Movie review
June 6, 2023 · 127 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a 2023 action movie where Autobots team up with the Maximals to stop Unicron from using a Transwarp Key to destroy planets. Ex-soldier Noah Diaz and museum researcher Elena Wallace help the robots in 1994 Brooklyn and Peru while facing personal family pressures. The film features a visibly diverse human cast and a few early scenes with lines about job struggles, racial attitudes, and capitalism that some viewers flagged as messaging.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Woke representation / casting
Latino male lead and Black female co-lead in a 1994 New York setting; director stated intent to reflect modern audiences, but no story-world mismatch or forced swaps.
Woke political dialogue
A couple of human-scene lines touch on racial humor and capitalism; not repeated or central to the robot plot.
Identity-driven story themes
Human characters deal with family illness, job hunts, and minor societal friction; these stay background to the alien battle.
Western institutional / cultural critique
One passing capitalism reference and workplace dynamics; no systemic modern activist framing or ongoing theme.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Multiple social media and review complaints about anti-white lines, DEI focus in the opening, and agenda over story; consistent but not dominant.
Creator track record context
Director's repeated comments on diverse casting for representation provide moderate signal; all other key creatives have commercial, non-activist histories.
Production
