'Transformers' movie review: 'Rise of the Beasts' rolls out with renewed franchise vigor

The genius who cast Pete Davidson as a talking robot that turns into a Porsche deserves an honorary Oscar. Perhaps an MTV Movie Award or something.

There’s actually a bunch of inspired choices in “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters Friday), the latest installment of the popular sci-fi action franchise with metal aliens punching and blasting other metal aliens. The series has thankfully, found its way out of the doldrums of the Michael Bay era and discovered a satisfying groove of nostalgic bliss. It’s still a whole lot of earnest diatribes, hokey zingers and assorted nonsense but it’s at least crowd-pleasing, candy-in-your-popcorn nonsense.

The previous outing, 2018’s coming-of-age charmer “Bumblebee,” revisited the 1980s – the decade that spawned the Transformers toy and cartoon craze – and “Beasts” catches up with Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) and the Autobot heroes in 1994. An artifact called the Trans Warp Key is sought after by a world-eating being called Unicron (Colman Domingo), so he can travel through time and space for a planetary smorgasbord that would rival a high-end Las Vegas buffet.

Naturally, this key is on Earth, Unicron’s henchman Scourge (Peter Dinklage) and the Terrorcons are after it, and the Autobots – stuck on our world and trying to get back to their home of Cybertron – team with a group of animal-themed transforming robots called Maximals, who ended up here after Unicron drove them off their planet. (The Maximals were introduced into "Transformers" lore with the '90s animated "Beast Wars" series.)

The plot hinges on human characters, too, and they’re a step up from the Bayhem days of Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Mark Wahlberg. Noah (Anthony Ramos), an ex-Army tech expert who cares for his sick little brother, and Elena (Dominique Fishback), a fledgling anthropologist who knows her ancient history but isn't getting to use it in her museum day job, are proud Brooklynites recruited into the effort to foil Unicron’s meal plans.

'Transformers': Here's how Pete Davidson's racy riff made it into 'Rise of the Beasts'

Directed by Steven Caple Jr. (“Creed II”), “Beasts” boasts a diverse cast, spiffy visual effects and big robot-battling-robot action scenes that are much more coherent than the cacophonous Bay days. The writing is sharper and smarter as well, including a knowing Marky Mark jab, and while there are still lines like “Cross my spark and hope to die,” at least the characters know it’s corny and go with it.

More importantly, attention is paid to where the main players have been and where they're going. For example, this isn't the human-loving Optimus Prime of the 2000s "Transformers" films yet; since "Beasts" is sort of a prequel, the Autobot leader and Noah are distrustful of each other and verbally spar before finding common ground.

Autobots, roll out! Every 'Transformers' movie (including 'Rise of the Beasts'), ranked

Another integral aspect: The characters are mostly likable. Noah and Elena give the narrative heart and purpose, plus Noah’s fist-bumping buddy dynamic with new Autobot rebel Mirage is the main reason the film works. There's an all-star squad voicing the various Transformers, including nerd legend Cullen (who’s voiced Prime for four decades), Ron Perlman as Maximals’ gorilla leader Optimus Primal, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as wise Maximal falcon Airazor and Cristo Fernández (aka Dani Rojas on “Ted Lasso”) as Autobot mechanic Wheeljack.

Kids of the now will adore Davidson’s comic timing and humor as Mirage, the transforming robot role he was born to play. Kids of the ‘80s will appreciate the inclusion of Unicron – a character from the 1986 “Transformers” animated movie that was one of the late Orson Welles’ last film roles – as well as a major final-act surprise.

This is no “Beasts” of burden for anyone. It’s a rather enjoyable step in the right direction for a formerly flailing fan-favorite franchise.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Rise of the Beasts' review: 'Transformers' does retro nostalgia right