I watched Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts without knowing anything about the Transformers franchise

Before I stepped into the theatre for the screening of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, the only things I knew about the franchise were (1) the rides at Universal Studios Singapore (USS), (2) the robot (Megatron, as I have since learned) at USS that insults people facetiously, and (3) that they are alien robots (i.e have a life of their own) and not A.I. robots – information that Her World digital editor Cheryl Chan helpfully supplied prior to the beginning of the movie.

Somehow, I have made it through 25 years of my life without consuming any of the Transformers animation, comic books, video games nor films.

Trust me, showing up to the screening without doing any research – I did not read the synopsis of the new movie nor did I even watch the trailer – was daunting, to say the least. 

But I know I cannot be the only one. So whether you’re being dragged against your will by an eager friend/family member/partner to the opening weekend, or if you’re simply looking for a new blockbuster to watch, this is what it’s like watching Transformers: Rise of the Beasts without knowing anything about the Transformers franchise.

Warning: minor spoilers ahead. 

The introduction of Maximals (sort of) 

The movie opens with a scene that’s pretty much common ground for all superhero movies: evil villain (in this case, a giant planet named Unicron) is looking to destroy another planet. The saviours? Animals…that are robots. These are Maximals, as I soon learn, and are from the Transformers Beast Wars franchise (as I very much later learned when I was out of the theatre). 

I’m confused as the gorilla on-screen throws a punch at the evil villian, but after a quick fight scene, we’re transported to 1994 Brooklyn, New York. Wu Tang Clan blasts from the theatre’s speakers and Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) makes his appearance on-screen. I get my first shock of the movie: there are…humans? 

Now, I feel like I have to defend myself here – I’m not sure why I’m so surprised to see actual humans in Transformers, given that most sci-fi-action-alternative-universe films have humans in them, but I was. At this point in the film (which was probably like only five minutes in), I half-thought that the animal robots (Maximals!!) would be fighting the actual robots (Transformers!!). Boy, was I so wrong. 

So…these are the Transformers?

Anyway, back to the movie. We’re soon introduced to Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback), an artefact research intern who is currently working at a museum. She goes through some trials and tribulations, including dealing with a boss who keeps stealing credit for her work and trying to figure out a bird sculpture with bizarre markings. 

Noah, who’s an ex-military electronics expert who is trying to support his mother and younger brother, is also dealing with some trials and tribulations of his own. Soon, he is working with Reek (Tobe Nwigwe), a close friend, to steal a sweet blue Porsche…which…turns out to be…a Transformer/Autobot. 

Here was indeed where I realised the need for some backstory.

“They are cars??” was what I whispered in shock to (the other) Cheryl, who was watching the screening with me. 

I had absolutely zero clue that the Transformers robots are, in fact, cars. I might be to blame for not inspecting the movie poster outside the theatre carefully to notice that there are (very tiny) humans in the midst of all these robots, but how was I supposed to know that the Transformers are cars? I thought these were robots! Alien robots!

Autobots, roll out (surprise!)

While Earth might have stood still for me in my shock, things are moving speedily on-screen. A car chase scene ensues in what seems like a Cars x Fast and Furious scene. The destination? An abandoned warehouse. 

I kid you not: A freightliner, two sports cars, one motorcycle, and one human meet in an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. 

Soon, the vehicles in the movie start turning into robots. The freightliner turns into a robot. The motorcycle turns into a (female?) robot. The yellow sports car and blue sports car turn into robots. The human remains human (thankfully).

This is where I should correct myself: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Mirage, Arcee, and Noah Diaz meet in an abandoned warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. 

And we are not even halfway through this two hours and seven minutes movie. 

Another Autobot joins…

Things move quickly from here on: Elena has accidentally triggered what turns out to be a Transwarp Key, which I gather from the beginning of the movie is what the good robots (Autobots) need to return back to their home world (Cybertron). 

The Autobots (and Noah) head to the museum to get the key, only for the plans to be thwarted by the bad robots (Terrorcons). 

Go and catch the movie in theatres to figure out what happens in the fight scene, but eventually, the Autobots meet a Maximal named Airazor (whose wise voice is the one and only Michelle Yeoh). 

Soon, the Autobots and two humans are heading to Peru to continue their mission for not all hope is lost. But how are they heading to Peru? On a cargo plane, of course! Or rather, an autobot named Stratosphere, who transforms into a cargo plane. 

It baffles me that (1), the robots have to even take a plane (can’t they teleport, given that they can shoot beams and all that?) and (2), a freightliner can fit on a cargo plane (isn’t there a weight limit?) but I assume that in Transformers-verse, this is business as usual. 

And another (plus Maximals, again)

In Peru, the Autobots and two humans meet yet another Autobot: this time, a Volkswagen van/bus named Wheeljack, who has a Mexican accent and is also a scientist. 

The crew once again meet the bad guys and there’s another fight scene, and I’m left wondering why the motorcycle (Arcee) keeps holding on to the Volkswagen (Wheeljack) when she has both wheels and kick-ass fighting skills of her own (there was no explanation, in case you were wondering). 

We are soon re-introduced to the Maximals, which includes Airazor (the falcon that we met earlier), Rhinox (a rhinoceros), Cheetor (a cheetah), and the leader of the Maximals, Optimus Primal (one of the gorillas we saw earlier in the beginning of the film). 

This is the last introduction of new-ish characters, and from hereon, the film pretty much runs the course of any other sci-fi action film – bad guys try to take over the world, good guys try to save said world, and a huge fight scene occurs. 

The film still has a couple of twists that will have non-fans feel out of the loop when certain scenes unfold and the whole theatre is filled with gasps and cheers, but honestly, you can still enjoy the scenes without needing to know the nuances. 

Soon, the movie concludes with an ending scene that stoked many furious whisperings and murmurs. 

After the film concluded, I waited in the cinema hall because everyone else was also waiting. There’s a mid-credits scene before the final credits are rolled out, and my very first Transformers movie comes to an end. 

The final verdict

All in all, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is rather satisfying – the dialogue is great and humorous enough without being too cheesy, CGI is fantastic, and the action-packed scenes are exciting. It also helped that the movie is a prequel of sorts to the other Transformers movies, serving as a sequel to the 2018 Bumblebee film.

I did find that there were a couple of loose threads in the story that went unexplored, though I wasn’t sure if it was because I have no clue about the franchise itself. 

So, can you watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts without exactly understanding the subtext and emotional nuances that run through all the movies? I would say yes – the film is definitely enjoyable enough to watch as a standalone, and it’s well worth moving out from under the rock to experience this slice of pop culture. 

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is available only in cinemas starting from 8 June 2023.