For most of its runtime, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts functions like a fairly standalone film. Not only does the movie occasionally rely on its viewers’ willingness to forget about the events of some of the Transformers franchise’s previous entries, but it also focuses primarily on a number of new human and Autobot characters. In that way, despite featuring a bigger cast of robotic warriors, Rise of the Beasts often feels more like 2018’s Bumblebee than it does many of the other Transformers films that have been released over the years.
