People love talking about cinematic universes and franchises nowadays, mostly because that’s the only type of movies studios want to make anymore. This has been hit or miss with audiences recently who can go crazy for sequels like Deadpool & Wolverine or Beetlejuice Beetlejuice one weekend, and the next seem completely disinterested in others like The Crow 2024 or Furiosa. So what is a massive film franchise in 2024 to do after its last major release failed to be a massive splash at the global box office? THAT’S RIGHT! Another origin story of its iconic characters! BUT THIS TIME… IT’S ANIMATED!
Enter Transformers One, an animated prequel film about how the beloved robots in disguise Optimus Prime (named Orion Pax and voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (named D-16 and voiced by Brian Tyree Henry) went from best friends to mortal enemies. The film shows how the two were originally lower-class miners, unable to transform at this point, who dreamed of rising through the class system of their home planet of Cybertron. They are joined by up-and-coming middle manager Elita (voiced by Scarlett Johansson) and the lowly waste disposal bot B (who would later be known as the ever-present mascot of the modern Transformer franchise Bumblebee and is voiced by Keegan Michael Key) on a quest to the surface of Cybertron to find an artifact. After a chance encounter with Alpha Trion, a former leader of Cybertron voiced by Laurence Fishburne, this rag-tag group receives the power to TRANSFORM and is given vital information that can potentially save their struggling homeworld. Thus, the adventure begins and we see how these new abilities and revelations affect our two protagonists’ relationship, ultimately leading to them becoming eternal rivals.
The jump from live-action hybrid to full-on animation proved to be the right pivot for this franchise. Not only are the Transformers more expressive, but the new medium allows for more creativity when it comes to action scenes which have always felt rather busy and cluttered in live-action. Additionally, Cybertron proves to be a fascinating setting, loaded with tons of detail and beautiful designs. In the first act of the film, our protagonists enter a race that might be the best action set piece in the franchise. It fully explores and showcases why animation was the right choice to revitalize this film series. Transformers One is by far the best-looking and creative Transformer film since the fondly remembered 1986 animated film and these creative choices extend to how the film decides to expand the lore of the universe.
Not to be a complete geek here, but Transformers lore is fascinating, and Transformers One goes out of its way to expand and explain corners of the universe in interesting and compelling ways. There are the simple, “We finally explain what exactly ‘X’ thing is’ standard origin story moments, but there are also truly inspired choices like the genesis of the Decepticon logo, and how someone like Megatron becomes a leader of a faction like the Decepticons. Not spoiling anything, both of those answers rock, as the writers attempt to make Megatron’s motives and actions feel akin to Magneto. I’m not sure how much mileage updates to the lore will go with general audiences, but devoted fans will love this. As much as I love the lore and visual presentation of Transformers One, the other aspects of this movie prove to be less than meets the eye.
To start the voice cast is a mixed bag that ranges from surprising highs to unfortunately boring lows. The highlight of the cast has to be Brian Tyree Henry who refuses to put in a bad performance in any film he is attached to. His vocal performance provides so much depth to D-16 as he goes from rule-following worker to radical revolutionary. Jon Hamm, my favorite guy, delivers an equally charming and menacing performance as Sentinel Prime, and Steve Buscemi’s Starscream is possibly the best portrayal of this goofball since Christopher Charles Collins.
On the other side of the coin, the rest of the cast feels like the McDonald’s cheeseburger equivalent of voice performances. Not entirely bad like its food, but not a full nutritious meal. Hemsworth’s Optimus Prime is fine. He brings a lot of charm to the younger version of this iconic machine, but I wouldn’t say there’s anything too special or groundbreaking here. Scarlett Johansson is equally fine as Elita. Honestly, there’s just not much to say for either of them. Keegan Michael Key’s B portrays a pretty standard comic relief character who, let’s face it, is designed to make the kids laugh and keep the movie kid-friendly, even if he says “Badass-atron” numerous times.
The only thing that took me out of this film was the editing and pacing, which felt way too fast as if it was designed to appeal to the Tik-Tok generation. Tons of fast cuts, quick exposition dumps, and rather immediate resolutions of issues/conflicts. Did I mention how fast the cuts were? I’ve never felt my age more than when I watched the final fight scene. The camera was moving all over the place, would cut 15 times in a matter of seconds, and refused to have a single moment last longer than 3 seconds. It didn’t ruin my experience, but it did make me question if I could call myself youthful anymore.
The target demographic for Transformers has always leaned toward the younger side. Even if Michael Bay insists on putting nearly naked women on screen or featuring subtle racist portrayals of people of color, the adventures of the Autobots have always been a hit for younger kids, and Transformers One not only understands this but leans into this. While I, a late 20’s adult, found Bumblebee kind of annoying, his characterization is the right choice for winning people back to this franchise. While there are serious moments and themes, this is meant to be a fun animated adventure film for the whole family, with something for every age bracket.
Deep lore for the nerds, exciting action scenes for the teens, themes of class struggle for the parents, and Bumblebee for the kids, all of these aspects help produce a pretty engaging movie that proves to right type of pivot that the Transformers needed. Even if you’re not a fan of the Autobots or Decepticons, this is still a pleasant little romp that should appeal to most animation fans. Transformers One should be the template for this franchise going forward, and I hope to see more films like this going forward. Just next time you introduce human characters, have their relationship to the Transformers be more like Hailee Steinfield and less like Mark Wahlberg. 3/5
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