This Wednesday, June 7, the Transformers are returning to the cinema with a new opus, entitled “Rise of the Beasts”. When does the plot take place? Is it imperative to have seen the other films before discovering this one? We take stock.
Led by Optimus Prime, the Autobots are back in French theaters this Wednesday, June 7. And they’re not alone, as this new Transformers adventure, titled Rise of the Beasts, introduces them to the Maximals. Counterparts at the crossroads of machine and animal, like a gorilla or a falcon (dubbed by Dorothée in the French version).
Directed by Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II), this Transformers is the seventh episode of the saga launched at the cinema by Michael Bay in 2007. A figure that may scare those who would be interested in this new movie but haven’t seen one before. If you are one of them, rest assured.
Because the plot can be understood without it being necessary to have a Master in Autobots and other Decepticons (absent from this film, in favor of the formidable Terrorcons). The few necessary reminders are made at the turn of a dialogue or thanks to the voice-over of Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen in VO). And, most importantly, Rise of the Beasts takes place in 1994.
Paramount Pictures France Backtracking to a new adventure
That year, Quentin Tarantino had just won his first (and only) Palme d’Or thanks to Pulp Fiction, Michael Bay is still a director of music videos, the World Trade Center is still standing as several shots of New York show us, and we are a big decade before the adventures of Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), hero of the first three opuses.
Rise of the Beasts is both a prequel to these films, and a sequel to Bumblebee, a spin-off by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Magic Armor) set in the late 80s… and of which there is no character here. With the exception of the famous yellow car, which serves as a link between the different branches of the saga.
Knowing some of the iconic creatures of the franchise (Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in the lead, in addition to Mirage, already seen in The Far Side of the Moon) is of course a plus, and some references will act as a reward for fans. more pointed. But you won’t have any problem understanding if you don’t master the Transformers universe at your fingertips.