4.0 out of 5.0 stars
“Transformers One” was released by Paramount Pictures on Sept. 20. The plot follows Optimus Prime, previously Orion Pax, and Megatron, previously D-16, as they attempt to make a name for themselves and escape their boring life as simple energon miners. The film had a disappointing $24.6 million opening weekend as compared to the previously predicted $30–35 million. This is unfortunate, considering the film boasts a talented cast, amazing dynamic between its two leads and great character moments sandwiched between an action-packed plot that stuck the landing.
The film is led by Chris Hemsworth as Optimus, Brian Tyree Henry as Megatron, Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1 and Keegan-Micheal Key as Bumblebee. Throughout its advertising period, the film looked like a mediocre movie that garnished little to no expectations. The trailers looked average at best, ridden with the same lazy jokes and tropes every animated kid’s movie today seems to rely on. The action looked OK, the dialogue looked less than OK and the animation didn’t look special. Unexpectedly, the movie surpassed all expectations, delivering an exciting, suspenseful story that managed to pull some audible gasps in the theater toward the end.
Transformers has gotten a bad reputation after Michael Bay’s previous attempt at the series, which spanned from 2007 to 2017. When one thinks of Transformers, either “toys” or “dumb explosions” come to mind. Josh Cooley’s take on the franchise expands this idea into something more.
The casting in the film was fantastic. Within the film’s trailer, Hemsworth and Tyree Henry sounded nothing like the Optimus Prime and Megatron pop culture has pushed for years. They just sounded like normal guys. As they both grew in confidence, however, their voices changed and matured with their characters. Optimus gradually sounds wiser, while Megatron sounds more authoritative and menacing. Both are commanding in their own right. The movie shows how people have hidden potential within them every day.
Optimus and Megatron start off as workers without cores in their chests, meaning they are weak throughout the first half of the story. When Optimus inspires his fellow Autobots to fight back against their oppressor, they are all weak and powerless. Yet, a now fully realized Optimus shows his power through his words, inspiring these weak autobots to fight back against their oppressors despite their lack of power. It’s an origin story, so as the film goes on, the two gradually look and sound more and more like the Optimus and Megatron we know as they continue to discover who they really are.
The story does a pretty fantastic job with tone. While yes, this is a kid’s movie, it did not pull its punches to the point where even death wasn’t a limitation. And, despite them being robots, the deaths were pretty gruesome. They also curse a decent amount in this film. The PG rating is questionable, as PG-13 seems more suitable seeing as the language and topics covered within the story are on the more mature side.
The story was thoroughly enjoyable, embracing the absurd childlike goofiness that the Transformers series derived from while at the same time breathing new life into the characters we grew up with. The Bay movies were “mature” because they featured gritty explosions, guns and partial nudity. Cooley’s Transformers is mature because it treats its characters with respect.
This film boasts a refreshing amount of confidence in itself. It respects its audience and its source material, allowing the characters, mainly Optimus and especially Megatron, to grow. Watching a hard-working responsible guy who, if anything, was a better person than Optimus at the beginning of the story, turn into the evil Megatron we know was a blast. At times, it was genuinely shocking how far they pushed his character and how well it worked.
Optimus also had some great development. Starting off as Orion Pax, a smug, low-level criminal, and transitioning into the wise leader audiences know. His transition did come a bit out of nowhere, with Johansson’s character, Elita-1, seeming more like a leader than he did at most points. However, his development and growth were still palpable and made sense within the context of the story.
With that being said, the movie still had its flaws. Mainly one big flaw: Key’s Bumblebee. Everything this film excels in is flipped on its head when it comes to Bumblebee’s character. He told the loud, frequent jokes the film thrived in not focusing on. His screen time was more limited, as compared to the rest of the characters, but he was still overall annoying and essentially useless to the plot. The film’s jokes were a mixed bag — albeit more positive than negative — but they never overstayed their welcome.
The visuals in “Transformers One” are decent. The film leaned into the colorful, exciting world of Transformers, as opposed to the much darker world of the Bay movies. The designs for the characters were also much more accurate and pleasing to the eye as compared to the Bay films. The cinematography was nothing special, but it got the job done. Overall, the cinematography was unoffensive, yet didn’t particularly stand out aside from the use of color. This movie was a pleasant surprise. With an ending that, while predictable, still had audiences pumping their fists, and a cast including two very well-written characters, this film has officially made Transformers cool.
