Transformers One Review

 

(Here we go, been wanting to talk about this one for a while)

Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong everybody! It’s the Skullkrunching kroc in kommand, Kolonel Krank, here with my review of the latest theatrical roll-out from everyone’s favorite Robots in Disguise, Transformers One! Directed by Josh Cooley and produced by longtime Transformers filmmaker Micheal Bay, along with Lorenzo De Bonaventura, the producer of the previous seven Transformers movies (yes, there’s really been that fucking many of these movies. Even more if you count the 1986 movie adaptation of the Generation 1 cartoon and Predacons Rising, the finale film for Transformers Prime.) Transformers One is a complete reboot One starring Hollywood alumni Chris Hemsworth and Bryan Tyree Henry as updated versions of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Here seen before their transformations (no pun intended) into iconic figures known worldwide. The movie presents the pair as a couple of mining bots named Orion Pax and D-16, living out monotonous lives scraping up Energon from dangerous conditions all so their society, led by the charismatic Sentinel Prime (played by Jon Hamm), can continue to function. As simple miners, Orion and D lack the crucial ‘T-Cogs’ needed to actually transform but this doesn’t stop Orion from trying make a name for himself, breaking into ancient archives and looking for clues to the whereabouts of the Matrix of Leadership. A Cybertronian artifact that could restore the steady flow of Energon all across the planet so that mining for it wouldn’t be required.D-16 conversely, prefers to live a quiet life, simply doing as he’s told and hoping to be rewarded someday until his faith in the system he’s a part of is suddenly shattered, setting him down the path to becoming the Decepticon leader.

(While there's been some compelling versions of Megatron before. One has been able to immediately establish their interpretation of the character as one of my favorites in such a way as to not just be impressive but downright masterful.)

  Now, having been following this movie’s production for a while now, I have to admit that I was not only excited about this movie.  I was downright ecstatic since this seemed like it was gonna be everything, I wanted out of a Transformers film. A character piece set on the Transformers’ home planet of Cybertron without an ancillary human cast to take focus away from out robotic heroes. Believe it or not, Paramount. I actually go to a Transformers movie because I want to see some fucking Transforming robots, not watch some guy talk about being from Brooklyn every five fucking minutes or sit through the antics of Shia Labeouf, Mark Wahlberg, or whatever B-list actor they end up casting for the next live-action outing. No, Transformers One takes a completely different approach, letting its characters inhabit a world so alien to our own that it comes as both a fresh of breath in comparison to its predecessors and so mysterious that it leaves you begging to see more of it. Not to mention that Cybertron is a diverse and varied planet in terms of landscape as well. You have the gleaming city of Iacon with golden wrappings over a harsh cluttered mass of metal twisted into a city. Meanwhile, the surface of the planet Cybertron is untamed and wild, dotted with ruins of a world that once held such potential only to see that potential ripped from it by a ravaging war started by a vicious race of alien invaders known as the Quintessons. It helps that the animation is genuinely phenomenal, and the movie is visually gorgeous. While admittedly, some of the main characters faces didn’t look the best in promotional still, often coming across a bit too smooth and featureless for my taste. It’s worth noting that the character designs work so much better in motion, the way these characters emote and express themselves truly makes them all feel alive in such a manner that you almost forget you’re watching an animated film. This movie is truly a masterclass in animation, especially whenever a character transforms into their alt mode. You can see how everything connects and how a Transformers shifts from one form to another in the fashion that other versions of this series tend to sidestep a little by making transformations an indistinct blur or a quick animation that gloss over the details.

(While both Elita and B are fun characters, they quickly get overshadowed by Orion and D-16. This is very much Hemsworth and Henry's movie)

