“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.
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.
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