The first Transformers: Rise of the Beasts reactions are rolling out online. Early screenings of the latest live-action Transformers movie took place Wednesday night, two weeks before the franchise's Beast Wars-inspired seventh entry roars into theaters on June 9th. Set on 1994 Earth, Rise of the Beasts introduces a new faction of Transformers: Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) and the Maximals, who join forces with Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and the Autobots to battle Scourge (Peter Dinklage) and the Terrorcons. How was director Steven Caple Jr.'s throwback Transformers entry received? Critics seem to agree that there's more than meets the eye in the action-packed blockbuster follow-up to the smaller-scale Bumblebee.
"Rise of the Beasts was a blast! The Beast Wars crew finally shows up in what's arguably the BEST Transformers movie in the run," wrote CinemaBlend's Mike Reyes. "There's a lot of heart, humor, and Brooklyn pride in here; and it all makes for throwback popcorn fun."
Tweeted Fandango's Erik Davis, "The new #Transformers movie is pretty solid! LOVE the Brooklyn setting – Maximals & Scourge add a new spin & the action pops, especially the NY scenes. Mirage steals the show, but the true star is the absolute best soundtrack full of early '90s hip-hop hits. This '90s kid had fun."
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts takes inspiration from the '90s Beast Wars storyline and toyline, which turned the robots in disguise into prehistoric robo-beasts instead of vehicles. Autobots Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Mirage (Pete Davidson), Arcee (Liza Koshy), and Wheeljack (Cristo Fernández) must unite with the Maximals — Optimus Primal, Airazor (Michelle Yeoh), Rhinox (David Sobolov), and Cheetor (Tongayi Chirisa)—in their centuries-old war against the Terrorcons to save Earth from the planet-eating Unicron (Colman Domingo).
"You don't need to know much. If anything, Bumblebee got here in 1987, along with Optimus Prime, and they've tried to seek refuge on Earth until they can get back to Cybertron. Ultimately, all you need to know is that they're trying to get back to Cybertron," Caple explained to The Hollywood Reporter of the prequel to 2007's Transformers. "If you can go into this movie just knowing that piece of information, you'll be able to track it completely. It doesn't mess up any of the timeline in 2006, 2007. We're actually going in a direction that allows us to protect that side of the universe, but that's all you need to know."
As for fans unfamiliar with Beast Wars, Caple said, "I would say to just watch the film itself. You don't have to get caught up with the Beast Wars franchise in order to watch our movie. I feel like this is a standalone."
Also starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback as the human heroes, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts rolls out only in theaters June 9th. See more first reactions below.