The successful existence of the “Transformers” franchise can be called one of the main mysteries of modern cinema. None of the parts received a frankly warm reception from critics, but still people continue to go to the films of the series – and quite en masse. Therefore, the release of “Time of the Beasts” is not even particularly surprising, but rather causes slight confusion. We tell in the review below how this film turned out.
“Transformers: Time of the Beasts” / Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts
The genre is fantastic action
Directed by Stephen Caple Jr.
Starring Ron Perlman, Dominic Fishback, Anthony Ramos, John DiMaggio, Luna Lauren Velez, MJ Rodriguez, Cristo Fernandez, Peter Dinklage
Premiere cinemas
Release year 2023
IMDb site
The main threat in the new part of “Transformers” is the ancient robot god Unicron, who devours entire worlds. Terrorcons and predacons serve him. One of the victims of Unicron’s invasion campaign is the native world of robot-animal maxims. But some of the maxims managed to be saved. They end up on Earth, which becomes Unicron’s next target.
“Transformers” can be considered a kind of creative triumph (if such a phrase is appropriate here at all) of the action director Michael Bay. Stories about the endless battles of pathetic robots became the quintessence of Bay’s approach. Here he did not need to invent any unnecessary justifications. More explosions and action, connected at least by some conventions, and the movie is ready for you.
But Bay no longer worked on “Time of the Beasts”. And it left a mark on the entire film. Previously, you could get a specific, almost masochistic pleasure from the over-the-top extravaganza of explosions on the screen. Let there be enough explosions in the new part, but they no longer have the former effect.
The action has a too sterile and idealess look. Now it relies solely on the overloaded designs of the Transformers themselves, which, let’s be honest, look a bit bulky from the very first installment.
This is especially true of the same styrbots-maximas. However, after robot-dinosaurs from “Transformers” in 2014, there is nothing to be particularly surprised about.
Stephen Caple, Jr. tried to shift the emphasis somewhat to a more “human story”. Here, archaeologist Elena (Dominic Fishback) and ex-military Noah (Anthony Ramos) are responsible for her. The acting of the two stars can really be called worthy, the chemistry between them is always at a high level. It’s nice to watch the development of their storyline, but it seems like it came from a completely different movie. You know, the one that doesn’t have constant robot battles.
What else does “Time of the Beasts” have to offer? The plot is quite overloaded for the simplicity of its concept. Everything revolves again around the Very Important Artifact™, without which the mighty robots cannot take a single step. The concept is very well-worn, but everyone around it behaves as if the film invented some kind of revelation. Only this is not so.
Trying to seem smarter, more structured, and just plain better than its predecessors, Time of the Beasts strays away from their inscrutable charm.
This is more of a completely normal movie that has transformers. The toy advertisement is practically stretched for 127 minutes. The entire series of films “Transformers” is about this, you should not forget about it.
The graphic component in the film is on par — but no more. Sometimes the computer graphics look too artificial and destroy the already shaky immersion in the story. But in general, here we have a classic Hollywood blockbuster. Definitely not the Marvel Cinematic Universe of Phase 4, and thank goodness for that.
The novelty does not surprise, does not shock and does not even particularly excite, which still happened in the case of the previous parts. Even the St. John’s wort, which is included in the name, does not particularly diversify the viewing. At least we were already shown dinobots, which had a more convincing appearance.
Transformers: Age of the Beast relies on your devotion to the Transformers idea. In other words, the film taps into your inner child who needs big jobs and lots of explosions. You can connect all this in any sequence, there is no difference.
Small (and not so) children will definitely start looking at the shelf with transformers in the nearest toy store after that. But whether such pathetic advertising is worth a trip to the cinema is an ambiguous question.
Pros: a good storyline of human heroes; local obscure robot designs may appeal to some Cons: staleness and story overload; the action, which “Transformers” has always been famous for, is too fresh and boring in this part; St. John’s wort does not impress; the strange magic of the franchise has disappeared somewhere Conclusion:
Almost five years have passed between Bumblebee, the previous film in the Transformers series, and Time of the Beastmen. It would seem that during this time you can, if not make a good movie, then at least outline the path to it. But another story about transformers shows that its authors do not want to move anywhere. They are comfortable within the framework they have created. Perhaps such an approach has the right to exist. But I don’t want to support him with money
