When it was revealed that Paramount had been given the go-ahead to produce a new animated Transformers film that would tell the narrative of the franchise’s origins, it sounded promising. I never grew up with the popular Hasbro toy series, but this may be the long-awaited return for devoted fans. Because Michael Bay’s live-action movies range from mediocre to straight-up abominations, Bumblebee served as a great prequel/ spin-off, and nobody remembers last year’s Rise of the Beasts. Then, like everyone else, my interest swiftly faded after the trailer was released online this past summer. I initially wasn’t going to see Transformers One since it looked like any other generic kids’ movie that made the mistake of not being thrown on TV. However, what we got instead is the kind of Transformers movie that’s one of the more enjoyable installments in the franchise, which I’m glad to say.
What’s the Story: Before Optimus Prime and Megatron became sworn enemies, leading to the ongoing war between Autobots and Decepticons, they were Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry). They are friends living their days on the planet Cybertron, where they’re Energon miners with no transforming cog. Aspired to be something more, the pair, along with B-127/ Bumblebee (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) and Elita-1 (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), embark on an adventure to the surface to seek the lost Matrix of Leadership after a distress callout from Alpha Trion (voiced by Lawerence Fishburne) to restore energy to the planet while discovering a larger conspiracy to the Primes disappearance.
The new approach to having Transformers One was already sold on me, where there will be a focus on something other than unnecessary human characters or a consulted plot; this will spend time with the robots we already know on Cybertron. This was one of many criticisms I had with the terrible additions, but what can be appreciated is telling that director Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4) and his writers understood what made people fall for the franchise when they were young. It’s always a pleasant surprise when good talents are behind a good Transformers movie, and it doesn’t happen often. Even though this is marketed for families, it’s more for an older audience witnessing how these brotherly friends find their way to be more than meets the eye to becoming the rivals we know. On the surface, it works as a slightly mature origin, and I know what’s coming in the future. But I was surprised by how engaged I was for an installment that thankfully doesn’t go over two hours.
The best way to describe it is as the X-Men: First Class of the series based on the friends-to-enemies angle. The film’s strongest component is seeing how Orion and D-16 used to be and who they’ll eventually become. Hemsworth wasn’t the choice to have in mind to voice a younger Optimus Prime, but his job didn’t need to sound like the iconic Peter Cullen to believe he would be the leader of the Autobots. They started this character off as a risk taker who doesn’t always follow the rules but turns into a likable protagonist who seeks greatness. And Henry as D-16/ Megatron was equally great where you understand why the betrayal or lack of optimism can change his ways for the good with his reasonable transformational arc for him. The supporting cast with Johansson, Key, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime, Fishburne, and a perfectly cast Steve Buscemi as Starscream also provides some added versatility. Plus, it’s pretty funny to tell from the first scene of Sentinal Prime that he’s not to be trusted from the get-go.
Taking the story to animation was the best decision because it will remind people of 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie (which I’m sure frightened kids in theaters) or even the classic television series from the same decade. I didn’t think much of the trailer, but credit where it’s due for bringing Cybertron to life. Thanks to the people at Industrial Light & Magic, the visual style is well-spent and utilizes its budget well enough not to look at it all cheaply. From what I can remember, we’ve only got small glimpses of their home planet in the live-action movies, and it offers a more lived-in environment in how these robots are a part of this bureaucratic society. But the fun action excels every time, as it is cool to see what is happening. Plus, it got some decent jokes that didn’t leave me rolling my eyes in embarrassment.
Does this bring a lot of new things to the table? For a prequel, it’s a familiar story from start to finish. I only knew a little about the lore, so a few exposition moments lost me a few times, especially from a slower-than-usual first 15 minutes. And the laughs certainly got me to laugh consistently. Most of them were aimed at its target demographic, with B-127, before he lost his voice box, providing most of the comedy. At a point, a running joke of him calling himself “Bad-Ass-A-Tron” was funny at first but overstayed its welcome later on. Remember, the lesson of the rule of three is always essential.
But going into Transformers One, I was either going to regret seeing this after work or be glad Cooley continues to make a great name for the genre. Yet, despite not coming across as a game changer or prequels out there, seeing a good, if not almost great, film in the series means life is good sometimes. Personally, I still believe Bumblebee is the best film. But this is, of course, a close second bar none. If a sequel is of interest based on the positive word of mouth, I’ll be there.
In the end, Transformers One was a good time, even though I’ve never called myself a hardcore fan of the property. It isn’t a masterpiece by any stretch, but why this animated prequel is a fun watch due to getting engaged by its slick action and a good amount of humor and needed character development thrown in. A surprise I didn’t see coming.
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