Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the sequel to one of the most popular franchises in the world. In ancient times, the Maximals, transformers who can turn into beasts, were attacked by the robot god Unicron, who is devouring planets. To stop him, the Maximals steal the transdimensional key and hide it on Earth. Time has passed. Optimus Prime wants to collect the key to return home, the Terorcons dream of capturing it to give it to Unicron, and humans simply want to save the planet. Find out what happens in the movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”.
“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is the seventh film in the franchise, and is a sequel to the movie “Bumblebee” and the beginning of a new trilogy, according to the creators. All six parts have brought in almost $5 billion. And with the seventh installment, this figure has crossed the mark, as the film has already grossed $429 million. The film’s trailer received more than 238 million views online in the first 24 hours, more than any other non-Disney movie, with the exception of Spider-Man: No Way Home”.
The film was directed by Stephen Caple Jr. Michael Bay, who directed the first five installments, was limited to the role of producer in this film, as well as in Bumblebee.
Back in December 2018, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said that this film would be “different from what we’ve done before.” And they had done a lot of interesting things before.
How Transformers came to be
Transformers – robots that can turn into machines – were invented by Hasbro, the world’s largest toy company. The management decided that the best way to popularize the Transformers was to create their own universe. The company began to cooperate with Marvel Comics. First came comic books, then came animated series, and in 2002 the company decided to invest in its first feature film.
X-Men producer Tom DeSanto wanted to make a large-scale movie right away and turned to one of the best experts in creating fantasy worlds, Steven Spielberg, who joined the work with enthusiasm. After all, the transformation of an “ordinary” car into a robot is a spectacle that can be effectively shown in a movie.
Steven Spielberg decided that the story would be centered not so much on robots as on an ordinary guy from Earth. In subsequent films, this story of interaction between earthlings and aliens is the main story and makes the movie even closer to the viewer.
The story of Michael Bay’s involvement in the project is interesting, as we noted, he is the director of 5 of the 7 parts and a producer in each of them. At first, Bay didn’t really believe in the project and even called it a “silly toy story,” but Steven Spielberg came up with a plan. He brought his skeptical colleague to the Hasbro office to experience the atmosphere of this universe and learn more about the Transformers mythology. The plan worked, and Michael Bay decided to create a movie that would be understandable not only to robot fans, but also to those who first learn about them in the cinema.
About the army, the Pentagon, and Peru
The franchise was launched with the support of the US Army and the Pentagon. The franchise features F-22, F-117, and V-22 Ospreys, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and Lockheed AC-130 aircraft, soldiers participated in the extras, and actors wore authentic uniforms. Some footage was even shot in the Pentagon. By the way, most of the planes played the role of Decepticons.
The cars for the autobots were provided by General Motors. These were Solstice for Jazz, Nissan Vanette for Ironhide, and the iconic yellow Chevrolet Camaro for Bumblebee. The company foresaw possible accidents during the filming process, so it provided three cars of each model.
But in the movie “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” online you will not see Decepticons. This is the first movie where there are no familiar antagonists. Instead, there are the Terrorons, who are some pretty badass villains.
The film takes place in New York and in some cities in Peru, such as Machu Picchu, Cusco, and the San Martin region.
During filming in Peru, a local child showed his drawings of Transformers to director Stephen Caple Jr. He liked the drawings, invited the child to the premiere and paid for the repair of the roof at his school. By the way, in Peru, the movie became the third most popular after Avengers: Endgame” (2019) and “The Lion King” (2019).
Honoring and thanking people
There are many episodes in this movie that are tributes to the actors and honor the memory of famous personalities. For example, according to Stephen Caple Jr., Optimus Prime’s face in this movie was created “based on” the face of the actor who voices this role, Peter Cullen. Do you know how old he is? At the time of this movie’s release, Peter Cullen was 81 years old (and 82 now), making him the second oldest actor to voice a Transformer. The oldest is George Coe, who voiced Wiljack in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, who was 82 years old at the time of the movie’s release.
Also, according to Stephen Caple Jr., the 964 series Porsche 911 was specifically chosen as a reference to Michael Bay’s 1995 movie Bad Boys, where the two main characters Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett drove a Porsche 964.
There is also a mention of Mark Wahlberg, who also starred in the franchise. If you hear from one of the Transformers about Marky Mark, who is starting to take up acting, it’s about Wahlberg. After all, the actor first built a music career, and then started acting in movies. And 1994, the year when the events in the film take place, is the year of the release of the first feature film with Wahlberg, Renaissance Man, starring Danny DeVito. It’s a very good movie, check it out.
The movie also makes two references to the late Tupac Shakur. In Noah Diaz’s bedroom, there is a poster for the movie Poetic Justice (1993), starring Janet Jackson and Tupac Shakur. And the movie that appears on his TV during the renovation is Juice (1992), starring Tupac and Omar Epps.
And that’s not all the references and hints. In the latest footage, you can see a business card with the G.I. Joe emblem. G.I. Joe is a popular series of toy soldiers from Hasbro and another movie franchise. It is unknown whether there will be an official crossover between G.I. Joe and Transformers, but anything is possible.
And a little more about the music. If you’re a longtime fan of the franchise and you hear familiar notes in the movie, it’s because you are. The original music by Vince DiCola, which he created for the animated film The Transformers: The Movie (1986), can be heard in several cues by composer Johnny Bontemps, including “Unicron/Scourge” and “Unicron Approaches”.
By the way, the computer-animated movie Transformers: A New Generation, which is described as an origin story. The creators will take viewers to Cybertron and tell them about Optimus and Megatron.
