![]() ![]() and more are a great fit and provide an infectious vibe.īut 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. Nineties hip-hop classics from A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Diggable Planets, The Notorious B.I.G. 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. 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. It’s perfect casting, and it may be his best work ever. The role calls for Davidson to showcase his irreverent, playful persona. 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. 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. 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. 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. This includes his adorable younger brother, Kris ( Dean Scott Vazquez), who’s suffering from a chronic illness. 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 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. The screenplay, credited to five people, gives the likable Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback the opportunity to create characters we might even care about.Īnd 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. That’s a rarity in this series, known more for the bland types and groan-inducing banter of the Bay movies. They’re all in pursuit of the same ancient, McGuffiny doohickey which is super powerful and can cause massive damage.īut 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. 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). ![]() Longtime fans will probably revel in the childhood nostalgia of seeing these beloved characters come to life once again. ![]()
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