From a familiar maxim to minimal Maximals — and the surprise reveal that will totally
transform the future of the franchise — let's dig into the mechanics of "Rise of the Beasts'"
action-packed ending.
The climactic battle of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" is triggered by the villainous
Scourge uniting the two pieces of the movie's main MacGuffin, which allows the nefarious
planet-consuming Unicron to make his way to Earth.
With only a small window of time to save this planet, the Autobots, robotic animals known
as the Maximals, and a pair of humans, Noah and Elena, all join forces to stop Scourge.
This showdown, occurring in an isolated part of a Peruvian rainforest, heavily involves
Autobots and Maximals duking it out with a bunch of Scourge's mindless minions, an army
of robotic scorpions, as well as the baddie's two primary Terrorcon allies, Battletrap and
Nightbird.
The drama of this set piece is higher because the device doesn't only allow the arrival
of Unicron.
The device that will bring him to Earth could also bring Optimus Prime and his Autobot brethren
back to their home planet of Cybertron.
In the end, Prime, after brutally murdering Scourge, makes the ultimate sacrifice to save
Earth and its people by destroying Unicron's interdimensional doorway.
Afterward, the surviving Autobots, Maximals, and humans all go their separate ways, though
the potential for Unicron's return means that a reunion could someday be in the cards.
While humans in the "Transformers" have occasionally been able to temporarily utilize Cybertronian
weaponry to fight back against Decepticons, for the most part, these characters have to
leave the robot skirmishes to Optimus Prime and company.
However, earlier "Transformers" media offered up a solution for how human beings could fight
alongside robotic warriors.
The 1986 feature "The Transformers: The Movie" is one of the most popular early depictions
of an Exosuit in "Transformers" lore.
The Exosuit is a robotic armor human beings can wear that allows them to keep up with
Autobots and Decepticons in the heat of battle.
"Come on.
You can do it."
This concept comes to the live-action "Transformers" movies for the first time at the ending of
"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts."
A seemingly dying Mirage uses some of his own parts to give his pal Noah an Exosuit
that the human can use to help defeat Scourge.
Decked out in silver with hints of blue, the "Rise of the Beasts" Exosuit allows Noah to
take on a slightly more active role in the action-packed ending of a "Transformers" movie
compared to past human protagonists.
It also allows vintage "Transformers" lore to live on in "Rise of the Beasts" as a source
of crowd-pleasing moments.
"'Til all are one."
This phrase was uttered by Optimus Prime in his final moments before dying in "Transformers:
The Movie" in 1986.
Since then, it's become a fixture of the franchise, with various incarnations of Optimus Prime
and other "Transformers" characters uttering it in a slew of different contexts.
It becomes a core phrase in the final half-hour of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," especially
as it pertains to characters like Optimus Prime and Noah growing more accustomed to
working with others.
Their initial hesitations at the idea of human/Autobot cooperation are eliminated once Unicron begins
to descend on Earth.
With the apocalypse bearing down on them, Optimus Prime's phrase becomes a rallying
cry for all varieties of robots and humans to work together for a greater goal.
"Autobots, Maximals, all as one."
"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" uses this classic "Transformers" phrase to inform its
primary theme emphasizing the importance of unity, though its ending winds up undercutting
this concept just a little.
Elena, for instance, is sidelined for much of the climax.
Still, it's admirable that "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" works to trade some of
the cynicism of the Michael Bay "Transformers" movies for something hopeful, and longtime
fans no doubt got a thrill from hearing the phrase get revived.
"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" kicks off its runtime with a prologue depicting a quartet
of Maximals escaping their home planet.
It's a lengthy sequence establishing the idea to moviegoers that these characters will be
critical to everything that will transpire in "Rise of the Beasts."
Unfortunately for "Beast Wars" fans everywhere, the Maximals take forever to return to the
movie, though at least they factor heavily into the plot once they do show up again.
The weirdly subdued presence of the Maximals in the core plot of "Rise of the Beasts" even
extends to the final time audiences see these characters.
The Maximals are last shown remaining in their Earth home of the Peruvian rainforest, with
Optimus Primal pounding his chest on a cliff as the Autobots fly away.
Though the story began through the eyes of these characters as they narrowly avoided
Unicron's horrors, "Rise of the Beasts" just breezes past the Maximals in its ending.
The lack of concrete resolution regarding Optimus Primal and pals would be a strange
detail in any context, but it's especially strange given how "Rise of the Beasts" initially
seems deeply committed to these characters.
While Optimus Prime manages to make a bold sacrifice to keep Unicron away from Earth,
the ending of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" makes it clear that the villain isn't finished
with his evil machinations.
Optimus Primal explicitly states that while Unicron is temporarily thwarted, there's no
way he's dead.
Audiences don't get to explicitly see where Unicron is hiding out now, but Optimus Primal's
word is good enough to know he's still out there.
Given that Paramount Pictures is hoping that "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" kicks off
a new trilogy of "Transformers" movies, it wouldn't be shocking for Unicron to function
as the overarching antagonist of this new era of "Transformers" cinema.
The resolution to Unicron's presence in "Rise of the Beasts" doesn't, however, offer any
clarity to how his role in this movie reconciles with the previous depiction of Unicron in
the live-action "Transformers" movies.
The 2017 installment "Transformers: The Last Knight" explicitly revealed that the planet
Earth is actually Unicron, who's been dormant for eons but begins to rise again in the film's
climax.
