Just when I think I’m out, the “Transformers” franchise pulls me back in!

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is the seventh installment of the series, and a stand-alone sequel to 2018’s “Bumblebee.” In the film, the Autobots (led by Peter Cullen’s Optimus Prime) must team up with two reluctant humans (Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback) to stop the evil Terrorcons from retrieving a world-ending weapon. Steven Caple Jr. directs, while Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Pete Davidson, Colman Domingo, John DiMaggio, and David Sobolov all voice various Transformers, and original series director Michael Bay produces.

I’m pretty mixed with the “Transformers” films. I like the 2007 original and “Bumblebee,” and will defend the original sequels as trashy fun, but the later films (“Age of Extinction” and “The Last Knight”) are truly awful, two of the worst blockbusters ever made, in my opinion. So I was pretty agnostic to a new film, but thanks to some actual human emotion and well-shot action, it makes me not totally dread watching another one of these things.

Anthony Ramos came into the spotlight thanks to his on-stage performance in “Hamilton,” and like much of that show alumni he has seen his star grown on the silver screen since. Here he is charming and has good chemistry with Pete Davidson’s (amusing, only slightly annoying) Mirage, a Transformer who can create holograms. Peter Cullen remains as recognizable and welcome as ever voicing Optimus Prime, and Peter Dinklage does his normal menacing thing as Scourge, the leader of the villainous Terrorcons.

The action in the film is very fun, and the fact you can tell what is actually happening on-screen is a plus (the Bay films are just noisy disaster porn). The Transformers have cool and distinct designs, and each has a unique ability that makes one battle sequences stand out from the others.

The humor is mostly effective, landing somewhere between “Dungeons & Dragons” and Phase 4 Marvel. It’s never distracting or offensive like the Bay films, or (overtly) corny like the MCU, and a few quips had my audience rolling. Naturally there are some jokes that feel forced or don’t land, but you aren’t going to a $200 million movie for the comedy, that’s just a bonus.

The story is pretty thin, the good guys need to find a thing before the mad guys find the thing, but you shouldn’t go into a “Transformers” movie for the plot. While paced well things can drag at points, and the climax goes on a touch too long as it struggles to find things for each character to do. It also tries to have its own “Avengers: Endgame” moment but it feels more awkward than earned since the “Transformers” films don’t have the same mythos or fanbase as the MCU, so when there was a clear pause in the action for where audiences would applaud, you’re left just sitting there watching a couple giant metal aliens get ready for battle.

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is by-default the second best film of the franchise (though I give a personal edge to the original thanks to nostalgia), and for many audiences that is recommendation enough. If you checked out of these movies 10 years ago then I don’t think this will re-convert you, but if you like classic summer blockbusters then you can do far worse.

Critics Rating: 6/10