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For years, the Transformers franchise has chugged along. It never resonated with me, feeling like milk well past its expiration date. And yet, more installments keep coming. Transformers One, an animated Chris Hemsworth-led prequel to the series of live-action movies Michael Bay started, may have found a winning formula.
A vibrant movie, Transformers One pushes the franchise beyond its live-action limitations. The story takes place in Cybertron, which resembles Coruscant from Star Wars thanks to its metropolitan aesthetic. It does venture to the surface, creating stunning Northern Lights-like imagery.
Nowadays, animated entries in well-established IPs (ex. the Spider-Verse franchise or Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) have resorted to the same animation style. No shade to either of those movies — it works in both cases, but Transformers One brings something new to the table.
It is helmed by Josh Cooley, best known for directing Toy Story 4. Like that movie or not, his work extends to other high-profile projects, including Pixar's Soul. He even won an Oscar for co-writing Inside Out for the studio.
He brings his expertise in the medium to Paramount now for Transformers One. While this animated adventure is geared toward kids, it is an appropriate starting point for prospective fans yet to be sold on the franchise. Hopefully, Cooley gets to execute his vision for the Transformers.
Transformers One review
Transformers One serves as a prequel to the Michael Bay 2007 movie. It depicts the early stages of Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron's (Brian Tyree Henry) relationship — in the beginning, they are known as Orion Pax and D-16, respectively.
They lead impotent lives as miners in Cybertron. The miners are slaving their lives away, attempting to retrieve Energon for Cybertron's leader, Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm).
But Orion Pax wants more than that, initially forcing him and D-16 to enter the lacon 5000 race, something lowly miners never participate in.
While their efforts are initially rewarded, they go on an adventure after being sent to the garbage disposal. This is where they meet the lonely B-127, aka Bumblebee (Keegan-Michael Key).
After seeing a mysterious video message, the three—along with Elita (Scarlett Johansson)—embark on a mission that will take them to the surface of Cybertron. There, they uncover secrets regarding Sentinel Prime that change everything.
An Avengers reunion and the voice cast
Led by Chris Hemsworth, the voice cast of Transformers One alone is worth the price of admission. He has great chemistry with Henry, who is known for his role in the Spider-Verse series.
Megatron is a vastly different character than Jefferson Davis, Miles Morales' father. And Henry gets to showcase his range in Transformers One. No spoilers here, but fans of the franchise likely know how his character arc will go in the movie. Henry kills it in that transition.
Henry has not been the main character in a major franchise thus far in his career. He steals the show in Bullet Train, Child's Play, and even Eternals, so it is nice to see him get his due.
Hemsworth and Johansson have a mini Avengers reunion. Elita has narcissistic tendencies—having her underlings pump her up—who knows that she is better than everyone else. Johansson plays it well largely she is not spewing the horrifically corny lines she got in the MCU.
Perhaps the biggest standout is Keegan-Michael Key, whose Bumblebee is hilarious throughout. Bumblebee is stationed 50 levels underground in the trash disposal. Desperate for friends, his attempts to talk to the others are cute, all aided by Key's earnestness in his voice.
A kid-friendly adventure
That said, Transformers One is more kid-friendly than other installments. Aside from a few uses of “hell” and “d**n,” it is a pretty clean affair.
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The filmmakers stretch the limits of a PG rating, as some darker imagery is used, particularly in the third act. But the MCU-like quips help bring levity to it. It prevents it from getting too self-serious like some of the live-action movies.
There are benefits to the animated PG adventure. Animation allows for imagery you cannot accomplish in live-action, at least in a convincing way.
Most of Transformers One takes place on Cybertron. If it was depicted in live-action, it would look like that recent Minecraft trailer.
Should you watch Transformers One?
The change of mediums was a bold move—the last theatrically released Transformers movie came out in 1986—but it is a gamble that paid off. Maybe this is the way for the franchise.
Transformers One assembles an all-star cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Brian Tyree Henry, and Keegan-Michael Key. A cynic would assume they cast the A-listers to get butts in seats. But they do a great job in their respective roles.
It is a visually stunning entry in a franchise desperate for something new. This may be the biggest swing in the franchise until its eventual G.I. Joe crossover.
I have never been a Transformers fan. However, Transformers One makes the franchise a lot more intriguing to explore. Josh Cooley once again revives a franchise that needs a reimagining. Toy Story 4 did not match its predecessors' greatness, but it did enough to justify its existence.
The Transformers franchise will only continue, especially if this movie is a hit. At least it is finally heading in the right direction after endless live-action entries.
Grade: B-
Transformers One will be released on September 20.
