June 17, 2023 – I think I've seen all of the Transformers movies, and I would rate this one of the top three. It is said to be a direct sequel to “Bumblebee” (2018). Most critics like “Bumblebee” better than this latest movie, but I think I like the newer movie better, probably because it has a bit more humor in it.

Most Transformers movies tend to be dead serious most of the time, because most of them deal with scenarios like “the earth is about to be destroyed if we don't do something right now!” Well, that is the scenario in this movie too, but a good deal of humor is included in the story even so.

In this story, Noah Diaz (played by Anthony Ramos of “In the Heights”) can't find a job, so he agrees to steal a fancy car for profit. Of course the car is really a Transformer, who carries him off to a Transformer gathering, where he becomes an ally in the Transformer's plans to obtain a device which will get them back to their home world.

The device, a kind of warp drive engine, has been discovered in an ancient artifact in a museum by a researcher, Elena Wallace (played by Dominique Fishback of “Judas and the Black Messiah”). The device, accidentally activated, sends out rays of energy which can be detected by Transformers. Suddenly, everybody is after the device, both the good Transformers, (the Autobots and the Maximals) and the bad the bad Transformers who want to destroy the world (Terrorcons and their master, the planet-sized, world-devouring Unicron).

If the Terrorcons secure the device, they will use it to bring Unicron to the Earth. Unicron will destroy the earth and many other worlds in our Galaxy -- so, that's bad. This development sets up a race and a battle between the two forces to secure and control the device. The Autobots, Maximals and humans (Noah Diaz and Elena Wallace) all want to prevent Unicron from using the device to come to the Earth.

Much of the appeal of this movie is due to the efforts of the talented and attractive actors, Dominique Fishback and Anthony Ramos. Dominique has the kind of can't-take-your-eyes-off-her screen presence, that reminds me of TV star Shalita Grant (“NCIS” and “NCIS New Orleans”). Ramos also has a strong screen presence and plenty of emotional range for the roller coaster events his character goes through.

Like all Transformers movies, there is a tremendous amount of computer animation and other effects on display. As the state of art advances, these keep getting better. In this movie, the computer animators and voice actors succeed in breathing quite a bit of life and character into mechanized Transformers. This an entertaining film that should lead to more films. A mid-credits scene seems to hint at a future crossover film with the related “G.I. Joe” film franchise (both Transformers and G.I. Joe movies are based on Hasbro toys). This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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