'Transformers One' Is a Fun Return to The Cartoons
Finally, a Transformers movie that gets it right. Granted, I've heard Bumblebee is fantastic, but I reached my level of Autobot, Bayhem burnout by that time to not want to check it out. Transformers One gets back to the core of what makes Transformers so ubiquitous: the Autobots. The film sticks to its surrounding exclusively in Cybertron (the Autobot's planet). There's no room for boring human characters like Shia LaBeouf yelling, "No, no, no, no, no!" Or Mark Wahlberg struggling to act. T1 has some actual heart to a story featuring characters who don't contain one but do have a core. I've cared more about the character relationships in this movie than I did with the humans in the previous live-action films. Although there still could have been room for a little more development.
Transformers One is part prequel, part reboot. It's a story that takes place before the Autobots all knew each other. Secondly, it's a film that returns things to their animation roots without continuing or connecting any of the other films or cartoon shows. Transformers works better as a cartoon. Similar to monster movies, we're not interested in the homo-sapiens on screen but are forced to have them in the picture so the visual effects team isn't overwhelmed. It's boring cinema. You get the same feeling from a slasher, where you don't care about the victims as you're just marking time for them to die. Even if there were a live-action Transformers film that took place in Cybertron, it wouldn't have the personality animation can bring to the Autobots faces. In this film, I can see when a character is happy, perplexed, or enraged, giving the characters the persona a live-action Autobot can't give you.
Unlike the 1986 The Transformers: The Movie, this Transformers is played on a much lighter note. The movie is funny. Its jokes don't fall flat like the racist, politically incorrect duds Michael Bay's films had. Not all the jokes land. Sometimes, they can be cringy. They have that self-aware Marvel humor feel to it. It's the type of gag where the characters are conscious of the absurdity of the film's concept, so they quip constantly about everything. It works well when it works. When it doesn't is when everyone is winking at the camera. For instance, there's a scene where Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) tells his pal, Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry), that they're more than meets the eye.
I get the fan service. But it's too much fan-boy service to warrant a chuckle. Otherwise, there are some great bits to be had, such as when Bumblebee (Keegan-Michael Key) gets knife hands and then proceeds to go psycho with them. There's also a funny part where everyone is reluctant to join Optimus Prime's team until Elita -1 (Scarlett Johansson) scares everyone into doing so.
Transformers One seems like it's written by fans of Transformers who have a firm grip on the material. We get to know Optimus Prime before he was Optimus Prime. In this story, he's Orion Pax. His best friend, D-16, will one day become Megatron, Optimus Prime's arch-nemesis. The movie is mostly a buddy story where, like Revenge of The Sith we know what's going to happen in the end. What makes us buy a ticket is seeing how everything transpired. For the most part, the story does a decent job of establishing D-16's dark side. He constantly questions the orders of others, wanting to reign retribution instead of unification. When D-16 does turn into Megatron, it comes too suddenly. He goes from being Orion's friend to a mortal enemy in the blink of an eye.
It's an unnecessarily cruel moment that seemed out of character even when D-16 was already consumed with rage. I dig it going as far as it does. Sadly, it doesn't work when it lacks proper buildup. Aside from D-16 getting frustrated at the decisions of others, he doesn't seem to have any personal vendetta against Orion. So why does he perform such a heinous act of sabotage to him? D-16's arc is a logical transformation that lacks personal motivation between the two characters. Much of the story's time is focused on what the bad guy is doing. I wish the film didn't spend so much time establishing the villain's ultimate plan. Although it's an interesting one, I'll give it that.
Transformers One might be a predictable children's story, but it doesn't play down only to kids. I'm not expecting Hamlet from Transformers. Just something with a little bit of soul. Transformers One has enough of it. T1 is a tale of the oppressed rebelling against their oppressors. Whether it be the evil CEO or the crooked politician, in this case, it's a robot who wants nothing but power. He doesn't care how he gets it. If he forces the Autobots to live a miserable existence under his rule, then so be it. It gives us something to root against. We're not just invested in Orion Pax and D-16s' crumbling fellowship. We're also drawn to the fate of all the Autobots.
Despite its massive scale, the movie's central emotion is concentrated on Orion Pax and D-16's pact. To bring the characters depth is a talented cast. Mostly. Keegan-Michael Key is doing his usual talkative, annoying guy thing that can be inadvertently annoying. Yet that's how Bumblebee is supposed to be. Also, Scarlett Johansson sounds like she's half asleep when reading her lines.
The standout star of the film is Chris Hemsworth. He brings a level of warmth, humor, and gruffness to make Orion more than just the ultra-serious robot we know him as. I love Peter Cullen's voice as Optimus. Cullen's deep vocal range is iconic and can never be replaced. For this incarnation of Optimus Prime, I can see why they didn't go with Peter Cullen. Cullen may have a voice that naturally sounds like an Autobot. Unfortunately, that voice lacks humor or charm. It's just meant to sound tough.
Hemsworth fits the bill for a much lighter version of Optimus than we've ever seen before. Not only that but Chris Hemsworth nails the American accent in this film. Equally talented is Brian Tyree Henry. His incarnation of a pre-villainous Megatron is affable. When he turns bad, you can tell Henry is giving it his all in the recording booth. He's not only shouting his lines but delivering them with a sense of conviction that's admirable.
This movie is loaded with movie stars, making me question if the studio really needed to waste its budget on them when there are plenty of talented voice actors who can fit the bill. I understand that movie stars attract viewers. What I don't understand is how children will care if a big-name actor is voicing their favorite character. All they want to see are the cool robots, which is the selling point. Give some voice actors a chance to shine. It's a long Hollywood tradition I'd like to see end.
If this is the future of Transformers, then count me in for Transformers Two. Transformers One isn't fantastic. It has issues with being more invested in exposition than Orion Pax and D-16's relationship. I know the material is based on toys, so I shouldn't look that deep into it. However, I can't help but think of how much better the film could have been if it showed how Orion and D-16's friendship drifts apart beyond a difference in ideals. Transformers One, for once, isn't a dumb Transformers movie. Its undertones of enslavement and revolution communicate adult themes for children to understand on a basic level. Our main characters in the movie go from being coal miners to powerful leaders. Their journey to gaining power is a blast that puts the Transformers franchise back on track.
Transformers One opens in theaters on September 20, 2024.
