Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
It has been an incredibly interesting rise watching the Transformers live action series since its inception. I was a 25 year old “kid” who was excited out his gourd when the 2007 Michael Bay dropped, and while we can all admit that the Bay films were just ridiculous and over the top, I still was grinning from ear to ear when I left the theaters. Then the sequels came, with a “meh” second one that was a product of the late 2000s writers strike, and 3rd film that saw the loss of Megan Fox and the rise of a better product (despite her loss, which was actually sad as she and Shia had genuine chemistry in the first two films). After that the series became an absolute train wreck, with Michael Bay dozing at the wheel, accepting millions of dollars for an obvious payday that didn’t even remotely have his heart in it. The 5th film literally felt like an assault on my senses, ranging from the awful music, cringey dialog, and unending orgy of explosions and destruction that left audiences shell shocked and confused by the end of the 19 hour (seeming) film. But weirdly enough, the franchise got a kick in the pants with Hailee Steinfeld’s Bumblebee, which took a more light hearted approach. Roughly acting as a prequel to the original films and chronicling how Bee came to this planet. At this point I was hopeful we might see more intimate projects in the Transformers universe, but sadly we haven’t seen anything until this year, when we get….whatever this is.

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts should have been renamed Transformers: Dashing all Hopes, because that’s exactly what this project was. Dashed hopes of a wounded film veteran who just wanted to have FUN in the Transformers world once more. Sadly it was not slated to be, as Steve Caple Jr.’s overly long and convoluted (while still feeling rushed and incomplete) 7th live action film suffers the worst fate of all in movieland. Not that it is a horrible awful no good movie with almost no redeeming points, and neither it is amazing. Rise of the Beasts is simply one of the most bland, obviously corporate driven, soulless and emotionless Transformers films I heave ever seen. And this is coming from someone who suffered through the Marky Mark Bay flops in theaters.

The film opens up with Decepticon Scourge (Peter Dinklage) acting as the familiar of Unicron (the all powerful world eating transformer) searching for a transwarp conduit key that would allow the monstrous transformer to travel to other worlds and devour them whole. The world that he so happens to be on is a transformer colony known as the Primals, a race who take on the form of the animal life around them and stays out of the war between Autobots and Decepticons. Before Scourge can actually gain the key, Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) escapes with the key through a transwarp conduit, trapping Unicron and Scourge on their dying home world.

Fast forward to the 1990s, we’re introduced to the human protagonists for the film in the form of Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), an ex soldier with a checkered past who is just trying to take care of hish sick brother Kris (Dean Scott Vasquez) and mother (Luna Lauren Velez) in Brooklyn. His attempts at jobs fail when they see his military black marks, and soon Noah is forced to agree to boosting a few cars to make some quick cash. Naturally the car he boots turns out to be an Autobot named Mirage (Pete Davidson) who draws him into the war secret machine war that is just not coming to our planet. They need the trans warp key, and that key happens to be in the possession of our OTHER protagonist, an archaeology assistant named Elena (Dominique Fishback). Yada yada, the two meet, the two lose the key to the transwarp portal to Scourge (who has finally tracked the Primals down) and now it’s up to the Autobots to team up with the human minions and the Primals to keep Unicron from devouring our world.

While the plot is fairly simply (and kind of a rip off of Dark of the Moon) the film is one of the most overly processed and soulless things I have ever seen. While the Michael Bay movies were stupid and ridiculous at times, they had a sort of flavor to them. A texture and “feel” that was unmistakable. No matter whether you liked or hated them, you felt the influence of Michael Bay from beginning to end, and loved to marvel at his over the top excesses in the action department. Rise of the Beasts feels like the entire structure of the film was set up in a board room, with black suits sitting around and putting together the plot and the action like a puzzle, vomiting out what can only be labeled as “next product to consume” rather than having any distinct feel or soul to the film at all. Dialog feels like it’s straight out of Pacific Rim 2, and the action is so over processed and mind numbing that I honestly struggled to really care about the outcome of any of the battles.

