Transformers One Minor Spoiler Review
Disclaimer: This review is based upon two advance screenings of Transformers One held in New York City. The July 23rd screening was a working cut of the film that was not final. The second screening was also held in New York City on August 15th and did represent the final cut. Any differences between the two cuts were very minor and did not affect the overall story. Ben’s World of Transformers would like to offer its deepest thanks to Paramount Pictures for allowing me to attend both screenings.
Minor Spoiler Warning: This review will contain minor spoilers for Transformers One. In general I will try to discuss only what has already been revealed in the two main trailers and various clips released online as of September 10, 2024 (when this review is being written).
Official Synopsis
TRANSFORMERS ONE is 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. In the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, TRANSFORMERS ONE features a star-studded voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi with Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm.
Minor Spoiler Review
When I settled into my seat for the July 23rd screening of Transformers One I admit I was nervous. As much as I loved it, I know that last year’s Rise of the Beasts theatrical film had not exactly blown the box office apart. It took in a box office of $438,966,392 worldwide but that was set against a budget of $195–200 million which was nowhere near the heights of the franchise (contrast that against the 2007 film which grossed $709,709,780 worldwide). Transformers One felt like another chance for the franchise to show what it could be and capture the imagination of fans again on the big screen. I am not going to sit here and pretend I’m psychic and tell you this film will be a success. The box office nowadays is persnickety at best, but I will say without any doubt that Transformers One deserves to do well.
The smartest thing Transformers One does is provide an emotional core to the film. This may sound obvious, but the live action Transformers film franchise has often been criticized for favoring spectacle over story and depth (we can argue this, but it is the impression many critics have). That core is the relationship between Orion Pax and D-16. We meet the two Cybertronians when they are both working as miners working underground digging out the precious Energon needed to power Iacon city. It is a dangerous existence but the two watch each other’s backs. Orion dreams of a better life, which often gets him in trouble. D-16 is usually there to bail him out. Fans have been treated to versions of this pre-war story between the two characters before, but they were not friends in the same way they are here and it is very refreshing.
Early in the film, the movie gives fans a visual (which I will not spoil) that felt to me like a statement. The filmmakers were saying “Fans, we see you. We know you’re skeptical, so we’re going to kick off this film with an animation that will show you we respect this franchise.”. I won’t lie. My mouth hung open, I looked to my friends to see if they just saw what I saw (they did) and we were all psyched for the rest of the film. This happened in the first ten minutes and it was enough to give me hope that this was going to be a great film. As the movie progressed, every major segment of the story gave me more and more reason to love the film. By the end of the movie I was cheering loudly (along with the rest of the audience) during the finale.
Many fans watched the first trailer for this film with consternation. That trailer was very heavy on the humor and light on anything else. Fans feared Transformers One would be more like a Minions movie than a Transformers story. Not that I would mind a Transformers comedy (I loved the BotBots series) but for a theatrical film this movie needed more than laughs to succeed as an engaging and exciting story. Fortunately, it does just that. A lot of the humor you see in the trailers is being compressed heavily into a short amount of time when in fact the humor is sprinkled throughout the film. The first twenty minutes or so lean heavily into it, but there is a thematic reason for it.
When we meet Orion and D-16, they are still innocent. They get into trouble together and get into amusing shenanigans with the Iacon 5000 race. However, circumstances eventually lead them to discover a very dark secret not only about Cybertron’s plight but also their own existence as workers under a government that may not be all it is cracked up to be. This sends the story in a much darker and mature direction. As the story heads towards the inevitable Autobot/Decepticon War we know is coming, we get a lot less humor and much more drama and action. Sure B-127 gives us some lighthearted moments here and there, but overall by the time the finale wraps up there is a very heavy sense of tragedy and sorrow that washes over the entire story. We know these two friends would wind up becoming enemies, but even as I watched some small, irrational part of me hoped it would not happen. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this film took me on an emotional roller coaster filled with laughter, gasps, cheers and quiet sadness.
