This Hasbro animated prequel just got an oil change and it delivers.
Before he was Optimus Prime, his name was Orion Pax. Before he was Megatron, his name was D-16. And before he was Bumblebee, his name was B-127 or you can call him “Bee” or a name he was workshopping on,“BADASSATRON.”
“Transformers One” is an animated prequel to the Hasbro franchise, which shows us the origins of how Optimus Prime and Megatron became the enemies fans know and cherish. So don’t expect Shia LaBeouf or Mark Wahlberg or Hailee Steinfeld or Anthony Ramos. Expect a lot of big laughs, some dazzling scenes, and how it balance the brightness and darkness of the film’s tone. Meaning it has a lot of bright colors and iconic robots playing around for laughs, but it can also be serious regarding what goes on in their world and how they deal with the outcome of it.
As the film begins, we see them-back when they were known as Orion (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry)-working as mining bots who dig for special energy minerals known as Emergon, and at this very moment, they can’t transform because they don’t have the cogs to allow them free will. D-16 is the cynical one, while Orion is the free-spirited, open-minded, and crazy one. In fact, he’s willing to prove his worth to their leader Sentinel Prime (voiced by Jon Hamm), whom we can already sense is a bad robot, underneath his noble exterior.
Their planet Cybertron is looking for a rare artifact-the Matrix of Leadership-that could save everyone, and when they meet Bee (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), they discover a message from the planet that may have it. And they’re joined on their trek by their former no-nonsense co-worker Elita-1 (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), who is in the great tradition of female characters who trade one-liners and strong attitudes with the main protagonists.
As they discover the truth about their society, the friendship between Orion and D-16 deteriorates drastically. So what starts off as bright and colorful ends up becoming dark and committed to the story.
“Transformers One” was directed by Josh Cooley, who also made “Toy Story 4,” and its producing team still consists of Michael Bay, Don Murphy, and Steven Spielberg. This is the best “Transformers” movie in years, because of how it takes risks for a PG-rated movie, and underneath its candy-coated exterior is a sharp and emotional challenge regarding the two main bots and their directions.
A small part of me was pondering if this would be as degrading and cheap as “Star Wars: the Clone Wars.” This is miles ahead of that bomb-a lot better than I expected. I admire how the vehicle tracks extend as they’re going along, especially a race sequence. And the voice actors are universally excellent, especially with Hemsworth and Henry shifting tones and Key bringing on the big laughs. And it still kills me the way he changes his voice when he says “BADASSATRON.”
I still don’t understand all the talk about the Autobots and the Decepticons and how their world functions, but I still like to see how visually stunning their worlds are. It looks better in animation than in live action. And sorry I didn’t care for “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” as much as you did. But at least, we improve on some things with “Transformers One.” Back to the toy store.
