Rise of the Beasts Reveals a Bigger Problem in Hollywood
Hasbro’s Transformers franchise has seen a resurgence with the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and the possibility of a crossover with other franchises. The franchise, which was previously led by Shia Labeouf’s character Sam Witwicky, has now undergone a reboot with new directorial leadership. The latest film draws inspiration from Marvel by incorporating characters from the Beast Wars storyline, such as Optimus Primal, Scourge, and Airazor, voiced by renowned actors Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, and Michelle Yeoh, respectively. Anthony Ramos stars as the franchise’s new human protagonist.
Although Rise of the Beasts has garnered positive reviews, it is difficult to overlook the larger issue that plagues Hollywood blockbusters. The film’s storyline and visual effects appear to emulate other blockbusters, including The Avengers, Deadpool, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. This lack of narrative diversity among blockbuster films stems from Hollywood’s use of formulaic storytelling, which can be easily applied to various IPs. The overuse of prequel-sequel-reboot treatments has resulted in a uniformity of style and story across different cinematic universes, such as Jurassic Park and Fast and Furious.
The monopolization of the film industry by companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney has led to a stifling of creativity within the filmmaking process. This has resulted in a uniformity of style and story in blockbuster films, limiting the types of projects filmmakers can work on and the kinds of movies audiences can watch. Furthermore, the monopolization of the film industry has impacted the visual effects industry, where conglomerate film studios can exploit VFX companies into lower wages and increased work output. This has led to a shift towards more dependency on visual effects and less time and money spent on developing practical special effects.
To address these issues, Hollywood and America must embrace ideas such as unionizing the VFX industry, reviving the Paramount decree, and breaking away from the risk-averse policies of today’s studios. These solutions require an industry-wide movement towards protecting the rights of creatives over preserving the pockets of executives.
With Transformers: Rise of the Beasts performing well at the box office and a potential crossover looming on the horizon, there is a lot to look forward to in Hasbro’s expansive blockbuster franchise based on the famous children’s toy. Previously helmed by Shia Labeouf’s Sam Witwicky, the franchise is currently going through its own rebooted transformation as it continues to find its footing after moving on from longtime director Michael Bay.
Taking inspiration from the folks at Marvel, Rise of the Beasts taps into the lore and canon of the Transformers toy line and animated series by welcoming characters from its Beast Wars storyline. The second installment of the reboot series welcomes characters like Optimus Primal, Scourge, and Airazor, voiced by familiar names such as Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, and Michelle Yeoh, respectively, with Anthony Ramos starring as the franchise’s new down-on-his-luck, human protagonist. While Rise of the Beasts has received mostly positive reviews, it’s difficult to look past how the film points to a larger issue affecting Hollywood blockbusters.
There’s something oddly familiar about Transformers: Rise of the Beastsmore than the fact that this film stands as the seventh title in a live-action series dating back to 2007. The storyline and accompanying visual effects seem to borrow from other blockbuster hits such as The Avengers (2012), Deadpool (2016), and Zach Snyder’s Justice League (2021). Though it may be easier to diagnose this as a direct result of Marvel’s undeniable impact on the film industry, the destruction and degradation of blockbuster filmmaking points to a bigger problem within the ranks of Hollywood.
The Monopoly Problem
The primary plot device at the center of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a tired narrative trope overused and overproduced in modern blockbuster cinema.
The concept of space jumping and time travel was originally introduced to mainstream audiences through the popularization of Star Wars, Star Trekand Back to the Future and the threats it poses to society — such as alien takeover, world annihilation, or a sleek combination of the two — has been thoroughly explored in recent movies such as The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Interstellar (2014), and Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011). Along with the trendy multiverse narrative device, space jumping continues to litter theaters with recent superhero films like the Spider-Verse animated trilogy and the new Flash movie.
This lack of narrative diversity among blockbuster action films is certainly a result of Hollywood utilizing formulaic storytelling techniques, which can be copied and pasted onto various popular IPs.
The prequel-sequel-reboot treatment has spread and spawned new titles within different “cinematic universes” such as Jurassic Park, Fast and Furiousand … Willy Wonka? The reuse, reduce, recycle mindset of Hollywood executives has led to a stifling of creativity within the filmmaking process as the monopolization of the film industry threatens the individuality of filmmakers and audiences alike.
“[M]onopoly power in the film industry … cheapens our culture, and worsens economic and political inequality,” exclaims Brett Heinz from The American Prospect“it is becoming clear that we need a generalized revitalization of antitrust law in the United States.” As Netflix, Amazon, and Disney continue to buy and absorb their competition, the impacts of their greed and corruption go beyond politics and the economy.
When fewer companies retain control of the industry, filmmakers are limited to the types of projects they can work on, and audiences are limited to the kinds of movies they can watch. This ultimately leads to a uniformity of style and story across a broad range of action films and popular IP reboots, as the monopolization of the film industry affects more than just you and me.
The Uniformity Problem
The threats of monopolization impact all aspects of the filmmaking process, but none more than the visual effects industry. Inverse’s Drew Turney notes that “[t]he industry has gone through multiple phases where big studios buy up smaller VFX companies” and highlights that “Unity Technologies [acquired] Weta Digital, the iconic VFX company co-founded by Peter Jackson,” and the company responsible for visual effects on movies like the aforementioned The Avengers, Deadpool, Zach Snyder’s Justice Leagueas well as Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Blockbuster filmmaking has made a monumental shift towards becoming more dependent on visual effects and spending less time and money on developing practical special effects. Combined with monopolization, where conglomerate film studios can bully exploited VFX companies into lower wages and increased work output, the tight deadlines and repetitive nature of blockbuster filmmaking have produced an environment where films no longer stand out from one another.
For example, Rise of the Beasts lacks the frenetic editing and epic cinematography that Michael Bay brought to the first five features. Without the original action auteur’s vision, the gritty VFX style is replaced with a pristine look comparable to the other projects Weta has worked on.
If film companies insist on rebooting tired franchises and keep relying on the same companies to produce their VFX designs, then Hollywood will eventually get to a point where they keep reproducing The Avengers or Justice League ad infinitum. The origins of Weta Digital has already experienced this firsthand as it went from working on co-founder Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) to churning out other fantasy adaptations such as Eragon (2006), Bridge to Terabithia (2007), and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).
In order to address this multilayered conundrum, Hollywood specifically and America at large must embrace ideas like unionizing the VFX industry, reviving the Paramount decree, and breaking away from the risk-averse policies of today’s studios. But none of these solutions will occur overnight and requires an industry-wide movement towards protecting the rights of creatives over preserving the pockets of executives.
