TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (2023)

 The Transformers franchise is just two years away from being forty years old, cementing it as one of the longest-running and universally popular toy franchises of all time. To put it simply, having toy cars and trucks that transform into robotic warriors is just plain cool, and it's no wonder why the toy line got its own animated series the very same year the action figures made it on the shelves. The series was also a massive runaway success among young audiences and, like many nostalgic animated shows, was destined to get a live-action remake one day. We finally got that in 2007 when filmmaker Michael Bay brought the action spectacle of the conflict between Autobots and Decepticons to the big screen. The film spawned a total of five sequels that have received some mixed reception from fans, critics, and general audiences alike, but that same group responded far kinder to Bumblebee, which functioned as both a prequel and soft-reboot of the franchise. Though it's the lowest-grossing film in the franchise, Bumblebee is fondly remembered as the best live-action film in the series, so it makes sense that the next film in this long-running saga would be a direct continuation of the prequel. Thus, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was born, not only bringing back fan favorites like the leader of the Autobots himself Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) but also reintroducing the Beast Wars storyline from the 1996 sequel series of the same name.                                                                                                        2-IMDB RATING:                                                                                                                    Rating: 6.6/10                                                                                                   3-RELEASE DATE:                                                                                                                  June 9, 2023