There’s no shortage in media for the Transformers brand. From the classic 80s cartoon to the Michael Bay movies, the comics, and beyond, there’s always something new to watch or read in the Transformers universe. Now, a new animated film is upon us, and while it still doesn’t reach the heights of the 80s animated movie, it’s a breath of fresh air compared to the recent live-action films. Let’s take a closer look at Transformers One.
Paramount seems to love going back to the beginning and telling an origin story that no one asked for. They keep doing it with Star Trek, and now we’re getting a similar treatment for Transformers. With so many different origin stories for the Transformers, another take on the beginning of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons wasn’t needed, but it ended up being more entertaining than any of the live-action films aside from the first Bayformers movie.
The most important aspect of Transformers One, is to note that this was made for new Transformers fans. If you’re an aging fan of the 80s movie and cartoon series, you can still enjoy Transformers One, but this animated movie was not made for you. This is squarely aimed at new Transformers fans.
Peter Cullen doesn’t voice Optimus Prime, who is instead voiced by Chris Hemsworth. Likewise, none of the classic voices are represented here. Some of the new voices fit better than others, with Keegan-Michael Key offering the best fit as B-127 (Bumblebee), and Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion. Steve Buscemi tries to embody Starscream the best he can, but he doesn’t quite make it there. The same goes for Jon Bailey as Soundwave, who lacks the infamous robotic voice effect that has followed the character for decades.
Again, this is a Transformers movie for newcomers, not the old hats. This is also evident in the changes to the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Of course changing the origin has been a thing for the Transformers for some time, so that’s easily overlooked. The new story is compelling enough to keep older fans engaged, while thoroughly entertaining new fans. It skews a little younger than the Bayformers films, but still has enough adult situations to give older fans something to enjoy.
Since Transformers One goes back to the beginning (again), the story revolves around how Orion Pax and D-16 become Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively. The evolution of these characters is handled fairly well, aside from D-16’s evil character arc. He makes the jump from a miner bot with a generally cheerful mentality, to the Megatron we all know and love in a flash, but it’s so sudden that the change doesn’t make a lot of sense within the context of the story. A quick flashback to some terrible past, or something more would have made the transition a bit more believable.
The story also focuses almost exclusively on Optimus Prime and Megatron. Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and Bumblebee have decent roles, but Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave, and many of the other fan favorites have minimal screen time (Jazz gets the shaft yet again). They almost feel like an afterthought, which is more the result of yet another origin story, rather than a shortcoming of the story. The movie spends so much time building up the relationship with Optimus and Megatron, there isn’t much room for the other characters.
There was high demand for an animated Transformers film after the CG sequences in Bumblebee, but many fans wanted something current. No one asked for an origin film, and that’s the weakest aspect of Transformers One. When coupled with the new voices, changes to the origin story, and a general lack of nostalgia, it’s an odd choice by Paramount to potentially alienate legacy fans, but Transformers One still works within the context of an origin story for a new audience. If we ever get a Transformers Two, it will likely be much closer to the film fans wanted (legacy voices aside), and while Transformers One doesn’t hold a candle to the original animated movie, it’s still the best Transformers film since the original Bayformers movie.
About Transformers One
Synopsis: 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.
Director: Josh Cooley
Writers: Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, Eric Pearson
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Buscemi
Rated: PG
Runtime: 1 Hour, 44 Minutes
Bryan Dawson has been writing professionally since the age of 13. He started his career as a video game writer and has since worked for Random House, Prima Games, DirecTV, IGN, AOL, the British Government, and various other organizations. For GNN, Bryan taps into his passion for movies.
