Personally, I feel Bay nailed it with the original film but then everything went downhill until the arrival of Bumblebee in 2018. Then last year we were once again reminded just how good Transformers movies could be with the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts that introduced audiences to a whole new ‘species’ of Transformers.
And that seemed to be the key to the newer films working – creativity. No offence to Bay but after the original film many of the other films suffered by being too similar and there being some harsh plot changes due to Megan Fox leaving the series unexpectedly. The good news is that with a new Transformers movie being released in cinemas it feels like the filmmakers behind it also realised that the key ingredient to the film working was creativity.
Transformers One goes where no other Transformers movie has ever gone. It takes us right back to Cybertron and explains the origin story of a few of the most well-known robots – namely Optimus Prime and Megatron.
Directed by Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4), Transformers One goes right back to when Optimus Prime was known as Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth – Thor) and worked as a lowly mining bot. Alongside him was his best mate and colleague D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry – Bullet Train), who would later on become Megatron.
During this time Cybertron is in disarray. The original 13 Primes are gone – no-one has heard from them since they lost the war against the Quintessons. Worse still the rivers and lakes of Energon have dried up, forcing the Cybertronians to mine for it and they have lost a mystical artifact called the Matrix of Leadership.
Their leader, the widely popular Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm – The Town), has led countless expeditions to find the artifact, but to no avail. Determined to help his leader, Orion Pax constantly breaks the rules in order to try and find clues to the Matrix of Leadership’s whereabouts. His actions constantly cause friction between him and D-16 and land them in trouble with their boss Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson – The Avengers).
When their latest stunt lands Orion Pax and D-16 with a punishment that sees them work in the rubbish disposal unit, they meet B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key – Wonka), a dim-witted robot who will eventually become Bumblebee. That meeting leads to a discovery that soon sees Orion Pax, D-16, Elita-1 and B-127 heading out on their own expedition.
To be honest Transformers One is the most engaging and best-looking animated film to hit screens since the ‘Spider-Verse’ films. The teams of screenwriters have delivered a creative plot that enhances the story of the Transformers without destroying the legacy that many of us grew up with.
One of the criticisms that many people had when the trailer of Transformers One was released was that it felt that the film looked like it relied on comedy too much – thankfully, that isn’t the case. Yes, the film does have some comical moments but largely it relies on its brilliant-looking action sequences to keep the audience entertained. And yes the plot does touch on some of the darker themes that the television series and comics have dealt with over the years. This isn’t a light and fluffy film, it deals with subjects such as slavery and what remains after a bloody war.
Also making Transformers One work well is the voice cast. Chris Hemsworth does a great job creating a younger Peter Cullen-like voice while Brian Tyree Henry and Keegan-Michael Key do good jobs voicing their two very recognisable characters as well. Credit must also be paid to Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi (Fargo), Laurence Fishburne (Slingshot) and Jon Hamm, who all bring great characterisation through their voices to the film as well.
Despite so many things working to make Transformers One such a good film, I feel the one factor that had the biggest impact was the work and experience of Josh Cooley. Cooley’s work at Pixar over the years has been outstanding. From working in the Arts Department on films like The Incredibles, Up, Cars and Ratatouille through to writing Inside Out and then writing and directing Toy Story 4, Cooley is one of the most experienced animated filmmakers going around in Hollywood at the moment and every part of his experience comes together to make Transformers One such a success.
This is a film that will be loved by old and new Transformers fans alike and finally shows that you can do a reboot or origins story without destroying the legacy that is already in place.
Transformers One is currently screening in Phuket and is rated ‘G’.
4/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus