2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts aimed to rejuvenate the franchise, merging the heartfelt tone of Bumblebee with the action-packed style of Michael Bay’s films. While it stands out as one of the better live-action Transformers movies, Rise of the Beasts has notable flaws and missed opportunities.

Despite its impressive visuals and a full cast, Rise of the Beasts faltered in key areas that prevented it from reaching the heights of the live-action series’ best entries. Here are some significant issues that Transformers fans encountered with Rise of the Beasts.

Wheeljack’s Design Still Isn’t Right In Live-Action

No matter how many Transformers movies are produced, Hollywood seems unable to accurately portray Wheeljack beyond a brief cameo. Many fans were excited to see the Autobot inventor return. However, the version in Rise of the Beasts appeared almost unrecognizable, replacing his iconic head fins with a boxy van design, odd suspenders, and glasses.

This is a significant downgrade from Wheeljack’s sleek, G1-inspired appearance in Bumblebee, despite his limited screen time during the Cybertron scenes.

Given how faithful other Autobots’ designs like Optimus Prime and Arcee were this time, Wheeljack’s drastic redesign in Rise of the Beasts felt unnecessary, especially for one of the franchise’s most intelligent and beloved G1 Autobots. Future Transformers films should ideally provide Wheeljack with an appropriate design.

The Maximals Should’ve Been From The Future, Not Another Dimension

A confusing aspect of Rise of the Beasts was altering the origins of the Maximals. In the classic animated series Beast Wars, the Maximals are descendants of present-day Autobots from Cybertron’s far future who time-travel to prehistoric Earth.

However, in Rise of the Beasts, the Maximals are simply depicted as Cybertronians from another dimension and a world destroyed by Unicron. This new lore disconnects them from the established Cybertronian history that fans cherish, making their inclusion feel random beyond being victims of Unicron.

This change isn’t a dealbreaker, but it does diminish potential narrative connections to present-day Autobots and their legacy.

Scourge’s Changed Origin Undercuts His G1 Legacy

In Rise of the Beasts, Scourge serves as the film’s main antagonist. The leader of the Terrorcons and a servant to Unicron, Scourge was Unicron’s herald who sold his soul to this world-consuming villain after his own world was destroyed (similar to Marvel’s Silver Surfer as Galactus’ herald).

While he appears quite imposing, there are no references or connections to his original backstory. In G1 continuity, Scourge was created from Decepticon Thundercracker’s corpse after being reformatted by Unicron. By transforming Scourge into a standalone character instead of a corrupted Decepticon, Rise of the Beasts arguably lost what could have been a more dynamic layer to his identity and continuity for this villain voiced by Peter Dinklage.

This change was likely due to Rise of the Beasts’ status as a soft reboot for the franchise, yet it makes Scourge feel more like a generic (and derivative) enforcer rather than a true embodiment representing Unicron’s sinister power and capabilities.

The Maximals Were Underused (And Rattrap Was Missing Entirely)

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The movie marketed itself around introducing Maximals as a new faction among live-action Transformers, yet it is surprising how little dynamic screen time they received. Optimus Primal, Airazor, and Cheetor had their moments, but Rhinox was nearly silent throughout. Additionally, fan-favorite Maximal Rattrap did not make an appearance—this abrasive demolitions expert could have provided more character dynamics for the team.

The lack of distinct Maximal personalities represents a missed opportunity, especially considering how much character dynamics contributed to success in Beast Wars. Audiences likely wanted to see these animal Transformers interact and clash with their Autobot counterparts. Instead, they were largely treated as side characters when they should have been central emotional figures alongside Autobots.

Cutting OG Megatron Was A Disappointing Mistake

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