Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
When a new threat capable of destroying the entire planet emerges, Optimus Prime and the Autobots must team up with a powerful faction known as the Maximals. With the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, humans Noah and Elena will do whatever it takes to help the Transformers as they engage in the ultimate battle to save Earth.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts follows a largely formulaic blockbuster template — new human leads, world-ending MacGuffin, climactic CGI battle — that offers little narrative surprise. The acting from the human cast is serviceable but unremarkable, with Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback doing adequate work in underwritten roles. Cinematography is a step up from the Bay era with more coherent action staging and some appealing location work in Peru, but still suffers from busy CGI chaos in the climax. Novelty is limited; integrating the Beast Wars/Maximals concept is a fresh wrinkle for the live-action franchise, but the execution feels derivative of prior entries. The ending resolves predictably and the mid-credits scene, while fan-servicey, feels more like a franchise tease than a satisfying conclusion.