 99 million viewers within the first four weeks alone, the film became the most watched original movie the streaming service had ever seen. Hemsworth reprised his role as mercenary Tyler Rake in Extraction 2 , which the actor’s multiplatform production company Wild State produced.

Hemsworth currently stars as Dementus in George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga which won over Rotten Tomatoes critics at 90% certified fresh and 90% with audiences. Deadline’s Chief Film Critic Pete Hammond heralded that for Hemsworth, the role is “the best performance of his career,” adding “Hemsworth, employing a distinct accent and look, locks into this role with abandon and steals the picture. He instantly becomes one of the great villains, complex and endlessly watchable and charismatic like all of the most misguided leaders.”

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Chris Hemsworth is ready to roll out for the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie

The Australian actor is collecting franchises like Infinity Stones.

After Marvel and Mad Max , Chris Hemsworth has found his next franchise — which is really two franchises crammed into one.

The Australian actor behind Thor and Dementus is in talks to star in Paramount's still-untitled Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie, Entertainment Weekly has learned.

Hemsworth is technically already a part of Transformers , since he voices a young Optimus Prime in the animated film Transformers One , set to hit theaters in September. However, veteran Optimus actor Peter Cullen voiced the character in 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts , which first teased the crossover event . Details on Hemsworth's part in the live-action film are still unclear.

courtesy everett (2), Getty

Directed by Steven Caple Jr., Transformers: Rise of the Beasts saw the Autobots tangoing with the Maximals to stop the world-devouring Unicron ( Colman Domingo ) from destroying Earth in the 1990s. Anthony Ramos starred as the tech-savvy ex-soldier Noah Diaz, opposite Dominique Fishback as museum intern Elena Wallace.

The ending of Beasts set up the arrival of the Joes; House of Cards and The Penguin actor Michael Kelly appeared as Agent Burke, trying to recruit Noah to the team. "We're introducing Joe characters into the world that we're dealing with, on whatever our characters are gonna go do," franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura previously told EW . "We're also not through with the Maximals, so I imagine in the next movie we'll have Maximals, Autobots, and Joes."

At CinemaCon in April, Paramount officially announced that a Transformers - G.I. Joe movie was in the works with Di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto, and Don Murphy as producers, and Steven Spielberg as an executive producer.

"Two of the biggest action franchises come together for a new Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover film," read the cryptic description for the project.

Caple is presumed to also return as the director of the movie, but he has yet to be officially announced. He told EW last year that the new movie he was developing would "expand the entire universe."

"There's a big mission at hand," he said of the next sequel. "I think it's really cool that there are other planets out there with Transformers. It's one of the reasons why I introduced the Maximals that way in the beginning of our film. I was pulling from these Japanese cartoons where there's Transformers on every other planet. I just feel like we've been on Earth for a very long time. So there might be something interesting to explore there, maybe taking this war and battle somewhere else."

Deadline Hollywood first reported Hemsworth's casting.

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Transformers & G.I. Joe Crossover Movie Eyes Chris Hemsworth to Lead

By Maggie Dela Paz

Nearly a week after the theatrical debut of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , Marvel vet Chris Hemsworth has found his next potential high-profile project in the form of Paramount Pictures’ long-awaited Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie.

According to Deadline , Hemsworth is currently in negotiations for the leading role in the untitled Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie. Besides Hemsworth, there is still no director, writer and other cast members attached to it yet. Further details about the project’s plot and characters remained under wraps.

The project was actually first teased at the end of last year’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, where Anthony Ramos’ Noah Diaz gets invited to join the G.I. Joe. The untitled crossover will be executive produced by Steven Spielberg, with Lorenzo di Bonaventur, Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto, and Don Murphy producing.

Chris Hemsworth Voices Optimus Prime

Should the Hemsworth’s deal for the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie pushes through, this would mark his second Transformers movie. At the moment, he’s also leading the upcoming animated prequel movie Transformers One , where he lends his voice to a younger version of Peter Cullen’s Optimus Prime. The film will be arriving in theaters on September 20, 2024.

“It centers around the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever,” reads the synopsis.

Transformers One is directed by  Josh Cooley from a screenplay written by Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, Steve Desmond, and Michael Sherman. The action-packed animated movie will also star Scarlett Johansson, Brian Tyree Henry, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, and Laurence Fishburne.

Maggie Dela Paz has been writing about the movie and TV industry for more than four years now. Besides being a fan of coming-of-age films and shows, she also enjoys watching K-Dramas and listening to her favorite K-Pop groups. Her current TV obsessions right now are FX’s The Bear and the popular anime My Hero Academia.

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Skybound has unveiled a first look at Robert Kirkman 's Void Rivals #10, the next issue of the blockbuster series that launched the Energon Universe. The continuation of the space opera series will go on sale this June.

Void Rivals #10 teases that the secrets of the Sacred Ring will be revealed as the series explores the depths of the Energon Universe. Skybound released all the covers for the upcoming issue, including a special Energon Universe Anniversary variant cover by Jason Howard and Annalisa Leoni. A preview of the first three pages of interior art for the issue shows Proximus and the triple changer Autobot Springer engaged in a battle to the death. Meanwhile, Solila and Darak have an unexpected reunion. Void Rivals #10 goes on sale June 26.

