More than meets the eye, and more than the trailer alludes to.
It is time for yet another Transformers film, and this time, it returns to its roots of animation. It is the first animated Transformers film to have a theatrical release following the 1986 feature. Directed by Josh Cooley, this entry explores the early relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron before becoming enemies. Does this film add another
Autobots Orion Pax and D-16 work as miners on their home planet, Cybertron, under the leadership of Sentinel Prime. D-16 commits to serving his home and leader, while Orion searches for the history of Cybertron. After Orion causes a situation that imprisons them both, they escape Cybertron, along with two other Autobots, Elita and Bumblebee. Together, they set off on a journey and come across something that will change the future of Cybertron forever.
Have you ever seen a film trailer that simply turns you off immediately? The trailer for Transformers One is not exactly one that will get audiences excited. While the film looks nicely animated and full of action, the story and humor appear stale and routine. It seemed like it would be another forgettable franchise film that would come and go. On the other hand, many films have bad trailers, and some of them are truly phenomenal films. Can one say the same thing for Transformers One? Well, yes and no.
Make no mistake, the weaker material featured in the trailer is in the final film. In fact, the first third of the film is strictly that, aside from an admittedly entertaining race sequence. The story and character traits feel standard and a byproduct of many modern Hollywood movies. The dialogue consists of many easter eggs alluding to famous quotes from the franchise. These lines feel out of place and can keep viewers from investing in any of the film’s events. Sadly, the film gives many of the weaker jokes to Bumblebee, which might make fans wish he was mute again.
However, when the true conflict of the story becomes visible, so do the film’s strengths. Suddenly the story “transforms,” if you will, into a mix between a Greek allegory and Shakespeare. The dialogue becomes more profound, the story begins to have stakes, and the dynamics between characters start feeling important. Even the humorous lines improve after this shift and start to feel more like levity than distraction. While the action was already admirable before, it starts to pack more of visceral, emotional punch. It’s almost as if the director took over from the studio and made the film more outstanding.
Surprisingly, for a cast filled with celebrities, the voice acting is not distracting. Any fans of the franchise will enjoy how complimentary the voice acting is to previous iterations of the characters. Not once does it feel like one is listening to the celebrity instead of the character, and this is consistent. Chris Hemsworth seems to be flexing his vocal chops this year, distancing from his Marvel Thor voice. He did so in Furiosa, and here, you can see how well his voice compliments that of Peter Cullen’s.
But the real star of the film, no shock, is the animation. The look of the film is drop-dead gorgeous and practically visceral. The art and set design stay true to the spirit of the franchise, and yet still feels novel. The character designs look unique and find a balance between that of the original cartoons and the Michael Bay films. The textures feel shiny, yet dwelled in, and almost feels like one can reach out and touch it. This is the kind of connective power that Hollywood thinks 3D possesses. Sometimes just meticulous, yet subtle, details can be enough to transcend audience members.
There is something else that this film also provides that feels absent in modern-day Hollywood films. It shows a hero’s journey that feels (mostly) epic and underlines the qualities of leadership. This is coming at a time when there seems to be more interest in deconstructing leaders than creating them. Tranformers One slowly over the course of its runtime adopts a classical sense of storytelling, showing a model hero’s journey. One truly sees a growth in these characters, or descent, depending upon the character, and the end results feel earned.
So, if you are looking for a good “hero’s journey” type of story, Transformers One will give you that. If you are looking for bright and colorful action, it will give you that too. It checks all the boxes that an origin story should provide and delivers on all the fronts it needs. You just must get through the relatively weak first third. In addition, Hollywood needs to truly reconsider how they market their films to attract audiences. In the meantime, roll out to the theater for this one!
