Transformers One

Transformers One delves into the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Once bonded like brothers, the two embark on a journey to find the Matrix of Leadership, hoping to return peace and prosperity to their homeworld of Cybertron.

Transformers One Review

It may be by the numbers and predictable, but thanks to director Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4), Transformers One is also one of the clearest and most cogent stories in the Bayverse. Cooley’s crisp tempo, balanced by focused storytelling, helps keep the almost nonstop frenetic action and indistinguishable locales and background characters from overwhelming or confusing the senses. Combined with a theme that universally resonates with audiences – betrayal and overcoming tyranny and persecution, the film might not break any new ground, but it does a fair job of entertaining.

Delivering something of a mixed bag of performances, the film’s core quartet consists of the voice talents of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry (Bullet Train), Scarlett Johansson, and Keegan-Michael Key. None are bad, but there is more than one scene in which Hemsworth and Johansson seem to be phoning it in, and Henry isn’t given much to work with, especially considering the importance of his character. However, of the four, only Key seems to understand the hyper-reality of the medium, and he infuses Bumblebee with high-octane energy in scene after scene. With that said, he again plays the same bumbling goof he’s been dining out on for years, which has the potential to get a little grating. Fortunately, neither the script nor Cooley overutilizes him, and most of Bumblebee’s humor beats land.

Actually, Transformers One is a challenging film to critique. On the one hand, aside from the above nitpicks, the voice talent is more than sufficient to keep audiences engaged, and the story itself, although simple and done a million times before, is economical with no fat. It offers great pacing, decent action, and an attractive animation style. Furthermore, most of its characters are likable, and it doesn’t abuse nostalgia like many other prequels and sequels in long-running franchises. However, the story is lean to the point of feeling rushed, with little time given to meaningful character development, which leaves the major story beats feeling somewhat unsatisfying. The plot is equally rushed and, therefore, driven solely by convenience as the protagonist luck their way from one story beat to the next.

Then there’s Scarlett Johansson’s Elita-1. If there is one element in Transformers One worthy of nothing but scorn, it is this haphazardly placed decal of a Woman’s March insert that gets slapped onto the movie for no narratively relevant reason other than to be an unlikable jerk whose off-putting abrasiveness is treated as charming and delightful. Every moment that she opens her mouth, the movie is momentarily darkened.

There’s also an attempt, mostly via Scar-Jo’s Harpycon, to paint young Optimus as something of a goof. However, each of the negative consequences of his admittedly brazen actions in the film ranges from disproportionate to utterly evil, and all are the symptoms of systemic corruption rather than Optimus’s perceived incompetence. Yet the writers don’t seem to understand this. The result is a confusing character arc featuring a very competent and brave young Optimus who is regularly criticized for flaws he doesn’t seem to actually possess.

PARENTAL NOTES

Important Information for Parents

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