Feature image courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Story by Logan Bowman
The “Transformers” franchise returned to the big screen with the long-awaited release of “Transformers One” on Sept. 20. The movie is refreshing after years of middling live-action “Transformers” offerings and has reignited a dwindling spark in Hasbro’s cinematic ventures.
“Transformers One” recounts the origin story and initial friendship of now-bitter rivals Optimus Prime and Megatron. The film accomplishes the near-impossible task of presenting its story in a way that is palatable for newcomers and enjoyable for hardcore fans.
The story starts off simply, grounding itself by focusing on its titular characters Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Bryan Tyree Henry,) who ultimately become Optimus Prime and Megatron. A slow introduction eases casual fans into its hard sci-fi setting.
However, this doesn’t make viewing a tedious experience for long-time fans; in fact, most of the film’s first act is packed with deep-cut Transformers references presented in a manner that is unobtrusive for seasoned watchers. Once the first act is established, the plot diverges in a way that is a new and enjoyable experience for both parties.
Former Pixar writer Josh Cooley directs “Transformers One,” and his influence is clear throughout the movie’s runtime. “Transformers One” at its heart is a family film, but isn’t afraid to tackle mature topics such as government corruption, necessary change and the loss of brotherhood. This is refreshing in a market oversaturated with undercooked children’s movies that don’t respect their core audience.
Fortunately, the film departs from previous “Transformers” movies’ live-action/CGI hybrid visual style, opting instead for a completely animated format. The animation is wonderfully stylized, with stellar color grading and stunning lighting work. Industrial Light and Magic’s animation style blends the photorealistic textures and reflections of movies like Disney’s live-action “The Lion King” with stylized character models and rich colors like Sony’s “Spiderverse” movies.
This style might be an adjustment for viewers used to the previous films’ dark and gritty visual style, but is for the best when portraying the vibrant planet of Cybertron. The change reflects how “Transformers One” is its own entity, completely independent from its live-action cousins.
“Transformers One” does possess a minor problem with pacing, namely in the second act. Characters fly through gorgeous locations with minimal downtime, giving characters and viewers little time to breathe.
The quick pacing accommodates the many concepts and set pieces the narrative has to balance, but a few extra minutes of runtime to allow the beauty presented to sink in would be preferable.
What few flaws that “Transformers One” possesses means little in the face of everything the movie does right. It’s an experience worth seeing in theaters, and would be best shared with friends. For life-long fans or those who have only ever seen Transformers on store shelves, “Transformers One” presents something for everyone to enjoy.
In addition to Hemsworth and Henry, the film’s voice cast is packed with other A-listers, including Scarlett Johansson, Keegan Michael-Key and Steve Buscemi. The film is rated PG and has a runtime of one hour and 51 minutes.
Logan Bowman is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines.
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