"Earth is Unicron.
One day his horns will rise to fight the mad goddess Quintessa."
Given that comments from the "Rise of the Beasts" creative team indicate this new movie
is still meant to be in continuity with earlier live-action "Transformers" fare, it's peculiar
the wrap-up to Unicron's plotline doesn't offer any clarity for how two wildly different
versions of this planet-gobbling baddie can exist in the same franchise.
While there's uncertainty about where the Maximals and Unicron go next in the ending
of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," the blockbuster is much more clear about the fates
of its two human protagonists.
Noah, for one, heads back to his apartment after saving the world, giving his mom and
younger brother a big hug.
Though he's now fought alongside robots, family is clearly as important as ever for Noah,
and the final moments of "Rise of the Beasts" even focus on him going in for a job interview
so he can chip in around the house.
While waiting for that interview, Noah spies something on a nearby TV that offers a resolution
for Elena's plotline.
On this TV, Noah witnesses a commercial for a forthcoming "60 Minutes" interview with
Elena, who has become a famous archeologist based on her discoveries in Peru.
Her work previously helped the Autobots save the world, and now she finally has the chance
to be seen as a titan in her profession.
She's come a long way from the earliest scenes in "Rise of the Beasts," where she was just
an intern at a museum struggling to get the attention of her superiors.
In the wake of their first adventure with robotic lifeforms, both Noah and Elena, judging
by the ending of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," have managed to carve out truly satisfying
lives.
Save for "Bumblebee," each of the live-action "Transformers" movies has ended similarly.
In voice-over narration, Optimus Prime gives a commanding speech that encapsulates the
themes of the preceding movie and offers some hope for the future even after the tremendous
losses incurred in a battle with the forces of evil.
"But the day will never come that we forsake this planet."
"Will we ever see you again?"
"Cade Yeager, I do not know."
"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" offers up a bit of a tweak to this formula, though
not at the expense of a new Optimus Prime speech.
Like the first five "Transformers" movies, voice actor Peter Cullen belts out a big monologue
as Optimus Prime ... but this time he's not the only one delivering a speech.
Once Prime's words are finished, Noah begins to deliver his own final speech through narration.
It's a noticeable shift that cements Noah as the new face of the franchise going forward,
while also displaying a balance between the past of the "Transformers" movies and new
flourishes.
If this saga wants to continue as a major part of the blockbuster movie landscape, that
means subverting expectations, even when it comes to "Transformers" staples like Optimus
Prime's closing speech.
The final pre-credits scene of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" ends with Noah going in
for a job interview with a seemingly ordinary businessman.
However, that man quickly reveals that he knows about the Autobots and how Noah has
saved the world.
This guy and his references to working for a larger organization initially make it appear
that Noah is talking to someone from Sector Seven, the secret agency from "Transformers"
and "Bumblebee."
However, a business card from the mysterious stranger reveals the real organization Noah
has come into contact with: G.I.
Joe.
Yes, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" tees up not just sequels, but a big cinematic universe
fixated on Hasbro properties like "Transformers" and "G.I.
Joe."
It's unclear what a big-screen union between these two adaptations would even look like,
and the brief glimpses of a base belonging to this universe's version of G.I.
Joe doesn't inspire much confidence for the visual possibilities of a crossover.
Still, the ending of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" makes it apparent that the future
of the Autobots on the big screen will involve working with at least the "G.I.
Joe" universe and almost certainly other Hasbro properties.
While the G.I.
Joe twist has massive implications for future Hasbro movies, the mid-credits scene of "Rise
of the Beasts" isn't anything too memorable.
It's a predictable gag that would've been underwhelming even if it didn't come hot off
the heels of a big crossover tease.
The scene depicts Noah introducing his licorice-fixated friend Reek to his new car, a repainted and
modified version of Mirage's automobile form.
After Reek makes some derogatory comments about how the vehicle isn't anything special,
Mirage transforms into his robot form and talks back to Reek.
It's clear what the punchline of this comedic scene will be from frame one, while the overabundance
of Davidson's comedic schtick in the rest of "Rise of the Beasts" makes it unlikely
any moviegoers were clamoring for even more of the character.
This mid-credits "Rise of the Beasts" sequence would've been better served coming before
the big G.I.
Joe tease, but truth be told, there was no place within the movie that would've made
this scene instantly hysterical.
The ending of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" makes it clear that Paramount Pictures and
Hasbro have grand plans for the "Transformers" saga to finally cross over with Hasbro properties,
but what exactly future standalone "Transformers" movies will look like is much more unclear.
"Rise of the Beasts" is content to tell a largely standalone story that mostly exists
in harmony as a prequel to the earlier Michael Bay "Transformers" features.
Even with the ambitions of using "Rise of the Beasts" as a springboard for a trilogy
of "Transformers" adventures, it's not instantly apparent just what aspects of the dense "Transformers"
mythos will next become relevant.
"There's something primal in each of us."
This is an interesting deviation from the last two Michael Bay "Transformers" movies,
"Age of Extinction" and "The Last Knight," each of which ended on major cliffhangers
that made it clear what the leaping off point for direct sequels would be.
Beyond the likely return of Unicron, though, "Rise of the Beasts" sets its sights on teasing
a larger cinematic universe rather than endlessly hinting at where further standalone "Transformers"
movies will go next.
Either way, the lengthy history of these live-action "Transformers" movies indicates that this
franchise won't be going anywhere anytime soon.