st228

MOVIE FEATURE

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

The Hasbro Universe represents the toy company's various crossover and tie-in properties across assorted media. It contains a broad spectrum of characters, which Hasbro has effectively marketed throughout the

years. In fact, the company was so audacious at one point that they created a limited comic book series called My Little Pony/ Transformers: Friendship in Disguise ! With Beast Wars done and G.I. Joe on the cards, some other potential

crossovers in the Transformers film series could be Jem and the Holograms (previously done in the ‘80s animated series), M.A.S.K, and Micronauts. One of the more outrageous suggestions has come from actor Tyrese Gibson, who wanted to see the Transformers and Fast & Furious worlds collide.

Rise of the Beasts – the new prequel story, and stand-alone sequel to Bumblebee (2018) – breathes new life into the Transformers saga, giving rise to fan favourite characters. Words Glenn Cochrane T aking place in the mid-’90s, Rise of the Beasts introduces the Beast Wars sub franchise to the Transformers fray, and

Fast & Furious 9 (2021)

has the series venturing to exotic locations where no Hollywood movie has gone before. The result is possibly the best Transformers entry yet, which pays homage to the Saturday morning cartoons of old. “We talked about the Beasts for about two or three movies,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura tells STACK over Zoom. “The trick with the Beasts was that they're not like the Autobots, where they can turn into a car and just sit in the city to blend in. So we had to figure out a story that could withhold them.” One way to justify having the Beasts on screen was to take the story into the wilderness, and di Bonaventura admits that his own desire to visit Peru’s most famous ruins was a driving force behind his storyline decision. “I wanted to go to Machu Picchu,” admits the Salt and Deepwater Horizon producer when discussing scouting locations for the film. “So I won that battle,” he adds with schoolboy cheek. “But it allowed us to introduce the Beasts in the jungle, because that feels like an actual reason for them being in the story.” The film has the Autobots discovering their descendants, the Maximals, living in the secluded South American jungle. A key is discovered, which opens portals through space and time. With the dreaded Terrorcons from the planet Cybertron following the key's signal to Earth, the Autobots and Maximals team up with two unlikely humans from New

I'm not being critical of them – we kept having a hard time figuring out how to have a human competing against a 30-foot robot with giant guns. But we designed this movie to make sure that the humans' skillsets were imperative to the actual storyline. They never feel like an add-on. “Imagine this,” he poses. “You've got to have Optimus Prime, and you've got to have Bumblebee. And when you see this movie, you're going to love Mirage. Pete Davidson was some of the smartest casting we've done. But now you've got Primal, so then you've got four Transformers already. Then add the humans.

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura

York to destroy their enemy and return the key to their homeworld. Rise of the Beasts has all of the hallmarks of the classic Saturday morning cartoons, from its pumping retro soundtrack and absurd action sequences, to intentionally cheesy catchphrases and hilarious

How many characters can you really juggle in one movie? In my experience, about six or seven is when you start to run out of room.” This train of thought has di Bonaventura looking towards future instalments and what they might have in store. “If you try to fit too many characters, then you don't get to know anybody, and you don't get to invest in them. So as we think about the next movie, we have a feast of

interactions. It's a movie that understands its place, and is positioned as a fan service more than any prior instalment. And with fans demanding more and more from the franchise, di Bonaventura admits that it's becoming tricky. “For a long time, fans have been arguing for a G.I. Joe/ Transformers crossover, and we've talked about it,” he reveals. “One of the interesting parts about this movie that's very successful is that each human has a real purpose. And when you go back through the movies – and

• Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is out Oct 11

riches, but they're also a burden. How many can we put in it? But we figured it out eventually,” he teases.

jbhifi.com.au

24 OCTOBER 2023