Thrills that are more than meet the eye have returned thanks to director Steven Caple Jr’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts bringing the legendary ‘80s toy line back to the movies. There will be car chases, epic battles and perhaps some new entries into the canon of our favorite Transformers explosions. And thank Primus we have another question to ponder with this new installment, the one I’m most keen to discuss with you all today: To 3D or Not To 3D?
If you want to read what I thought of the film as a narrative experience, you can head to CinemaBlend’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts review. But if you want to know if your 3D ticket money is a sound investment, or if you should focus on acquiring some recently discovered antiquities from Cybertron instead, then this is the place to be. Roll out those grey and black shades, as we’re about to get started.
Fit Score - 5/5
Does a Transformers movie belong in 3D? Historically, the answer would seem to be yes, as the format has been present as far back as 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon. With franchise returns like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ditching the format they once danced with, seeing Transformers: Rise of the Beasts return to the floor is an initially comforting thing.
As for the fit presented in the final result, which was observed in an IMAX 3D screening for this review, it's a solid match. The size and scope of the picture fits better on the IMAX screen, and 3D definitely adds a fun layer of excitement to this presentation. In fact, it's right up there with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's 3D variant as one of the year's best.
Planning & Effort - 5/5
Sadly, the days of Michael Bay shooting in native IMAX 3D seem to be rare occurrences with movies of this magnitude. So the Planning and Effort in most 3D movies is focused in the realm of post-conversion, which is created after the fact. The conversion of Rise of the Beasts was handled by DNeg, the company that was also behind The Little Mermaid’s 3D experience, as well as the stellar conversions of both the third-dimensional variants of Dune and No Time To Die.
Does Transformers: Rise of the Beasts continue carrying the company’s work as a 3D standard? Oh yes, indeed it does. This was a pretty perfect experience in third-dimensionally enhanced viewing, and I continue to think that maybe the IMAX format is doing a better job at presenting 3D than standard showings. That sentiment is felt throughout the finished product, so let's start drilling down into the particulars.
Before The Window - 5/5
Look, if your expectations for Before the Window thrills weren’t set by that header photo at the top, then I don’t know what to tell you. When 3-DNA is present in the official stills for a Transformers movie, you’re expecting that cannon Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) is pointing at the camera to feel like it’s a threat. Seriously, it's a shot that looks perfectly planned and ready to jump off the screen!
That shot lives up to its promise, and then some, in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. A LOT of robotic weapons are aimed out at the audience, and you can truly feel it. Also, there are some very choice jump scares where robots are jumping out at you, ready to attack. And it's not just felt in select instances, as this movie goes all out with throwing debris, characters, and planet-eating robots at the audience. Throw in some extras like sparks, dust and asteroids, and you pretty much have the full package.
Beyond The Window - 5/5
Just as it’s important to have Transformers thrills that threaten to leap off the screen, Rise of the Beasts would be robbing itself if it didn’t pay attention to the environments it depicts. With everything from the streets of New York to the jungles of Peru being shown off, seeing such sights with no depth would be a true squandering of the Before the Window aspect of 3D.
The depth is picture perfect, from the desolation of space and all those other locations in-between. Just as you feel like Terrorcons are about to grab you at times, the environments the action and drama take place in are limitless. Plus, the spatial reasoning between characters and their settings is crisp and well delineated. It actually helps show just how small us humans are compared to Optimus Prime at full height.
Brightness - 5/5
It’s that time again, folks! It's time to see if the Brightness to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ 3D stands up to one of the format’s greatest foes. Even the most recent entry in this saga, Bumblebee, had some issues with depicting night scenes in 3D, because of the inherent darkness that is present when slipping on those tinted frames. Sure enough, there’s some first act action in a nocturnal setting, which felt like a pretty strong and early test of how the Brightness factor of this seventh installment.
I must mention the standard caveat that your mileage may vary in 3D, as the quality in how your local theater maintains calibration between formats is a huge factor. With that out of the way, Rise of the Beasts actually held up in even the darkness of the Ellis Island fight of Act I. Again, the IMAX factor may have boosted this one a bit, as those projectors are pretty big and bright. That only makes the fact that the company has turned away from this format all the sadder, as this Transformers adventure was crisp and clean all the way.
Glasses Off Score - 5/5
Whether the 3D is good, bad or average, you’re going to want to take your glasses off from time to time in order to see the blur. It’s a natural compulsion, as you’re either a curious person or you need to give your eyes a break. Either way, this is a good time to observe how manipulated the picture looks, which typically signals the amount of effort put into trying to turn a 2D image into a 3D spectacle.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts mixes it up between a heavy blur factor and very subtle effects. But the film is constantly blurring something, be it the background of the Diaz family kitchen or the combatants trying to fight it out in a gigantic skirmish in Peru. And yes, the mid-credits scene AND the main-on end credits continue the 3D fun, so don't take those glasses off too soon.
Audience Health - 5/5
Big action in 3D has led to some issues in the past involving the audience’s health. The early days would see complaints of headaches and nausea, which triggered all sorts of evolutions in the format to combat such historical stumbling blocks. So typically, unless there’s some jank in scenes that move too fast for the 3D to register, or if the brightness is too dim, there’s usually no discomfort when watching something like Rise of the Beasts in 3D.
Thankfully, this is one of the most comfortable 3D experiences you're going to have. Without any sort of jank present, even with fast moving sequences of cars and characters speeding across the screen, your eyes are taken care of through this Transformers epic.
Final Verdict - 35/35
If you're going to see Transformers: Rise of the Beasts this weekend, good on you, it's an awesome ride. But if you're going to see it in 3D, the IMAX 3D format is well worth hunting down. It's a more limited offering, but definitely a true investment in the scope and scale of a Transformers movie. Otherwise, conventional 3D is probably along the same lines. Just to be sure though, don't forget to go with a theater you trust to maintain the true 3D experience.
This is To 3D or Not To 3D, sending a message to all third dimensional fanatics out there. The next time we meet, barring any surprises, should be for Disney/Pixar's Elemental. So be sure to see Transformers while you can before it rolls out of a 3D showing near you. Until next time, and until all are one, have fun and keep the 3D experience alive and thriving.