Our heroes feel like they were chosen specifically by the same board of directors to fit in certain diversity slots, and even the Autobots themselves feel incredibly bland sterile. Ron Perlman and Peter Cummings do their best, but even Peter sounds tired and worn out, like he really doesn’t even want to continue on with these films anymore. At the end of the day, this is a corporately produced nail in the coffin (hopefully) that leaves you wondering if the director behind the chair was more robotic than the actual Transformers themselves.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language





4K Video: Video:

Paramount’s native 4K transferred film looks nice and shiny, with that sort of digital glossiness you’d expect mixed with some over brightened tones to make us feel that this was shot in the 1990s. I was absolutely amazed at the razor sharp clarity and punch that the image had, with stunning detail levels and jaw dropping HDR/DV enhanced colors. The battles are so wonderfully textured and layered that it was almost hard to remind oneself that we were looking at a nearly complete CGI landscape. You can see every line and crease and metallic glint on the transformers bodies, as well as individual blades of grass as Optimus Primal rolls around in combat. Colors are rich and literally pop off the screen at every turn, giving you that video game “pizazz” that is so easy to do in digital photography. Blacks are deep and inky, and while Paramount STILL isn’t including the Blu-ray in the UHD package to make it a combo pack, I have a hard time not seeing this decimating the Blu-ray.








Audio:

Well, one thing you can always count on in a Transformers is an utterly amazing audio track that literally blows you away. Or so you would think from the previous 6 films release on home video. Unfortunately the Dolby Atmos track roars onto the scene with a slightly timid mix that, while good, feels like it lacks the gut punching bass and insane surround immersion that the previous films were legendary for (Michael Bay was always an audio god). Do NOT get me wrong. This is not a garbage track at all. The dialog is well balanced with the rest of the track, the bass punches you a good bit, and the surround immersion is very solid. It just stands starkly apart from the rest of the pack, never really going above and beyond, feeling a bit anemic in the LFE department (while you get plenty of bass, it never feels single digit hertz deep, nor is it so in your face), and the surrounds are just “good”. The while battle near the end with all the autobots, decepticons and the Primals SHOULD have been shaking the walls and basically cracking drywall, but instead it simply felt solidly immersive, with just enough bass to be enjoyable, but not enough of either to put that silly grin on your face. As I said, good but not great. Which is strange for a franchise that has literally had it’s best aspect BE the audio mix for the last 16 years.












Extras:

• Human Affairs— In a world of robots, machines, and aliens, we explore the humans who help save the world.
• Life in the 90s— The filmmakers discuss how the music, set design, fashion, and cultural references transport viewers to New York in the 90s.
• Heroes— Get an inside look at the inspiration and thought process behind designing the AUTOBOTS and the MAXIMALS.
• Villains—Watch as the filmmakers bring the TERRORCONS and PREDACONS to life.
• The Chase— Meet MIRAGE, a new AUTOBOT that converts into a 1993 Porsche, and experience the adrenaline-filled car chase through New York City.
• The Battle of Ellis Island— Join the cast and crew as they go behind-the-scenes of the epic battle sequence between the AUTOBOTS and the TERRORCONS at the museum.
• Into the Jungle— The TRANSFORMERS franchise has been filmed all over the globe. This time, join the cast and crew as they explore the new and exotic location of Peru.
• The Switchback Attack— Witness the wild, intense driving sequences filmed on location in Peru where the AUTOBOTS fight the TERRORCONS through a town square and into the mountains 15,000 feet up.
• The Final Conflict— Get a behind-the-scenes look at the film's epic climax. Watch as the AUTOBOTS, MAXIMALS, Noah, and Elena attempt to save the world.
• Extended/Deleted Scenes—Includes an alternate opening and ending to the film!

Final Score: ​

I wanted to like Transformers: Rise of the Beasts considering how pleasantly surprised I was by Bumblebee, but the fates had other things in store for me. Rise of the Fallen tries it’s best, but at the end of the day feels sterile and sort of “Disney Star Wars” level of forced and bland. However, the 4K UHD is quite nice, with amazing extras, stunning video, and decent audio. Fans of the series won’t really be disappointed if they enjoyed the last few Bay films, but those who felt the series peaked with Dark of the Moon, will probably already be quaking in their boots. Rental is my recommendation.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Velez, Peter Cullen, Peter Dinklage, Ron Perlman, Pete Davidson
Directed by: Steven Caple Jr.
Written by: Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French Dolby Atmos, Spanish (Latin), Spanish (Castilian), French (Canadian) DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 127 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: October 10th, 2023

Recommendation: Meh