Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts Review: Franchise Fatigue Meets ’90s Hijinks In The Funniest, Safest Sequel Yet

Look, hopefully it’s not too controversial to say that I’ve yet to watch a single live-action “Transformers” movie — a franchise based on Hasbro toys for the express purpose of selling aforementioned Hasbro toys, mind you — that rises to the baseline level of “good.” Although the 2007 original has its occasional highlights, the Travis Knight-directed “Bumblebee” probably came closest by default in 2018.

Yet even after trading the juvenile antics and weirdly mean-spirited tone of the Michael Bay era for an earnest and sincere tale of a girl and her distinctively yellow Volkswagen Beetle (who, spoiler alert, was the Autobot soldier Bumblebee in disguise), this feature-length course-correction couldn’t quite overcome a script coasting on little more than sheer likability, fan-service, and vibes.

In a bitter irony, the tepid box office performance of the prequel movie seemed to affirm the idea that general audiences had burned out on “Transformers” movies just…

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