Thankfully, it’s not just the animation and art direction that make this film phenomenal, the writing is also incredibly strong. Though first, I have to say that whoever was in charge of this film’s marketing needs to get right the fuck out and not return. The trailers highlighted all the weakest elements of the film, trying to make it seem more like a comedy than anything. While the movie certainly has humorous elements, particularly with Keegan-Michael Key’s B-127 playing the role of comic relief. It’s far more serious than it lets on. Tackling themes of class disparity and social inequality, how trying to climb the social ladder in late-stage capitalism often leads to be not only manipulated but further exploited by those at the top. Transformers One posits that instead of trying to climb and game that system, the working class should be working on tearing it down to build something better. Not to delve too deeply into spoilers but it’s this exact goal that drives Orion and D-16. While Orion wants to carefully deconstruct the unfair system to create a better path forward for Cybertron, D-16 loses himself to rage once he learns how deep the manipulation. His initial righteous anger growing so extreme that he seeks not to make a better future but to burn everything around him down so thoroughly that nobody can have the future that he felt was stolen from him. Seeing the injustices of society as a personal aggrievement towards himself in particular, D-16 allows a lust for revenge to cloud his judgement so heavily that his degrades into the megalomaniacal Megatron in a manner that almost seems to surprise himself just as much as it does his friend Orion. Honestly, D16/Megatron may be the highlight of the film for me, especially since Brian Tyree Henry puts his heart and fucking soul into his performance. Giving Megatron a powerful gravitas while being sure to still inject a certain amount of softness when it’s called for. In fact, all of the voice cast do a wonderful job. Chris Hemsworth Orion really does fit as a younger version of Peter Cullen’s Optimus Prime. While his voice still has a power behind it, it’s boisterous and loving, giving Orion a sense of optimistic (haha) innocence that befits the Autobot leader. As I said before, Keegan-Michael Key plays B-127 (The yellow Autobot who will one day be Bumblebee) and for the most part, he’s fine. He gives the character a fun, frenetic energy that (mostly) avoids becoming annoying or overwhelming but ultimately doesn’t stick in the same manner the other characters do. Scarlett Johansson’s Elita-One is charming but somewhat unnoteworthy, she mostly feels like she’s there to be a foil to the rest of the cast than anything else. Jon Hamm turns a wonderfully slimy performance as Sentinel Prime, elitist arrogance just drips from every word he speaks and as the film goes on to reveal more about his character, you end up sharing Megatron’s sheer disdain for the Cybertronian leader.

(If you've ever read the IDW Transformers books. You'll probably pick on some familiar design elements in Sentinel's new look that hint at his true nature. I love little nods like this that appeal to lifelong Transformers fans)

  Unfortunately, it’s not all praise for the voice cast, or at least, for the movie’s implementation of them. Some of the cast gets horribly underutilized. Again, no spoilers but one perfectly casted character gets so little screentime that it’s criminal. Though, apparently the director does have a trilogy in mind (if the film does well at the box office) so fingers crossed some of the extended cast gets a little more time to be fleshed out in the potential sequels. Another small complaint I have is that the pacing is a bit start and stop. It feels as if certain scenes take far more time than they really should while others don’t get near enough focus as I feel they require. Also, the third act gets a little cluttered, there’s so many characters jumping around and fighting each other that it gets difficult to keep track of who’s where and doing what. Admittedly, it’s somewhat intentional and it’s meant to represent everything completely going to shit but it’s still confusing at times. Thankfully the film does focus in a little more when we get to the film’s final confrontation, so the audience does get a slight respite of the visual chaos.

(I love how many obscure characters get a nod in this movie. Never would I expect Darkwing to be a primary character in a movie...ever) 

  It would be an understatement to say that Transformers One is everything I’ve wanted out of a Transformers for at least the last five years. This movie is not only a fresh start for the franchise but it’s a love letter to everything that makes this series enjoyable, if you’re even remotely interested in Transformers than I highly recommend going to see this. Fuck, even if you just want a weekend at the movies then I recommend going to see this. I genuinely don’t know how this movie is being beaten at the box office by Beetlejuice fucking 2. Are people really slavering to watch a haggard Michael Keaton rehash a bit he did back in 1988? I’m sorry but sometimes I just don’t understand the taste of the general public but that’s a topic for another day. Transformers One is what a modern installment in a long-running franchise should be. Invigorating and original while still remaining recognizable to hardcore and casual fans alike so please, I implore, go out and give this one a watch in the theaters. Transformers One is truly more than meets the eye!

(Seeing Transformers and Beetlejuice in the same day was a stark contrast. No disrespect to Keaton or anyone else who worked on Beetlejuice-2 but that movie felt so...tired in comparison to Transformers. It's a pale regurgitation of the first film's best elements that mostly left my brain the second I left the theater)

  Well, that’s all from me today Bots and Cons! Rise up, Roll Out, and be sure to Krank up the noise!