Transformers: Rise of the Beasts star Anthony Ramos reveals that he's been told the upcoming sequel rivals the 2007 original movie directed by Michael Bay. Based on the Hasbro toy line of the same name, Transformers kickstarted a multi-film franchise that is currently gearing up for the release of its seventh installment. The upcoming entry is directed by Steven Caple Jr. and stars Ramos as Noah Diaz in a story heavily inspired by the toy line's Beast Wars storyline.
In a recent interview with Collider ahead of the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts release date this summer, Ramos shares that, while he hasn't seen the film himself, producer Lorenzo di Bonventura has made a bold claim about the sequel's quality. According to Benventura, the upcoming film is on par with Bay's original movie, which is still widely considered the franchise's best. Check out Ramos' full comment below:
“Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who’s one of our lead producers on the movie, came up to me and said, ‘How are you feeling about the movie, man?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, I haven’t seen it.’ And he was like, […] ‘It’s rivaling right there with the first one.’
"I was like, ‘Wow!’ That movie was the introduction of the franchise, so it almost feels like an introduction into a new franchise. It feels like the beginning of a new thing, which feels amazing. Steven Caple Jr., our director, is amazing. Dominique Fishback, Pete Davidson, and the cast is insane. I’m just grateful to be there.”
Why The Original Transformers Is Still The Best
Although visual effects have improved and later films have introduced some interesting new characters, including Hailee Steinfeld's Charlie in Bumblebee, the original Transformers remains the best film in the long-running franchise. Shia LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky makes for a compelling hero and his chemistry with costar Megan Fox makes the duo easy to root for. The first Transformers is tasked with introducing this larger-than-life premise of Autobots versus the Decepticons, and it largely succeeds because audiences learn about these elements alongside two characters who are similarly out of their depth.
Of course, no mention of the first Transformers movie would be complete without mentioning the film's action. While hardly a subtle filmmaker, Bay does have an undeniable eye for bombastic action set pieces, and this lends itself well to the entire Transformers premise. The action set pieces are further complimented by the fact that Transformers' CGI was, at the time, jaw-dropping, and it still largely holds up to this day, almost 16 years later.
Each subsequent Transformers movie featured at least one or two standout sequences, but they largely failed to reach the same heights as the original due to convoluted plots, unrealistic and/ or uninteresting characters, and general franchise fatigue. 2018's Bumblebee is arguably the second-best movie following Bay's original, starting from scratch to tell its own unique story with a new director. If Ramos' latest comments are anything to go by, hopefully Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will manage to be even better.
Source: Collider
