It's time to activate and assemble because you can now book your Cineworld tickets for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. It's the spectacular new instalment in the blockbuster Transformers franchise and promises to expand our knowledge of the various Transformers factions.
Here's why you need to book your tickets right now.
1. There are more than just Autobots involved
It's not just about the heroic Autobot Bumblebee this time. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts introduces three new groups known as the Maximals, the Predacons and the Terrorcons. And the twist? They transform into animals instead of vehicles, meaning we get rampaging gorillas, hawks and lions to go with the sports cars and big rigs that are now familiar in the Transformers universe.
The premise is adapted from Beast Wars, which was spun off from the 1980s Transformers toy line and TV show. Empire describes the show in the following terms: "Launched in 1996 as a set of toys and a high-tech (for its day) computer-animated TV series, Beast Wars was the first major reboot of the original Transformers franchise. Instead of the Autobots and Decepticons – warring armies of alien robots disguised as human vehicles – Beast Wars brought us the Maximals and Predacons, warring armies of alien robots disguised as beasts."
How awesome does that sound?
2. It picks up the thread of 2018's Bumblebee
After the hectic melee of Michael Bay's Transformers movies, the big-hearted Bumblebee was a palliative. It rewound the clock to the 1980s and explored the title character's friendship with young San Francisco gearhead Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld).
Infused with the spirit of Steven Spielberg's family classics, Bumblebee was a critical and box office success, and we're now curious as to where the saga will go next. Back in 2018, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura was playing his cards close to his chest with the following comment about the franchise's future post-Bumblebee: "I think we've learned something in [Bumblebee] about tone that I would think the next big Transformers movie is going to have.
"It's not like we're going to copy it but we've learned something. There's more freedom than I think we originally thought in terms of what we can do."
Based on the trailers for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, we're imagining a fusion-hybrid: the humour and good spirit of Bumblebee with the relentless onslaught of Bay's movies.
3. There's an exciting and diverse cast
In the Heights' Anthony Ramos plays Brooklyn lad Noah who discovers and bonds with Bumblebee. Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah) plays Elena, one of two artifact hunters who take Noah on a sweeping global quest that uncovers the conflict between the various Transformers factions. Elena's colleague Reek is played by Grammy-nominated rapper, artist and actor Tobe Nwigwe.
And that's just a flavour of the visible human cast. On vocal duties, we have the newly minted Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as Airazor, a Maximal warrior who transforms into a peregrine falcon, Hellboy's Ron Perlman as Optimus Primal, the leader of the Maximals who transforms into a gorilla and Bodies Bodies Bodies' Pete Davidson as Mirage, an Autobot spy who can project holograms and transforms into a silver-blue Porsche 964 Carrera RS 3.8.
Also in the mix: Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage as Scourge, the leader of the Terrorcons and a trophy hunter, who transforms into a black Peterbilt 359 logging semi-truck.
4. It comes from a director who understands character and action
Director Steven Caple Jr. won plaudits for helming 2018's Creed II. The movie, a sequel to Ryan Coogler's acclaimed Creed (2016), successfully fused hard-hitting boxing sequences with a multifaceted exploration of the Rocky/Creed legacy, re-introducing the Soviet titan Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) from Rocky V (1985) and exploring an emotional fallout that had spilled across the generations.
Caple Jr.'s ability to land his punches both in the ring and in terms of the character dynamics bodes well for Transformers. After all, we need to be anchored to the human beings in the story while being blown out of our seats by the awesome Transformers action. It's Caple Jr.'s biggest movie project so far, so fingers crossed he'll pull it off.
5. It honours the classic Transformers heritage
We can see from the trailer for Rise of the Beasts that Optimus Prime has been retooled and styled for maximum nostalgic effect. Fuse that with the return of Optimus Prime's regular voice actor Peter Cullen, not to mention the likes of John DiMaggio as Autobot warrior Stratosphere, and there are plenty of reasons to hope for a new Transformers movie that balances the old with the new.
Are you ready? Then click the link below to get your tickets for the new Transformers extravaganza.
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