Transformers: Rise of the Beasts appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a solid image here.
At all times, sharpness appeared positive. Despite some mild edge haloes at times, I thought the image seemed accurate and well-defined. I noticed no signs of shimmering or jaggies, and the movie lacked any print flaws.
Michael Bay may no longer direct Transformers movies, but they continue to favor his beloved orange and teal palette. That said, Beasts lacks the comical intensity of those tones that we find from the typical Bay effort.
This means that while Beasts leans toward orange and teal in a consistent manner, those tones didn’t seem over the top. The Blu-ray demonstrated them in the desired manner.
Blacks were always deep and tight, and I saw good contrast as well. Shadows seemed clear and appropriately opaque. The Blu-ray became a strong reproduction of the film.
I felt even more pleased with the movie’s impressive Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the mix used all the channels in a lively, involving manner.
Vehicles, weapon-fire, robots and similar elements popped up from all around the room and delivered a smooth, engrossing soundscape. This meant nearly constant material from the surrounds.
The back speakers delivered a high level of information and created a great sense of place in that domain. All of this melded together in a vivid, satisfying manner.
Audio quality was also strong. Music seemed full and bold, while speech was consistently natural and crisp.
Effects became the most prominent component, of course, and packed a solid punch, with positive clarity and range. People invest major bucks in home theaters for flicks like this, and Beasts delivered the goods.
As we shift to extras, we find a bunch of featurettes. Human Affairs goes for seven minutes, 32 seconds and brings notes from director Steven Caple Jr., producers Mark Vahradian and Lorenzo di Bonaventura, writers Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber, and Josh Peters, and actors Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback.
“Affairs” covers story/characters and the 1990s Brooklyn setting, spectacle and scope, cast and performances, and Caple’s approach to the film. We get a mix of modest insights and fluff here.
Life in the 90s goes for six minutes, 14 seconds. It involves Jon Hoeber, Fishback, Caple, Ramos, Vahradian, costume designer Ciara Whaley, visual effects supervisor Gary Brozenich, and supervising art director Michèle Laliberté.
As expected, “Life” looks at the film’s attempts to reproduce the 1990s. We get some good thoughts about these efforts.
Two paired featurettes arrive next via Heroes (10:12) and Villains (8:35). Across these, we hear from Caple, Ramos, Fishback, Vahradian, Jon Hoeber, Peters, Brozenich, Erich Hoeber, di Bonaventura, Fishback, and picture car transportation coordinator Randy Peters.
Unsurprisingly, we get notes about new Transformers as well as voice cast/performances and design choices. Expect a pretty good little overview.
The Chase spans five minutes, 35 seconds. It features Caple, Ramos, Josh Peters, Brozenich, Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber, and stunt coordinator Patrick Kerton.
Like the title implies, “Chase” covers aspects of the movie’s first big action scene that involves Mirage and Noah. It becomes a decent but somewhat puffy piece.
With The Battle of Ellis Island, we locate a seven-minute, seven-second piece. It delivers info from Caple, Laliberté, Brozenich, Fishback, Kerton, Josh Peters, di Bonaventura, Ramos, and director of photography Enrique Chediak.
“Battle” follows the framework from “Chase” and gives us specifics about that particular sequence. Expect another mix of insights and fluff.
Into the Jungle lasts 10 minutes, 20 seconds. Here we get comments from di Bonaventura, Vahradian, Caple, Chediak, Ramos, Fishback, Brozenich, Whaley, Peru line producer Bruno Canale, Director of Machu Picchu National Park Jose Bastante, and producer Michael Bay.
We look at South American locations here. The reel offers a mix of decent notes.
After this arrives The Switchback Attack. The seven-minute, 11-second reel offers notes from di Bonaventura, Caple, Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber, Brozenich, Peru supervising art director Felix Lariviere-Charron, 2nd unit director James Madigan, and stunt drivers Brett Smrz, Brennan Walstrom, Mike Ryan, Tom Elliott and Bobby Talbert,
Here we learn more about an action scene shot in Peru. It becomes another generally positive program,
For the last featurette, we get the aptly titled The Final Conflict. It fills 10 minutes, 46 seconds with material from Josh Peters, Fishback, Caple, Bastante, Canale, Vahradian, di Bonaventura, Ramos, Chediak, Laliberté, and Brozenich.
“Conflict” looks at shooting in Machu Picchu and related challenges. It provides a few useful notes.
The Blu-ray concludes with four Deleted Scenes and three Extended Scenes. All together, these occupy a total of 13 minutes, 45 seconds.
An “Alternate Opening” seems decent but not especially creative. The movie’s existing launch seems like a better idea, especially since it establishes new characters.
As for the remaining clips, they tend to add a bit more exposition, character info and action. None of the scenes seem especially memorable or important, however.
16 years and seven movies into the franchise, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts fails to bring anything fresh to the series. While not the worst of these entries, it feels generic and never delivers real excitement or thrills. The Blu-ray boasts excellent picture and audio along with a mix of bonus materials. Expect a watchable but forgettable action flick.
