Movie Review - Transformers Rise of the Beasts [SPOILERS]

[Meister]

Still having a hard time getting over having a cool/hip Porsche character with blue racing stripes and it not being Jazz…

But that aside the movie was ok, not the worst, not the best, Maximals seemed wasted (like you’d think mentioning they are from the future would prompt some further questioning). Mirage (should have been Jazz… lol ) was a good character and a refreshing break from the radio talking Bumblebee.

Biggest waste of potential was Scourge, should have played the internal battle between his own volition and Unicron’s will (similar to Megatron in the original cartoon movie), with more insight to how he became Unicron’s unwilling slave. It would have been better to have Primal and Prime fight him in the final battle (that’s how they overcome his power) and rather than kill him, they incapacitate him in the battle and in defeat (with his mask removed) Scourge begs them to kill him to free him from Unicron’s servitude, which prompts prime to show mercy and instead of killing scourge, destroys the key, however in the suction effect sucks scourge back to Unicron, so that potentially we haven’t seen the end of Scourge (or Unicron)

Anyway, like I said it was enjoyable, the GI Joe cameo at the end was intriguing, I thought it was going to be sector 7 lol

[Lint]

Biggest waste of potential was Scourge, should have played the internal battle between his own volition and Unicron’s will (similar to Megatron in the original cartoon movie), with more insight to how he became Unicron’s unwilling slave. It would have been better to have Primal and Prime fight him in the final battle (that’s how they overcome his power) and rather than kill him, they incapacitate him in the battle and in defeat (with his mask removed) Scourge begs them to kill him to free him from Unicron’s servitude, which prompts prime to show mercy and instead of killing scourge, destroys the key, however in the suction effect sucks scourge back to Unicron, so that potentially we haven’t seen the end of Scourge (or Unicron)

It's becoming clear to me that one of the directives for these live actions films is that good is good and evil is evil. This is likely a Paramount decision and done so as to not-alienate some sectors of the US market and more easily gain acceptance in international markets. Unfortunately this isn't really a good foundation for good storytelling. Personally I don't think the trade-off is worth it as the Transformers brand has so much potential and most (if not all) iterations are diminishing it's value overall.

Anyway, like I said it was enjoyable, the GI Joe cameo at the end was intriguing, I thought it was going to be sector 7 lol

I believe it was indeed Sector 7 in the test screenings.

[GoktimusPrime]

Still having a hard time getting over having a cool/hip Porsche character with blue racing stripes and it not being Jazz…

Why? Jazz has never been a Porsche in the movie universe before.

I can understand some people being unhappy with Wheeljack's design shift (although it's no better/worse than how he looked in Dark of the Moon), but given that Jazz has never been a Porsche in the movieverse, I see now issue with Mirage being one.

If we're going by the logic that the Porsche should be Jazz just because of G1, then...
* The black police car should've been Stakeout, not Barricade
* The yellow Autobot sports car should've been Sunstreaker, not Bumblebee
* The black ute should've been Trailbreaker, not Ironhide
* The fire emergency vehicle should've been Red Alert, not Ratchet
* The red fire engine should've been Inferno, not Sentinel Prime
* The F22 Raptor should've been Fearswoop, not Starscream
* The military helicopter should've been Vortex, not Blackout
* The stereo CD player should've been Blaster, not Frenzy
* The Corvette should've been Tracks, not Sideswipe
* The Autobot hatchback should've been Skids, not... no, wait, that one's actually okay. Maybe without the offensive stereotype.
...etc.

Given that the live action movie series is now 16 years, I think that the ship has truly sailed on this issue. Movieverse =/= G1, just let them be what they be.

[Tha_Phantom]

Why? Jazz has never been a Porsche in the movie universe before.

I can understand some people being unhappy with Wheeljack's design shift (although it's no better/worse than how he looked in Dark of the Moon), but given that Jazz has never been a Porsche in the movieverse, I see now issue with Mirage being one.

If we're going by the logic that the Porsche should be Jazz just because of G1, then...
* The black police car should've been Stakeout, not Barricade
* The yellow Autobot sports car should've been Sunstreaker, not Bumblebee
* The black ute should've been Trailbreaker, not Ironhide
* The fire emergency vehicle should've been Red Alert, not Ratchet
* The red fire engine should've been Inferno, not Sentinel Prime
* The F22 Raptor should've been Fearswoop, not Starscream
* The military helicopter should've been Vortex, not Blackout
* The stereo CD player should've been Blaster, not Frenzy
* The Corvette should've been Tracks, not Sideswipe
* The Autobot hatchback should've been Skids, not... no, wait, that one's actually okay. Maybe without the offensive stereotype.
...etc.

Given that the live action movie series is now 16 years, I think that the ship has truly sailed on this issue. Movieverse =/= G1, just let them be what they be.

I wasn't going to say anything, because honestly I'm utterly sick of this being brought up, but I agree with everything Gok said. Movieverse =/= G1. Let it go.

[reillyd]

I’d been ill recovering covid, so I only JUST got round to seeing the movie today. The cinema was quite packed, especially for such strong competition. (Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, etc). So unless my screening was unrepresentative, people are still going to see it.

Arcee was very, very cool. I love her and can’t wait for a Studio Series toy. I don’t know if the regular mainline ROTB toys are going to go to a third wave, but would love to see a simpler form version as well.

I have a big questions though, which hopefully someone can solve. I had to dash to the loo at one point, so might have missed it. Night bird has an aerial form, but did she ever take a car form? I’m waiting for Wave 2 ROTB Nightbird to come out, as she looks cool, and I didn’t want to pay $79 for her at Big W in a three pack. Did I blink and miss it, or did she never take on board a car mode?

Did anyone think that they filmed a second version of the final clip, where the card handed said Sector 7 instead of G.I. Joe? Because I heard that this was a continuation of Bumblebee and not meant to be a complete reboot of Bayverse continuity, and if so then G.I. Joe were seriously derelict in their duty during Age of Extinction and the Autobot serial-killer hunt down. They seemed to be pro-Autobot in the end scene.

[GoktimusPrime]

Arcee was very, very cool. I love her and can’t wait for a Studio Series toy.

The Studio Series toy is already out, albeit a Core Class.

Night bird has an aerial form, but did she ever take a car form? I’m waiting for Wave 2 ROTB Nightbird to come out, as she looks cool, and I didn’t want to pay $79 for her at Big W in a three pack. Did I blink and miss it, or did she never take on board a car mode?

Yes, she does transform into a Nissan Skyline, and it is seen on screen.
e.g. road battle in Peru

Also, all the toys in that Big W three pack are also sold individually in other stores (e.g. Kmart).

Did anyone think that they filmed a second version of the final clip, where the card handed said Sector 7 instead of G.I. Joe?

I've heard rumours that the card said "Sector 7" in test screenings. Yet to find any credible source to back this up, so take this with a grain of salt.

[GoktimusPrime]

Update: added an opinion poll to this review thread. Vote away!

P.S. "Only if cheap" also includes "only if free," if you think that this movie was only worth watching with a free pass.