Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

 So, Bumblebee was an enjoyable movie, probably one of the better instalments in the Bayverse series of our beloved Transformers.

So what will this sequel bring, apart from entering the Maximals into the franchise?

The Maximal homeworld is attacked by the planet eating Unicron, spearheaded by the Terrorcons led by Scourge.  He seeks the Transwarp Key, whoch can open portals through space, in order to consume planets faster.  Apelinq, the leader of the Maximals, sacrifices himself to allow the others to escape with the key though, as they flee to Earth.

On Earth, in 1994, an ex-;ilitary Noah struggles to find a job to support his family, and turns to the theft of a car with his friend.  This Porsche 911 turns out to be the Autobot Mirage though (heresy, they litterally made Jazz into Mirage!), while Elena Wallace, an intern at a museum, starts studying an ancient Eagle statue with strange markings on it.  It accidentally breaks, revealing the Transwarp Key and sending out a signal that is detected by the Autobots Optimus Prime, Arcee and Bumblebee.  

But it also attracted the Terrorcons, and a battle ensues leaving Bumblebee deactivated as they steal the key.  However, this turns out to be only half of it, and when Airazor arrives to help them, they learn the other part is hidden somewhere.   Elena deduces from her studies of the eagle statue it must be in Peru, and the Autobots together with Noah and Elena travel there.  They meet up with Wheeljack and go to the ancient temple but find the key is no longer there.  The Terrorcons attack again, Airazor being corrupted by dark energy from Unicron.  They find the other Maximals, and when Airazor is about to betray them, Optimus Primal, the Maximal leader, deactivates her at her request.

A chaotic battle breaks out, and Scourge obtains the two parts, assembling it atop a volcano and opening a portal for Unicron to journey through.  Scourge gravely wounds Mirage in the battle, and he transforms himself into a powered exo-suit for Noah to help him battle Scourge, while Bumblebee is recovered due to a  large pulse of Energon and rushes to the aid of his friends.  Optimus Prime kills Scourge at last, and destroys the key collapsing the portal and banishing Unicron away again.  

In the aftermath, Elena gets credited by discovering ancient ruins, while Noah, who also repaired Mirage, is approached by an organisation called GI Joe to cover his little brother's medical bills and asked to join the agency as an ally...

So, a nice set-up for a crossover movie at the end, and I actually found this an enjoyable movie again right until the exo-suit moment.   This for me was way over it, and a bit of a pity they ran the story that way to have Noah save all, deducting for me a lot of the whole Transformers "power" as they need a human to battle in essence a heap of grunts...

Still, curious if that cross-over ever comes, it seems fun to have Optimus Prime and The Rock duke it out though.