It’s been five years since we had a Transformers movie grace our screens, and 2018’s Bumblebee indicated a new direction was coming for the now 15-year franchise. With Rise of the Beasts, Paramount’s aiming to kick the films off towards a new direction, further distancing itself from Michael Bay’s first five films and into something that both makes money and tries to appeal more to longtime fans of the toy property.

On the latter front, Rise appears to be getting on with those fans a lot easier than any of the pre-Bumblebee movies, even as it continues to be a mixed critical bag. Folks online have commended the film for having more legible action and engaging humans than previous installments, and for giving the actual Transformers time to shine in their own movie. (Especially Pete Davidson’s Mirage, who seems like he’s going to be a fan favorite.) The faithfulness to the series’ legacy—and the Beast Wars show in particular—is another high point, and by and large, it’s achieving the benchmark many have of “better than Bay.” Paramount’s likely glad to hear that, if only because it makes the next few years easier: Rise is said to be the start of its own trilogy of films, and in 2024, we’ll be getting an animated prequel movie starring Chris Hemsworth and Brian Austin Green Tyree Henry.

For this week’s Open Channel, we want to know what you thought of Rise of the Beasts, if you saw it. How does it stack up as its own thing, and compared to the earlier movies? Does it point the series towards a better future like many have said? Let us know in the comments down below.

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