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Peter Cullen. © 2023 Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, Hasbro, New Republic Pictures, Di Bonaventura Pictures, and Bay Films. Directed by Steven Caple Jr.
Watched it in IMAX @ AMC Theaters
Unite or Fall The Autobots have returned once again for another world-ending battle which is the same plot as every Transformers film ever since. However, it's a fresh continuation from Bumblebee and it's smaller scaled now with more emphasis on the relationship between the Autobots and the humans. Did it work? Well, it did in certain areas but it still needs improvement. Let's journey back to the 1990s and once again join the Autobots on another world-saving mission to save Earth and Cybertron. Story: Optimus Prime and the Autobots take on their biggest challenge yet. When a new threat capable of destroying the entire planet emerges, they must team up with a powerful faction of Transformers known as the Maximals to save Earth. Growing up in the early 2000s, my look at Hollywood is pretty different from today's standards. I love big practical effects heavy shit but in a good way that doesn't seem cheap. Now in days, we have cheap overdone CGI shit with the WGA on strike while having VFX artists work overnight. However, there's one franchise that still has a soft spot in my heart. The Transformers franchise is my childhood. The toys I played with while my Pixar Cars toys were dusting into the sunset. It's magical that this franchise is still going strong and I'm happy to say that this latest entry really got me back into the good old times of the original bay trilogy. One of the elements that they are improving since the latest entry is the human characters. Recently, the human characters in Transformers are dull or not distinct like with the main protagonist Sam Witwicky. Mark Wahlberg just acted like himself and the other side characters are just dumb. However, Bumblebee changed the story in a completely different way and this latest entry followed the same track with Anthony Ramos as Noah Diaz. I liked his character in this film and his emotional stakes and relationship work this time in this franchise. The other side character which is played by Dominique Fishback, did a solid job and while it was a cliché character, the duo worked. The biggest change was its story point of view. It's now both sides of the coin including reducing the human characters' focus from 8 or 9 to just two people. It's a drastic change that made the story better and put more focus on the Autobots. It really worked and I felt like the conflicts worked between the Autobots and the humans. Especially with the Maximals. The Autobots get more character depth now which is very great for this franchise and I'm happy it's leaning toward the lore storytelling that I miss from the original trilogy. However, those are not the only elements that I missed.
The action in this film is going back to the classic type of action I missed but on a smaller scale. While we do still get the big final action set piece like in every Transformers film, this one felt like it was set off in its own little backyard in a good way. It's not gigantic but it's still a big final battle that has its stakes. The VFX is pretty solid here and while it can be very noticeable, I still enjoyed the action. It has that flavor of Bayhem but in its own way and direction. Small battles here and there but they are entertaining and nostalgic. It feels like the classic 80s Transformers but in live-action. The story here is straightforward but the plot unfolding in this film was not that bad. It still has its franchise cliches but it's less dumb and simple. The ending of this film is still questionable but let's see where this franchise is heading too next. Besides the improved story here, the production of this is very solid. I liked the VFX here with some practical effects to make the action more believable. The sound design is well done and the way it was shot was a huge improvement from the shaky cam and overcut shit that Michael Bay was using. I felt like the wider and still shots worked in this film and the type of direction it was going for. The cinematography is also solid but I wished it had more epic flares since it's a stable in this franchise. The music here was also good and overall, this film really improved every storytelling element that I could think of. The technical elements are still great but it's a much better improvement from the 4th and 5th films and good thing it's following the footsteps of the latest entry. However, it still has its classic Transformers flaws.
Even though this franchise is improving its past mistakes, I still believe the human dynamic is still weak in this film. Especially with the relationship between Noah and Elena. The writers don't find a way to stick the landing if these characters are friends or in a love relationship. It loses balance. What also concerns me about the future of human characters in this franchise is to make compelling human characters that have a different backstory that hasn't been explored yet. At first, I was into the idea of a scientist being part of this journey, but it felt like a McGuffin in a different way. The trait got weakened by the second act and I completely forget about it. That is a major problem with this franchise. There needs to be brand new traits that make these characters distinct and connect more with the Autobots. Speaking of the Autobots, I'm disappointed that they didn't use Bumblebee a lot in this film. Like literally, Bumblebee was your main Autobot in the last entry and you made him sit on the sidelines?! That's a big "bruh" moment. The Decepticons aren't that bad but they were the same as last time. They could've at least improved their motivations or even character traits but they kept it the same. Cliché writing is written all over this franchise. Besides the plot and characters, sometimes the cinematography felt bland which is not good. However, some of the VFX saved it from rubble. Overall, it's a much better improvement from the 4th and 5th entries and a solid continuation from the latest entry. Still, it has its cliché flaws that keep this franchise shining much brighter. While this franchise is trying to heal itself, it's a vast improvement from the older entries and a better continuation from Bumblebee. It's the best Transformers film since the first (including the latest one) and I'm happy it's trying to fix its mistakes from this ever-bloated bandaged franchise. The ending may be a shell shock for some fans, but it got me pumped up for the next entry. I cannot wait to see Optimus Prime kill more Decepticons while committing war crimes. Now Playing Only in Theaters. Vizeit Score: "B" (Share this review with your film friends and on social media! Thank you for continuing supporting my indie cinema website.) Copyright © 2023 Vizeit Reviews / Vizeit Studios. All Rights Reserved. Review Written By: Everardo Garcia Jr. Editor In-Cheif/Owner of Vizeit Reviews | (Chicago Indie Critics Member [CIC])
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