Review | ‘Transformers One’ packs reverence with (almost) every robotic punch
Photo Collage by Samantha Rosinski, Staff Photographer
Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for “Transformers One.”
Before I start this review, I want to be very clear: if nothing else, the live-action Transformers film series is plenty entertaining.
Many aspects of those films can certainly be better, but in terms of action and entertainment value, I am almost always satisfied. Watching Optimus Prime blast into the sky with a jetpack in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is entertaining every single time. I’m never tired of watching Bumblebee transform back into a car mid-battle to avoid saber swings from Sentinel Prime in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” And I unironically think Optimus, ready for a fight with his sword drawn, asking a group of opponents “Did you forget who I am?” before his metal mask clamps back into place in the live-action series’ fifth feature, “Transformers: The Last Knight,” is just so cool.
“Transformers One” drew me in for slightly different reasons. Don’t get me wrong — I was still excited to see those robotic punches fly — but what really stood out to me about the franchise’s latest installment was its approach towards character and story presentation.
“Transformers One” follows Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry), two inhabitants of the planet Cybertron. Both robots (they can’t even be called transformers, yet, because they lack specific cogs that allow them to transform) work as miners of Energon, their planet’s invaluable material used as a lifeblood. Pax, more than D-16, dreams of finding the Matrix of Leadership, a lost artifact sought by their city’s leader, Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm).
Pax later becomes the Autobot leader Optimus Prime and D-16 becomes his chief enemy, Decepticon leader Megatron, but the film begins with them as friends rather than foes. Its story largely focuses on their partaking in a journey to find the Matrix, and they are joined on their quest by B-17 (Keegan-Michael Key), who later is named Bumblebee, and Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson).
Gone is, initially, a focus on action — the first 30 or 40 minutes of this animated feature are really devoted to Pax and D-16’s relationship and antics alone. The first act almost meanders, and I found myself enjoying the route it chose to take purely for the fact that it feels different than what we’ve seen before. Its slow build-up of characters and world drew me in.
What is further interesting about “Transformers One,” to me, is (somewhat conversely, I know) how much story is packed into it. Along the crew’s journey, areas and elements of Cybertron we have never seen before are detailed, and characters fans will know instantly have roles in unexpected places. With how much prequel material is contained in this film, the notion in my mind that the filmmakers had the utmost respect for this franchise feels right.
That feeling of reverence on behalf of the filmmakers contrasted, though, with dislike towards certain elements of the story. For reference, some of my conflicted feelings: I loved seeing new Cybertronian technologies and other areas of the planet, but didn’t entirely believe Megatron’s fall. I loved seeing Starscream (Steve Buscemi) serve as a member of Cybertron’s High Guard before he was a Decepticon and how his scraggly, robotic voice came about, but I’m confused by how quickly those High Guard members-turned-Decepticons chose to follow a hardened Megatron. Feelings like these came and went as I watched; I was at times impressed and intrigued, but at others disbelieving.
As I finished watching the film, I disliked what story was chosen to close it out. “Transformers One” could potentially be the first part of a trilogy. I’d heard such a rumor around the time I viewed the film, and, thus, couldn’t shake the feeling that Optimus and Megatron’s dissolution could have been expertly told across three films, rather than just one. Why couldn’t this story be much slower? This project very briefly explores Optimus having to work together with some of his most high-profile future Decepticon enemies. Why not show us those relationships we have never seen before in detail? What do they look like? An answer to that question isn’t satisfactorily presented in these 104 minutes.
Megatron’s fall, motivated by a fellow Cybertronian’s betrayal, feels slightly overblown. As I’ve said before, I admire the story that Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari have crafted, and yet the story of “Transformers One” could have also been presented in other ways, ways that I believe would have been more dramatically powerful and fascinating.
That gripe is mainly a personal one, though, because on top of its intrigue, “Transformers One” does its job in the action department. Once the Transformers enter into the Octagon like we know them to, you’re enthralled. There is such passion for the Transformers franchise here, and the way certain characters are illustrated presents the film as a project trying to revere the content that has come before.
Vocal performances here are great, and despite my love for all things Optimus, B-17 is the stand-out character of this film. Key is hilarious in his role; B-17 is given most of the comedic lines, and “Transformers One” initiates a fun spin on a character who has often had their voice box broken and is forced to speak through radio. If there was ever a Transformers fan who felt that Bumblebee never spoke, they should be satisfied: now he won’t shut up.
It doesn’t always work, but you have to admire the commitment and intention behind “Transformers One.” At the time of this writing, the film is close to breaking even at the box office, and I’m curious to see if a considered trilogy will come to fruition. Should “Transformers Two” hit our screens in a few years, you can be sure that I’ll be rolling out to the theater.
