Transformers One Review

It has been 39 years since the Transformers series made its cinematic debut with The Transformers: The Movie. Transformers One sees everyone’s favourite Autobots and Decepticons have their first cinematic animated adventure since the 1980s.

Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) are lowly miner bots who can’t transform. Even though the pair are best friends, Orion Pax keeps leading the pair into trouble with his desire to prove the capabilities of non-transforming bots and trying to find the lost Matrix of Leadership. Orion Pax and D-16’s destinies change forever when the pair compete in a race only meant for robots that can transform.

Transformers has been a lucrative franchise for Paramount, although the quality of the films has fluctuated. All the live action films have been special effects marvels and the action has been spectacular. Even the worst of them have moments that appeared to my inner 10-year-old. However, six of the seven live-action films were treasure hunt movies and the Michael Bay-directed films did suffer from his worst excesses. Live-action filmmaking has some limitations and arguably Transformers has worked better in animation.

Transformers One told a new origins story. The origins of the Transformers and the major characters have changed numerous times. The original animated series showed Orion Pax being reconstructed into the powerful Optimus Prime, in the 2007 film Optimus Prime said Megatron was his brother, and in the series Transformers: Prime Orion Pax was a follower of Megatron, but Orion when he spoke to the Council of Cybertron, they made the young clerk into the next Prime. Transformers One which was the X-Men: First Class of Transformers movies since it was a story about friends and allies fighting again but ending up suffering from an ideological split.

Transformers One explored Megatron’s character much more than the other films in the franchise. He wasn’t a one-dimensional villain who was seeking to take over the world, but a more complex, almost sympathetic character. As D-16 he was a goody-two-shoes rule follower who was roped into Orion’s schemes, but his world is shattered when everyone he was brought up to believe in was a lie. He developed a view that the strongest needed to seize control. D-16’s character arc was about his dark turn, making him the Magneto of the piece.

The trailers for Transformer One made the film seem like it was going to be a light, comedic film. Those elements were there, the film opened with Orion Pax reenacting Aladdin’s introduction in the Disney classic. It was a breezy scene as Orion had to navigate across a vibrant city. The first act was more light-hearted. Orion and D-16 took part in a race like they were in Speed Racer and there was a lot of wit in the exchanges between the main to characters. Keegan-Michael Key as B-127, AKA Bee, AKA Badassatron was made to be the comedic relief character due to his constant talking and annoying everyone around him. A lot of this should appeal to younger audience members and the audience of adults enjoyed the jokes. The dynamic between Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and Shockwave (Jason Konopisos-Alvarez) provided a lot of chuckles, even from my metallic heart. There was plenty of action spectacle for all ages, whether it was a rescue mission, a race throughout a city, or the big fight and battle scenes between the giant robots.

The marketing of Transformers One was deceiving since it was much more serious. Tonally it was closer to the Spider-Verse films since it treated the source material and made lots of references to tjhe franchise as a whole. There was a lot of mythology and lore involving the origins of Cybertron, the war with the Quintessons, and the fall of the Primes. Transformers One was a darker film than expected since it featured quite a bit of death and violence: this wasn’t a film made for young children. This was the film that fans of the franchise have been craving since it was an animated film set on Cybertron and didn’t have any annoying humans getting in the way.

Orion Pax’s character journey reflected the film as a whole. He started as a jokey character who was constantly getting into trouble yet had a good heart as shown when he rescued a fellow miner. Orion had to grow into his role as a leader as the film progressed. The role played to Hemsworth’s strengths as he started off as a fun-loving character who had to be a noble hero. Orion felt closer to how Thor should be betrayed compared to Thor: Love and Thunder. Peter Cullen will be missed as Optimus Prime but Transformers One needed a younger actor.

Transformers One did have a broader cinematic reference, the classic silent film Metropolis. Iacon City was like Metropolis, a grand city that was built on the back of the labour of the underclass. The cogless bots were discriminated against and suffered constantly from prejudice by the transforming robots. Orion was someone who could lead the disgruntled masses. It was funny that a film made by a Hollywood studio and a toy corporation was advocating for better workers’ rights and overthrowing a corrupt elite.

Transformers One was a film that was made for long-time fans of the franchise and newcomers. It turned the audience I was with into big kids and joined their sentiments. While its box-office numbers in North America have been lacking, hopefully, it will do well in international markets and on its home release.