I might as well have energon for blood because I am that much of a Transformers fan. I have watched nearly every series, every movie and played the games. So, when I heard that not only another film was being released but that it will be fully animated and not live action, I was immediately stoked. Like many fans, I was also concerned when the voice cast did not have Peter Cullen and Frank Welker. True, there have been other Transformers series in which the icons did not appear so I thought this would be a good opportunity for things to come full circle since this year marks the franchise’s 40th anniversary. However, I must admit that the cast did a fine job portraying our favorite characters. Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry make for good younger versions of Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively. It was interesting to see how happy-go-luck Orion Pax is depicted in this movie which is akin to Hemsworth’s own carefree attitude with Tyree Henry’s D-16 trying to be the voice of reason to his friend’s antics. As fans, we already know the backstory of Orion Pax being an archivist at Iacon and D-16 being a gladiator. Transformers One weaves a new story with them working as miners in Iacon harvesting energon where they form a tight friendship that is tested and then broken when a dark secret is discovered. Hemsworth does a good job as an “Optimus Prime” even without the vocoder, following in the footsteps of other actors who have voiced the character besides Peter Cullen. Brian Tyree Henry may not have the gravelly voice Frank Welker established for Megatron, but he still does a fine job when the character transitions from cheerful worker to menacing future tyrannical leader. Scarlet Johannson’s portrayal of Elita-1 reminded me of Transformers Prime’s Arcee who is steadfast in her position and always upholds protocol no matter what. Bumblebee has always been a fun character who oozes with innocence and Keegan-Michaeel Key conveys this well. Perhaps the biggest surprise is Steve Buscemi’s portrayal of Starscream being nearly on point vocally with Steve Blum’s role as the ambitious Air Commander in Transformers Prime. I liked him in this role and, given the roles he has played before, this suits him.
The animation for Transformers One is amazing, incredibly detailed and fluid. The character movements are not slow and gliding or lose focus like the live action Transformers films. For example, when one of the characters throws a punch, it is clear. It doesn’t blur. There is no loss of focus. You see the attack even if it’s fast. The character designs move away from what has been seen in the live films for softer, more kid friendly designs which was a smart choice for this film. Since the first live film in 2007, Transformers has been walking on the dark side with characters and plot devices. This is even evident in the recent animated series such as Transformers Prime, for example. Don’t get me wrong. I have enjoyed the films (both good and not so good) and thought Transformers Prime was awesome. But it is nice to get back into the humor and light-heartedness that most of us were introduced to four decades ago. Plus, they were brightly colored. I was just having fun pointing out who’s who whenever there was a bunch of Cybertonians together. Transformers One’s storyline does tap into the comic’s “Warrior Within” by telling the story of Primus while also pulling plot devices from 2011’s “Dark of the Moon” with Sentinel Prime as the main antagonist. I like how these ideas are used as motivation for the main characters to do their thing, especially for the future leaders of their respective armies.
Overall, Transformers One is an exciting and entertaining film with plenty of callbacks and Easter eggs for long time fans while introducing the world of the ‘robots in disguise’ to a new generation of fans to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of this beloved franchise. It is so nice to finally have an animated Transformers film after so long.
