It’s another year, and time for another Transformers movie. Since 2007, it seems that every couple of years another one is coming to the screen and just last year we had Transformers: Rise of the Beast. But this time, it’s back in the hands of Michael Bay, and it’s animated. Does this mean it’s going back to its roots? Or that it feels like a Michael Bay action film again? Not exactly, and that’s not a bad thing.
Transformers One takes us back to before Optimus Prime and Megatron were enemies. They were actually friends who were working together in the mines of Cybertron as cogless bots. Wanting more for them both, Orion Pax (later Optimus Prime) enters himself and D-16 (later Megatron) into a race to show that worker bots are just as important as the ones who have the cogs and can transform. Their stunt pays off and Sentinel Prime loves that they competed, offering them luxury and pampering. Instead, they’re tossed down to the lowest level with no hope of redemption.
Working together with another bot who does in level 50, B-127, they plot a plan to escape and to get to the surface to hopefully find the answers they were hoping for and something Sentinel Prime desires. Of course, nothing goes to plan and they are left fighting for their lives and find out just what everyone is actually made of.
The story of Optimus Prime and Megatron is of course interesting. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be the whole plot of the movie. But, it doesn’t matter who else is on screen when Bumblebee (or B-127 as he is originally called in the movie) on the screen he is stealing the show. While this is another Transformers film, they didn’t pull from the same voice actors previously used, and instead of Mark Ryan or Erik Aadahl and other actors that have previously voiced Bumblebee, this time Keegan-Michael Key voices him. This is a prequel, a back story, and before Bumblebee lost his communication ability. So instead, we get a B who talks nonstop and brings with it a lot of laughs along the way. The energy that Key brings to the character is fitting, and while he may be small he’s full of sassy energy and up to for the battles that are up against. Add in a few jokes that fans of Key and Peele may know, it’s a formula for success.
Now, the movie isn’t perfect by any means. Visually, undoubtedly. But even lifelong fans may start to question some of the dynamics and physics that are in play on Cybertron. Like – what metal is sentient and which is not? How can some be rigid for structures and their bodies, and others are fluid and almost skin-like? There’s still no real answer of why the transform into vehicles like we have on Earth (except of course the franchise was started in 1984 and it was easy to market cars to kids as toys).
But one looming question of course is who the movie’s target audience actually is. Yes, it feeds and fuels the ongoing love for us kids that grew up playing with the toys, and the cartoons and have grown to love the live-action movies. But the animated nature takes away a but of the Michael Bay feeling, and will no doubt pull more kids into audiences. But with a joke implying flipping the bird and B-127 wanting to be called Badassatron repeatedly, some parents may not feel it’s right for younger audiences. But those situations aside, the movie is fairly tame and kids will probably miss the more adult humor throughout it.
Transformers One is a feast for the eyes. The animation and graphics are nothing short of stunning and the story moves at a fast clip which makes it a fun show to see in the theaters. It does provide some of that much-needed back story for some of our favorite characters.
The movie does have one in-credit and one after-credit bonus scene, so when you’re checking it out in theaters be sure to hang around for those. Transformers One is in theaters everywhere this weekend.
Overall Rating
Transformers One
TRANSFORMERS ONE is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. In the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, TRANSFORMERS ONE features a star-studded voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi with Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm.