“Transformers One” Review

The Transformers franchise was built for animation. Well, okay, they were built to be versatile toys, but in the audio/visual medium, cartoons best suit the battles of transforming robots. Transformers One confirms this theory by being one of the most expressive, cohesive, and well-acted Transformers films of the 21st century. That might not seem like the highest praise given the past few films gracing the theater, but it is good news for fans grading on a curve and parents who want a good old-fashioned fantasy action-adventure film they can enjoy with the kids.

There are no humans to deal with this time as this prequel takes place on the robotic planet of Cybertron. It follows robot miners of Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) before they became better known as Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively. Placed at the bottom rung of a caste system, Orion has the hallmarks of a hero by breaking the rules to learn the truth and protect his friends. This contradicts the lingering selfish notions of D-16, who would take the blunter road instead. They are posed as the best of friends but forced to choose sides when trying to handle their leader of Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm) being a corrupted ruler. Orion would instead prosecute, while D-16 would rather rip Sentinel Prime in half.

Even for a film with a constantly busy setting, including a chaotic race sequence, there’s enough grounding for the characters to be more distinguishable beyond their colored armor or transformations. There’s plenty of time to establish Orion as the chipper explorer, devoted to never leaving anybody behind. Brian Tyree Henry’s performance is of particular note for having a natural rise to radicalization that would make him embrace violence for a revolution that would burn it all down rather than squash the oppressors. Even the supporting roles have their moments of charm. Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) is rightfully confident about how hard she’s climbed the Cybertronian leadership ladder, while the outcast B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key) can’t wait to prove himself. He would later become Bumblebee but acts as great comic relief for favoring the handle of Badassatron.

There’s just enough lore thrown into this tale of robot battles and mythical ancient artifacts centering around the power source of Energon and the robotic souls known as Sparks. The good news is that the adventure aspect is never lost and keeps exciting amid all the technobabble and Cybertronian history. Scenes like Orion Pax’s learning of Cybertron’s history are wonderfully portrayed through a raiding of the archives that leads to an eccentric chase through the crowds and trains of Cybertron. There’s always some level of charisma and reliability placed on top of all the carnage and intricacies of a world with millions of moving parts. The believable performances help ground a film that could get lost in all its action of sliced-up robots and hundreds of lasers and missiles zooming across the screen.

For as elaborate as this film was visually, its narrative had a type of simplicity that took hold by the third act. I could see where all the parts were moving and expected to see Optimus Prime and Megatron by the picture’s end, complete with their declarations of alliances formed as Autobots and Decepticons. All of that arrived but with a pleasing amount of character and a fitting dose of comedy. There are some amusing nods to past Transformers movies (“You don’t have the touch or the power”) and some sobering moments of absurdity, such as when Shockwave complains about his giant eye for a head being punched. There’s a humanizing element which makes the sci-fi action less monotonous, though I must admit there are bursts of cleverness, as when Orion dislodges D-16’s tank cannon and starts beating him with it.

Transformers One understands the greater appeal of the brand while making it entertaining for a younger crowd. I could quickly scoff at the film’s feeling like a bog-standard action adventure ripped from the Saturday matinees of the 1980s, but the kids who enjoy some action will probably find favor with this film’s exuberant nature and sci-fi staging. I can’t imagine how long-time fans will gush over this film if they’re grading on a curve. I must admit that I had some nostalgic twinges that evoked memories of watching Beast Wars on weekday mornings. I loved that cartoon because the cast wasn’t too big, no humans were cluttering the primary cast, and it was easy to get invested in the characters when there was time to know them. Transformers One operates similarly, where knowing the histories of Optimus and Megatron is more of a bonus than a requirement. Older fans will pick up on the sly writing, but the newest fans can still enjoy a story of a faltering friendship in a corrupted robot society. This is the type of Transformers film we need more of, and perhaps the franchise should stick to animation for the best results. They seem to make quests for the All-Spark and civil war between robots all the more appealing.