After the bombast of Michael Bay’s live action Transformers films where entire cities were flattened by the battling bots like an Essex girls hen party the franchise returns to its animated roots with the release of Transformers One. This takes us back to the very start with an origin story that begins with Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry) a pair of friends who work as miners on planet Cybertron where the robot population are split into a hierarchy of the workers who are without the transformation cog and their bosses who have the cog. It’s the workers there for who are destined to mine Energon, an energy source that keeps the bots going and in that respect there’s an analogy that can be drawn here with the franchise whose last films have taken a downward trajectory and are in need of a much needed boost.
But all this mining could have been avoided had the planet not lost the Matrix of Leadership, a title that writers must have batted around the writers room having jettisoned the Cacophony of Cobblers. But the friends are convinced that if they can recover it then that should end their days of slavery in the mines. It seems to be another layer of subtext about the rise of the worker against oppressive management. Frankly we’re reading far too much into it as what audiences want is big ass robots battering each other into the recycling bin and the film does build towards a decent climactic battle with nods to Star Wars space battles via several enjoyable set pieces that includes a huge race and an out of control train ride all of which have the makings of theme park rollercoasters. But as the story unfolds it’s the origin story which hardcore fans will be all too familiar with that gives us the rise of Optimus Prime (no mention of his brother Amazon) and his nemesis Megatron.
Helmed by Josh Cooley, whose previous was Toy Story 4, this is in good hands. A script with plenty of light moments, decent set pieces, even some unexpected character development and enough fan service to keep those die hards content as well as those unaware with the Decepticon v Autobots origin. Cooley’s animated take on the franchise is a refreshing….ahem….transformation.
related feature : Chris Hemsworth & Brian Tyree Henry explain how the transformers One trailer was launched into space!
related feature : That deleted Transformers Rise of the Beast’ alternate ending…..
Was Scarlett Johansson cast in Transformers One because she’s the same as the character
Chris Hemsworth pays homage to Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime…
Transformers One director Josh Cooley explains why he cast Chris Hemsworth….
News of a sequel to Transformers One from producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura…
Here’s the Transformers One trailer…..
