Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
By Sandie Angulo Chen,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
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.
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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. The movie also 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.
Inclusion information: Latinx actors, Black actors
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Community Reviews
Based on 3 parent reviews
Just cause it's toys don't make it for kids
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Fun action move that didn’t get to boring.
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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, twentysomething 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 in the movie 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 a lot of 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 Bumblee (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 differently watching Transformer-on-Transformer violence than 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
- Cast: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Tobe Nwigwe
- Director: Steven Caple Jr.
- Inclusion Information: Latinx 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: June 7, 2023
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