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As the Krakoan Age of the X-Men comes to a close, Wolverine wants revenge on Charles Xavier in this CBR exclusive preview of next week's X-Men #35

VOID RIVALS #10

• Written by ROBERT KIRKMAN
• Art by LORENZO DE FELICI
• Colors by PATRICIO DELPECHE
• Lettered by RUS WOOTON
• Cover Art by LORENZO DE FELICI
• Cover B by CORY WALKER
• Cover C (1:10 - Connecting) by ANDRE LIMA ARAUJO & CHRIS O'HALLORAN
• Cover D (1:25) by MARCIO TAKARA
• Cover E (1:50) by ANNIE WU
• Cover F (Energon Universe Anniversary Variant - Connecting) by JASON HOWARD & ANNALISA LEONI
• Cover G (Black and White Energon Universe Anniversary Variant - Connecting) by JASON HOWARD
• On sale June 26

Kirkman's new Void Rivals series launched in June 2023, with a war raging around the Sacred Ring and two worlds engaged in a never-ending war. The series stars the pilot Darak and his rival Solila who have both crash-landed on a desolate planet and are forced to work together in order to escape. The new issue will see the secrets of the Sacred Ring finally revealed as well as more about the "energon" in the titular Energon Universe.

Void Rivals Launched Skybound and Hasbro's Historic Collaboration

With the Transformers character Jetfire making an appearance in Void Rivals , Skybound and Hasbro launched a historic collaboration that kicked off the all-new Energon Universe. In addition to characters from Void Rivals and Transformers , the universe later expanded with characters from G.I. Joe joining the fray.

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To further flesh out the Energon Universe and introduce its new characters, Skybound launched four G.I. Joe miniseries: Duke , Cobra Commander , Scarlett and, most recently, Destro . Each series furthered the Energon Universe's lore, introducing the iconic G.I. Joe and Cobra characters and setting the Energon Universe up for big moments and huge reveals to come.

Void Rivals #10 goes on sale June 26 from Skybound.

Source: Skybound

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Chris Hemsworth Is Rolling Into the 'Transformers' x 'G.I. Joe' Crossover Movie

While his most recent film is struggling to make waves at the box office, one Furiosa star has officially set his sights on his next project. A new report from Deadline revealed that Chris Hemsworth , who plays the feature villain Dementus in the Mad Max prequel, will star in the upcoming Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie. The end of 2023's Transformers: Rise of the Beasts laid the groundwork for a crossover when Anthony Ramos ' Noah Diaz was handed a G.I. Joe card by Michael Kelly 's Agent Burke. This will be Hemsworth's second outing in the Transformers franchise, as he's set to voice Optimus Prime alongside Brian Tyree Henry and his former Marvel co-star Scarlett Johansson in the upcoming animated film, Transformers One .

It's been an interesting few years for Hemsworth as one of the few Infinity Saga stars to don the cape following the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame . He reprised his role in the 2022 film Thor: Love and Thunder , which was regarded as one of the most anticipated projects in the post- Endgame era which failed to live up to expectations. The fourth Thor movie lands at a 63% score from critics accompanied by a slightly higher 73% rating from audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes , but even Hemsworth himself came out recently to admit he perhaps got a little carried away with the silliness of his performance in Love and Thunder .

What Else Is Chris Hemsworth Starring In?

Hemsworth will next appear in the aforementioned animated film, Transformers One , which is set to premiere exclusively in theaters on September 20, 2024. Other than lending his voice for Optimus Prime, the Thor star also has several exciting projects in the works, including the third film in his partnership with Anthony and Joe Russo , Extraction 3 , as well as the recently revealed Crime 101 adaptation which he'll star in alongside another former Marvel cohort, Mark Ruffalo .

Even outside the Marvel universe, Hemsworth has stayed busy throughout his career, and the actor is showing no signs of slowing down. Hemsworth has diversified his roles of late, starring alongside Miles Teller in the psychological thriller Spiderhead for Netflix, and he also stepped into the Men in Black Universe for the 2019 film International , which features an impressive ensemble cast of Tessa Thompson , Kumail Nanjiani , and Rebecca Ferguson .T

he untitled Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie does not yet have an official release date. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates and catch Hemsworth in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , now playing in theaters.

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Chris Hemsworth Could Star In Transformers/G.I. Joe Crossover Movie

Hemsworth is already voicing Optimus Prime and now he might be lined up for another big film.

By Eddie Makuch on May 30, 2024 at 2:13PM PDT

Paramount Pictures is making a Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film , and none other than Thor actor Chris Hemsworth may star in it. Deadline reported this, adding that a deal would build upon Hemsworth's existing business relationship with Paramount for the animated movie Transformers One. Hemsworth voices Optimus Prime in the film, which comes to theaters this September.

The 2023 movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts contained an epilogue that referenced a possible crossover with G.I. Joe, so this wouldn't be totally out of the blue. It would mark the first-ever live-action crossover movie with the two iconic Hasbro toy brands. There is no word on who Hemsworth might play in the crossover film, or who may direct it.

Bringing the brands together makes a lot of sense, synergistically speaking. After all, the Transformers and G.I. Joe movie franchises have combined to make more than $6 billion at the global box office.

Earlier in 2024, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura hinted that a Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie could arrive as soon as 2026 . He also shed some light on the approach to the film.

"We are exploring now how to do that," di Bonaventura said. "And we hope to come in the summer of [2026], we are definitely going to deliver on the promise of a Joe entering the world. People keep talking about crossover. It's not a crossover the way I see it, it's a GI Joe character or characters entering the Transformers world so it's not the mash-up of the two.

The most recent G.I. Joe movie, Snake-Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, was a box office bomb--it made just $40 million at the box office. Rise of the Beasts, the newest Transformers movie, made $439 million.

While Transformers and G.I. Joe are crossing over for the first time in cinema history, the two franchises collided in the comic book world back in the '80s when they were published by Marvel.

As for Hemsworth, his newest movie is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga , which is in theaters now. He's also lined up to star in the jewel-heist movie Crime 101 alongside his Marvel co-star Mark Ruffalo. Hemsworth has also spoken about the possibility of coming back to play Thor again.

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