Alien Robots: Non-stop action and hip-hop in the new “Transformers” movie

alien robot
Non-stop action and hip-hop in the new “Transformers” movie

Oversized robot figures line up in Times Square to promote the new ‘Transporters’ movie. photo

© Vanessa Carvalho/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

When action film icon Michael Bay sits on board a film, it gets loud and violent – as it does in the seventh part of the “Transformers” series. This time the combat robots are drawn from New York in the 90s to the green hell of Peru.

Visually stunning explosions and action-packed film sequences – if these qualities come together, a Michael Bay film is not too far away. He once made a name for himself with “Bad Boys” or “Armageddon”, but he has now been successfully leading the “Transformers” series for around 16 years: the action spectacles about the alien robots, which are based on an American-Japanese toy series, fill the box office and are not for the faint of heart. But like Travis Knight in the previous spin-off, Steven Caple Jr. is another new face in the director’s chair.

However, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is not part seven chronologically. Even die-hard fans have to classify it first: With the predecessor “Bumblebee”, a kind of soft reboot of the franchise was started in 2018, which took us back to the time before the first “Transformers” film from 2007. Part seven takes place seven years after the events of “Bumblebee”. It is considered a sequel and is getting a new trilogy rolling with great expectations. Grammy winners Anthony Ramos (“In The Heights”) and Dominique Fishback (“Judas And The Black Messiah”) lead the cast. But the voices behind the robots are also top-class in the original.

Ron Perlman voices the gorilla warrior

Right at the beginning of the film you get your first glimpse of the Maximals, a species of intelligent robotic beings in a distant galaxy previously unknown in the film universe. They include the mighty gorilla warrior Optimus Primal, voiced by Ron Perlman (“Hellboy”), and the bird-like creature Airazor, behind whose voice is Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”). But when their planet is afflicted by a great threat, they have to flee to a new world – to a planet called Earth.

The main story takes place centuries later in the New York borough of Brooklyn: There, the former soldier Noah and the museum researcher Elena discover the existence of the Autobots around Optimus Prime, who secretly live on Earth. Together with fan favorite Bumblebee and new alien robots like Mirage or Arcee, Noah and Elena engage in an action-packed battle against villain Scourge, who is voiced by “Game Of Thrones” veteran Peter Dinklage, and takes them deep into the jungles of Peru .

Director Steven Caple Jr. was 19 years old when he saw the first “Transformers” movie in 2007. He’s been a big fan of the series ever since, with Bay now serving as producer. With “Creed II – Rocky’s Legacy” he was able to prove in 2018 that he can also lead productions with big stars like Michael B. Jordan or Sylvester Stallone. Now he is fulfilling a dream with “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” and giving his still young vita another stamp.

Good balance of action and comedy

What should be emphasized about the film, which is successful in many respects, are the well-placed jokes and the chemistry between the cars and the people. For example, the focus is not, as usual, on Bumblebee: the likeable yellow car with a speech impediment played the sidekick of the protagonists in previous films. This time, the film’s main character is joined by Mirage, a blue and silver 1993 Porsche 911 – director Caple’s homage to Michael Bay’s “Bad Boys”. In the film he saw this car for the first time.

This is spoken by stand-up comedian and actor Pete Davidson. The ‘King of Staten Island’ star brings a new, more modern approach to the franchise with his humor and sassy quips. Just as Davidson was known from his time on the American sketch show “Saturday Night Live”.

Moving Transformers: Rise of the Beasts to 1994 also offered the filmmakers an opportunity to introduce a new era of music, style, culture and fashion to the Transformers universe. Underlaid with hearty hip-hop beats, the film sets clearly different accents than the predecessors did. The balance between action and comedy is solid in the 128-minute film and the filmmakers’ new approach makes it interesting even for non-fans of the film series.

dpa

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