According to IMDB, Transformers One has a run time of about 1 hour and 44 minutes and in that time it has to cover a lot of story beats. One of the ways the film helps create bridges from beat to beat (aside from action scenes of course) is a ton of Easter Eggs for long time fans of the franchise. Some of these involve settings while others involve elements of the production design. Perhaps the ones that will please fans the most are the many (many) cameos from mainstays of the franchise. Arcee, Ironhide, Jazz, Ratchet, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack and Windcharger are among the G1 characters that make appearances in the film. During the Iacon 5000 race, keep your optic sensors peeled when the holographic scoreboard comes up. There you will see not just G1 character names but also G2 names such as Blow Out and Meanstreak! Not all the Easter Eggs are just winks and nods. If you watch the trailers, you will note D-16’s eye color is yellow but Megatron’s eyes are red. This change is a reflection of the character’s story arc while paying homage to the original Megatron action figure who had yellow eyes and the G1 cartoon character whose eyes were red.
Transformers One has a solid emotional core and plenty of humor, but let’s be real, this is a Transformers film so you expect some action and the film delivers in spades. Director Josh Cooley (Up, Toy Story 4) does an absolutely masterful job at delivering a variety of actions scenes that serve a narrative purpose beyond spectacle. In both my screenings the final battle scene in particular had fans cheering in the audience, especially in one part where – no wait, I’m saving that for my spoiler filled review! Even better, Cooley does a fantastic job of keeping the “camera” stable enough that your eyes and brain can properly track the action. The Transformers live action films did this to a varying degree from sequence to sequence, but in this film it is consistent. I never felt like I lost track of where characters were or who was doing what. There were times where the action literally had me on the edge of my seat. This film is a fun and fantastic ride.
Voice Work
Much ado was made about the cast for this film when they were first announced. The film’s cast main features Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Extraction) as Orion Pax, Bryan Tyree Henry (Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, Bullet Train, Godzilla vs. Kong) as D-16, Scarlett Johansson (The Island, Black Widow, Asteroid City) as Elita and Keegan-Michael Key (Key and Peele, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, IF) as B-127. The cast also includes Steve Buscemi (The Big Lebowski, Boardwalk Empire, Transformers: The Last Knight) as Starscream and John Hamm (Mad Men, Top Gun: Maverick, Good Omens) as Sentinel Prime.
I think most fans were nervous about Hemsworth as Orion Pax. In my opinion he does a fantastic job. He injects the character with a sense of naïve optimism which we need to see in Pax before he becomes Optimus Prime. When he begins to evolve, Hemsworth changes his voice a bit to show Orion’s progression towards becoming Prime. Even once he is Optimus Prime he manages to balance a young sounding voice with a more mature persona, giving us a blend that is appropriate for the film.
Bryan Tyree Henry’s take on D-16/Megatron was a surprise. I had seen his work before and his voice struck me as almost too smooth and positive sounding to play the future Decepticon leader but he too changes his voice as the movie progresses to match his character’s growth and it is very effective!
The rest of the voice cast is excellent. Scarlett Johansson plays Elita’s no nonsense heroic warrior well while Keegan-Michael Key injects his comedy chops into B-127. Long time Transformers fans will be happy to hear that fellow fan and Combiner Wars voice actor Jon Bailey plays Soundwave (and there is one other returning Transformers voice actor I won’t reveal here).
Conclusion
Transformers One is absolutely fantastic! The film has amazing production design, excellent voice work, fantastic action and humor. It also embraces and respects the rich history of the Transformers franchise while offering a fresh take. This is the best theatrical Transformers film since the 1986 movie (which I love). How much did I enjoy it? Despite having seen the film twice already I have already purchased tickets for two more showings!
Transformers One is rated PG and debuts September 20th in the United States, though some theater chains are having limited advance showings such as AMC Theaters. Check your local listings for showtimes.
References:
- Box Office Mojo: Transformers Global Box Office Amount
- Box Office Mojo: Rise of the Beasts Global Box Office Amount
- Deadline: Rise of the Beasts budget