‘Transformers One’ gives us bromantic tragedy and proletariat uprising
“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” came out just a year ago, but toy makers Hasbro are working hard at making sure one of their top brands/franchises stays in the public eye (it’s Transformers’ 40th anniversary) with the latest “Transformers One,” the first animated Transformers feature film since the original in 1986.
This time, as is de rigueur with big studio pictures, it’s a CG (computer-generated) feature. Also, it’s an origin story that takes place billions of years before the Michael Bay live-action movies.
Turns out, Optimus Prime and Megatron used to be besties. Back on Cybertron, when they were but young bots named Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry), respectively, they were miners, part of an underclass of cogless bots without the ability to transform, with the task of mining the dwindling resources of energon. Energon is no longer flowing as it did since the Matrix of Leadership was lost 50 cycles ago in a war with the Quintessons.
In that conflict, all Primes (original bots) were lost except Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm), who aside from being de facto leader of Cybertron, has been leading parties to the surface to search for the missing Matrix. When Orion and D-16 come across an artifact that may lead them to said Matrix, they set it as their mission to save Cybertron.
No humans
Directed by “Toy Story 4”’s Josh Cooley, “Transformers One” is a refreshing change of pace. For one, as it’s set billions of years ago, there are no humans. Secondly, there’s much more humor, and most of it lands. There’s some darkness, some creepy bits, some moments of awe. What isn’t there is bloat, which already puts it above all the Michael Bay entries.
Of course, the reveal that Optimus and Megatron were buddies might not be new to hardcore Transformers fans but it lends pathos to the proceedings, D-16’s inevitable arc bending toward darkness made all the more affecting thanks to Henry’s performance.
Orion yearns for something more than the role he was assigned—he’s Call to Adventure 101. D-16 believed in the system, thought he had a purpose and role in that system, but when it’s revealed to be something less than his romanticized ideal, it breaks him, and he believes nothing is to be trusted. Pretty deep stuff for what was originally just a Japanese toy line trying to break into the American market.
The surprising themes don’t end there. If one is paying attention and not just ooh-ing and aah-ing at the nicely choreographed action sequences, there’s even a Marxist reading and a proletariat uprising, a commentary on propaganda and fake news, the dangerous temptation of fascism, colonizers exploiting foreign territories’ natural resources and even some bouts with the value of self-determination.
Jump cuts
Cooley does some neat things here and there, embracing the use of film language such as jump cuts of the same frame, faux long takes, even a dolly zoom at an appropriately emotional moment. One of the best examples is his depiction of the Quintessons: He keeps them creepy and menacing, and we see the terrifying effect they have on others. The first we see of them are their tentacles dangling in the foreground. Good stuff.
Rounding out the cast are Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1, an older sister of Arcee from the cartoon, and B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key), later to be known as Bumblebee; Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion, who narrates the film; and the inspired casting of the unmistakable Steve Buscemi as Starscream. Fan favorites such as Soundwave and Shockwave appear, as well as a quick cameo by Jazz.
There’re some fan-service moments, but they’re not the typical annoying kind. People who aren’t Transformers fans will fare fine, even if the origin of the names Autobot and Decepticon feels forced with a pickaxe. There’s a controlled momentum in “Transformers One,” beginning with a chase that proceeds quickly to a race, an escape, a road trip and a conspiracy thriller, before becoming an action melee with a brothers-to-enemies finale. It makes for a satisfying ride. Roll out.
