Don't Let That Title Fool You: Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Isn't Really A Beast Wars Movie
This post contains spoilers for "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts."
The sole impetus behind the birth of the "Transformers" fictional universe was the advertisement and sale of Hasbro's Generation 1 toy line, in which toy robots could be "transformed" into other playable forms, including cool-looking cars and wild beasts. Considering that the primary aim behind the G1 "Transformers" animated series (which first premiered in 1984) was to sell toys to a certain demographic, there was little emphasis on creative worldbuilding or a need to transcend its end goal. That is, until, "Beast Wars: Transformers" came into the scene, shaking up the core premise of "Transformers" with interesting character dynamics and complex, ever-evolving lore. For the first time, the motivations of the shapeshifting robots mattered — while Hasbro still hoped to earn massive profits (and they did), the series had an air of sincere earnestness when it came to the characters that inhabited its wild, eventful world.
With "Creed II" director Steven Caple Jr. helming "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," a film that treats its premise with a similar brand of earnestness, there is a glimmer of hope for the franchise to finally transform into something more meaningful. While the previous "Transformer" films were loosely based on franchise lore, "Rise of the Beasts" directly incorporates aspects from the "Beast Wars" series by introducing the Maximals and Predacons, descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons respectively, after the Great Upgrade.
However, are these tenets enough to make "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" a "Beast Wars" movie? Unfortunately, the answer is no: although the film is more than willing to pay homage to its roots, it gets lost in the process of reinventing itself as a "Transformers" movie and does not wield the hallmarks of the eccentric, beloved animated series die-hard fans know and love.
Laying its foundation
"Rise of the Beasts" opens with the invasion of the Maximal homeworld by minions of planet-devourer Unicron, followed by a sacrifice that allows some Maximals to escape under the leadership of Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman). "Beast Wars" aficionados will immediately recognize how integral Optimus Primal is to any narrative featuring him — he is a well-regarded Cybertronian hero named after the greatest Autobot Optimus Prime, who lives up to the weight of expectations despite being more impulsive than his namesake. Primal is the one to usher in a new era for the Cybertronians, and it would make sense for "Rise of the Beasts" to spend more time with him, as he is key to future storylines involving Crybertron.
However, the film finds a hard time juggling its wide cast, as the spotlight is understandably snagged by Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), who becomes unwittingly involved in the Maximals vs Terrorcons war and helps save the day in the end. Humans have always been integral to the central conflicts in the "Transformers" film franchise, and as Noah and Elena (Dominique Fishback) have critical roles to play in the retrieval of the Transwarp Key, the film spends a lot of time setting up these characters for maximum emotional payoff. While this works for the most part (Ramos is a compelling lead, while Fishback does her best with the material), it means lesser screen time for the Maximals, who appear in the second half to drive the story forward.
There's almost no exploration of who this faction is and what drives them individually — the same can be said about Unicron and the Terrorcons, who come off as token bad guys with a vague, sinister goal. This is unfortunate, as their animated counterparts boast immense lore to warrant their popularity over the years.
More of the same
The film's central McGuffin, the Transwarp Key, isn't very interesting in itself and seems like a rehash of the AllSpark/Transformium, simply meant to act as a catalyst for key events to transpire. As we're never shown Cybertron itself, or given a glimpse of what the Maximals have truly lost, it is difficult to be invested in an all-out, planet-ending catastrophe that will inevitably be averted at the last minute. While "Beast Wars" also features a transwarp device, it is put to better use with the focus shifting to the time/space aberration created by said device, which prompts Optimus Primal and his troops to crash-land on an unknown planet.
There are snippets of the original animated series that come into play in the new film, namely in the form of raw Energon, which powers the mechanical bodies that the Transformers sport. Here, a sudden concentration of Energon is used to resurrect a beloved character, but as the film has no time to delve deeper into the lore behind this phenomenon, it might come off as a gimmick for casual fans of the series. After all, this is not the first time a Transformer has come back to life — they're machines, after all, capable of being reactivated with the right components at hand. Moreover, the reason behind the Maximals' pseudo-organic beast modes is never explained, although there is a valid explanation in the original series within the context of its narrative.
The fact that "Rise of the Beasts" barely makes use of the source material is a crying shame, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have its highlights. Having said that, the way things unfurl mimics the tone of its cinematic predecessors (minus the Bayhem, of course), which can make one feel fatigued after a certain point.
Tonal dissonance
It is clear that "Rise of the Beasts" aspires to be a better, grander film with meaningful stakes, and it does take steady steps in that direction. The emotional moments feel grounded enough, and for a change, the human characters are invested with appropriate depth for us to care about them in the end. While Elena remains an enigma (mostly due to underutilization), her presence is a welcome departure from the standard treatment of female characters in the franchise, barring Hailee Steinfeld's Charlie Watson in "Bumblebee," which sports a more cohesive emotional throughline compared to the latest installment.
With too many tones to sift through, mostly alternating between somber trepidation and lighthearted comedy, "Rise of the Beasts" doesn't quite know what kind of film it wants to be. When contrasted with "Beast Wars," which boasts impressive and ridiculous plotlines in equal measure, the latest entry feels lifeless and deflated. Also, considering that Optimus Primal and co. are from the future, and have traveled back in time to save their home planet, the movie does little to drive the point home or explain how or why this might be crucial to the exciting future stories it sets up.
Circling back to the underutilized "Beast Wars" mythos, there is a bizarrely-charming quality to this computer-animated show that "Rise of the Beasts" does not adopt in any capacity. The series' greatest strength is its characters, who morph and evolve just like humans and learn to invest in empathy along the way. With too much at stake for a dwindling franchise, and perhaps, a lot to prove in a limited time, "Rise of the Beasts" does the bare minimum to embrace its "Beast Wars" roots, and sticks to a few rehashed tropes. Perhaps, we'll get a full-on "Beast Wars" revival next time.