Before we dig into the dopeness of the latest non-Bayverse Transformers flick, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, I’m here to announce that this is my 20th 4DX movie review. Whoo hoo! How perfect of a landmark, because Beasts might just be the greatest flick I’ve watched within the 4 Disciplines of eXecution.
Why? No need to attend the Transformers 3D Ride at Universal when you can just plop down to your local Regal Theater and feel as much movement in the rocking chair as you could on some crazy roller coaster. What separates Beasts from the 19 other 4DX flicks before? The RUMBLING. When Optimus Primal first steps onto the screen, the rumbling effects will consume you! Between our new Maximal friends, Primal and Rhinox, there’s more explosive power thundering under your chair than ever before — unless you consumed a super serving of the chili nacho fries, of course. That said, every explosion (and there’s a few of them, seeing how these are giant mutant robots duking it out over a space time conduit and, sadly, not golden discs) is a booming one. There was a lot of “ah sh*t” reactions from the moviegoing audience whenever any of the powerful laser shots, thruster gunfire, or booming bashes from super sized robotic animals had an affect on our back — and I promise 4DX power has never had so much of an impact.
Of course, air puffs are there to the left and right of your ears for every punch, shot, and kick. There are also numerous sweeping air effects courtesy of all the gigantic robot traversing throughout the Peru mountain locale, noticable lighting effects (as this was a weakness in some other 4DX films), and a more than usual multiple punches to the back of the seat. Unfortunately, the corner smoke/fog effect is still really weak — or shall we say limited — as mentioned in my Shazam 2 review). When it comes to fog or smoke, you obviously can’t go too heavy with it as smoke detectors going off in the theater could be catastrophic, and you obviously don’t want to obscure the sad folks sitting in the front two rows’ vision more than their own arrangement already has.
Just about other 4DX effect in Rise of the Beasts works, though, as highlighted when our would-be-carjacker-turned-hero Noah Diaz (played brilliantly by In The Heights/Hamilton‘s Anthony Ramos) is hilariously forced by Mirage (voiced by every hot woman ever’s ex-bf Pete Davidson) on a joyride from the police. That car chase involving mirroring Porshe’s and lots of twists, turns, and tumbles felt like something straight out of a theme park. It’s worthy of note to mention that Davidson’s Mirage is also the new “Bumblebee” scene-stealer in Rise, as our loveable yellow Bee takes the backseat (pun intended). That said, BB did get the loudest “pop” from the auditorium when Energon kept the resilient Mustang alive during one of the film’s finest fan-service moments.
Director Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II) thankfully delivers a lot of action to this soft reboot/sequel that never drags, and the story is adequate enough for a Transformers movie. This allows our prime chacters Diaz, his little bro Kris (Dean Scott Vasquez), and determined deuteragonist Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) more likeable and arguably more important than previous humans found in the Transformers movie space. Peter Cullen returns as Prime and Ron Pearlman‘s Primal channels the classic essence of Pete. I was also super thrilled not to see Megatron for the hundredth time, as the vicious Scourge (Peter Dinklage) makes more sense to the story and there’s no way any true fan of nerd cinema should experience Unicron via streaming service.
As a major fan of hip-hop’s golden era, I appreciated Caple’s 94 true school soundtrack (that features Method Man, LL, Digable Planets and lots of cues to cassette tapes, Tupac in Juice, etc.), although I was baffled when “Hypnotize” (1997) was the chosen joint from Biggie, and a current trap hip-hop joint boomed out the speakers during the film’s climactic battle. The pacing is great, the characters are fun, and the inclusion of the Terracons and the Maximals (from the the mid-90s Beast Wars animated series) added some much-needed spice to a SEVENTH Transformers movie. There’s also a wink, a nod, and a teaser to another of Hasbro’s homegrown property and where the future may lay within the franchise (YO J..!) . Do yourself a favor and spend a few extra bucks to witness this Rise in the confines of true joyride.
Movie = 4/5
4DX = 5/5
-Travis Moody