We've had edgy Transformers, we've had hairy Transformers. Now, we have Transformers One, a back-to-basics origin story about our favorite transforming robots. I don't know about you, but the Transformers returning to the big screen as a big budget animated movie-slash-toy commercial feels right.
In Transformers One, we go all the way back to the early days of Cybertron, home to lowly miners and best friends Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry). When they're not mining Energon deep within dangerous Cybertronian mines, Orion and D-16 find themselves in plenty of hairy situations. Scratch that, Orion Pax finds himself in hairy situations and his best friend D-16 becomes victim by association.
Channeling his inner Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Orion Pax dreams of something more than this provincial life. He dreams of finding the missing Matrix of Leadership, the fabled artifact that could save Cybertron and bring an end to their mining days. When a clue leading to the Matrix's location ends up in Orion's hands, he along with D-16 and a couple of other unfortunates will go on a journey that will change Cybertron — and them — forever!
Choosing new voices instead of soundalikes is a genius decision, letting Transformers One be judged on its own merits rather than how it doesn't feel and look like Generation 1 or Beast Wars. Scarlett Johansson is unmistakable as Elita, while Keegan-Michael Key takes some getting used to as not-yet-Bumblebee. Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry make Orion Pax and D-16 their own; they're no Peter Cullen or Frank Welker, but they aren't trying to be. With that said, Hemsworth takes a bit of going in the role as you can often hear when he stops pretending he can mask his Aussie drawl. Henry, though, takes D-16 in a more emotional and deeper direction, bringing a newfound nuance to future Megatron that very few Transformers media do.
It doesn't help that the direction felt like going 100MPH on the Bundesautobahn. Transformers fans know D-16 and Orion Pax will eventually become leaders of opposing factions, but D-16's descent to villainy puts Mach speeds to shame. There's not enough time in the movie to dive into why D-16 turns from rule-abiding bot to homicidal maniac, so the heel turn feels like a convenient switch that was turned on because it had to be.
Doesn't make it any less painful, though. Transformers One shines at establishing the deep brotherhood of Orion Pax and D-16, so the eventual betrayal hits harder than you'd expect. The violence also amps up the more we get closer to that moment, so be warned that it could get too intense for kids during the final act.
In that sense, there's more than meets the eye with Transformers One. It's got slick, toyetic designs that will have toy collectors scrambling to get figures of them. It's got eye-popping visuals that are a joy to watch on the big screen. Good-natured humor that will tickle the funny bones of kids and adults alike. And it's got action that's surprisingly mature for a movie about transforming robots.
But Transformers One doesn't quite reach the frenzied highs or lows of its live action predecessors, content to sit perfectly in the middle as a fun time at the movies rather than a potential watershed moment. And maybe that's all it has to be. Transformers One may not make history, but I'm just glad Transformers fans like me got a well-made movie to entertain us till the next one.
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