I know I have said this quite a few times this year, but going into Transformers One, I set the bar REALLY low. Let’s be honest here, cinematic ventures for this franchise have more miss than hit. The only films I really enjoyed here was the original animated film, the first live-action film, and the Bumblebee pseudo-prequel that was done a few years ago. Even given some AMAZING visuals, the rest of the attempts at the big screen just couldn’t seem to figure out things like decent stories or just plain weirdness. Thankfully, Transformers One should be the jumping-off point for a reboot that could actually work.
This is truly an origin story that didn’t make me go “REALLY?” in the way that just about every superhero story has felt the obligation to do (even my favorite, Batman… I can admit that). Orion Pax (he who would become Optimus Prime, voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (he who would become Megatron, voiced by Bryian Tyree Henry) are roommates and best friends who work in the energon mines as Pax dreams for bigger and better things for them. When things in the subterranean world of Cybertron they live in seem a bit fishy, they go on a quest alongside B-127 (he who would become Bumblebee, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) and by circumstance their old boss Elita-1 (she who I assume would become Arcee, voiced by Carlett Johansson), which will change everything for all of them forever.
There is A LOT of brilliance going on here. Giving this to director Josh Cooley, who has only full-length film directing was Toy Story 4, there was a bit of a gamble taken in trusting the revival of a worldwide phenomenon that stretches over five different decades, but he does so with the same gusto as he did for Disney. It’s great to see a prequel film that actually not only fills in some of the holes in a story that none of us may have realized we ever needed or even wanted, but it does so in a way that both blatantly and subtly evolves the characters over its runtime that had me say the words “this is better than it has any reason to be” a number of times. From nods to just about every iteration of the property that lie within its timeline to even Pax, and D-16’s voice starting with wide-eyed wonder into the characters they would become (Hemsworth actually worked with Cullen so that the time he becomes Optimus he could get as close to Cullen’s voice as possible, and he pretty much sticks the landing) and in a couple of places even other things the voice actors have done. And there are even parts of the story where some of the supporting characters that we all know and love have their moments to work into the roles they would become, especially when it comes to a certain ally of D-16s (and that’s all I will say about that). There is even a post-credits scene that I believe pays homage to a shot in the comics that I cannot locate, so if you find it let me know.
And the true brilliance of Transformers One comes in the fact that you really don’t have to know any of the source material or “extended universe” stuff to enjoy it. As I stated earlier, the way this film is done is simply to establish it as a jumping-off point for what I hope is more to come just as much as it is a jumping-on point for a new generation of fans to enjoy this brand as much as I have since I was young.
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