Transformers Rise Of The Beasts

It must be blockbuster season if there is another Transformers movie in theatres. I have to admit that while the films in the series are often weak, I have a weakness for the concept of robots in disguise. The cartoon was an 80s favorite. I don't expect much new or fresh from this outing but lets see if I am wrong. Lots of repetition of themes and scenes in this franchise have kept anything from being just more of the same.

Okay, lets set the scene. Unicorn, a giant planet sized planet eater is looking for a sorta cosmic energy key that allows him to travel anywhere in the Universe to find fresh planets to eat. The robot beasts (Maximals) protecting the key escape to Earth to hide from his henchman, Skurge. 

Back on Earth we have all the elements we need to tell a typical Transformers story - immigrant family of single Mom and a child with Sickle Cell Anemia to tug at our heartstrings.. Then we have a young intern archeologist who knows her stuff and is needed to seek out such a unique artifact as the Trans Warp Key. Then we mix in the robots we know and love and the conflict is set up that only a massive amount of CGI can tell. Optimus Prime needs to key to return to Cybertron from their exile on Earth. But they need help from their new human friends and the Maximals, also in exile on Earth.

Not much is fresh and new going on here. We have seen robots fight each other over and over again. At least this time the bad guy is really tough and is more than a match for the Transformers. To defeat him will take a lot of luck if not a decent plan.

It was at this point that my interest started to drift. Why even make another film if you have nothing new to bring to the table? Of course I know why and so do you - money. There is no love of the craft of filmmaking here. This is just product and a totally 0 calorie meal done by committee. Too many long winded pronoucements about how one robot will 'destroy' another robot. A few dozen scenes like that and it all tends to blend together and makes me wish I could just get to the end of the movie.

It ends on a little cliffhanger that promises future adventures. I think this franchise has officially run out of steam. Save it for streaming or if you are a completist.