While audiences might be approaching the release of Transformers One with trepidation, after being burnt out by the repetitive trend of more explosions than plot in recent films from the franchise, however like the Transformers slogan, there is definitely more than meets the eye with this film.
Welcome to the origin story of our favourite arch nemeses, Optimus Prime and Megatron. From the outset the colouring of these two miners clearly establishes who will become the leader of the Autobots (the red and blue Orion Pax, voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and who will stoop to leading the classic ‘bad bots’ the Decepticons (the slate grey D-16, voiced by Brien Tyree Henry). Their story begins on a maligned post-war Cybertron; society is struggling with the lack of energon, as it will no longer flow due to the loss of an ancient power symbol – the Matrix of Leadership. Their leadership, the Primes (the most powerful Transformers) were massacred by the Big Bad of the film (the Quintessons) apart from the beloved Sentinel Prime (voiced by John Hamm). As a result the ‘cogless’ bots toil ceaselessly to mine energon to sustain their society.
This film does not seek to reinvent the wheel – in truth it’s the same story told in every great sci-fi epic: people are struggling, the heroes are part of a subjugated class that is breaking their backs to support the fat cats, there’s a sudden but inevitable betrayal and the established way of being is overthrown to create a more utopian and fair society. Got it? Cool. This film does exactly that, and it does it well – by the end you’ll be rapt in the plight of these brotherly bots and the hope for a united Cybertron.
One thing that this film does spectacularly is the animation and production. There is a beautiful element of juxtaposition between the hard lines of the robotic Iacon city and the transformers themselves, and the organic shapes of the Quintessons. Even the organic and ever shifting surface of Cybertron exhibits hard jagged lines and thrusting spires of rock that echo the mechanical beings who live underneath. I did find it somewhat counter intuitive that the Transformers had faces as it can be jarring with their mechanical exteriors. However, I think that without this quirk, it would be impossible to empathise with the chunky bots.
Some aspects of the film are a bit cringe-worthy however. It’s clearly designed to appeal to both older children and the adults taking them to see this new epic. Sometimes dubbed the Pixar effect, there are jokes that will fly right over a child’s head, that are designed to give mum and dad a bit of a chuckle. Additionally, sometimes the decidedly heart-warming and optimistic mood of the film can feel a bit one-note. This applies to our villainous anti-heroes as well – the rage that is the basis for the development of the Decepticon dynasty could be a bit more nuanced than it is. But I mean, they are robots after all.
While I’m unsure if this film will become a cult classic, it is definitely worth watching as an introduction for kids and adults to the wonderful world of epic sci-fi. Even more so if you are a diehard Transformers fan. There are so many clever references to the original movies – even the development of Starscream’s unique voice has a moment in the storyline. Embrace the cringe and long live the Autobots!
8/10
You can also click here to watch our interview with Director Josh Cooley & Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura!
