In this first ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, Transformers One tells the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, and Steve Buscemi.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Animation, Action
Length: 1 hour 44 minutes
Catch ‘Transformers One’ in theatres this September 12th, 2024. Tickets are available online on the TGV Cinemas website.
I will firstly admit that I am an avid fan of the Transformers franchise, being one the first Saturday cartoons that I watched growing up. Every visit to the toys shop would have me gunning for the Transformers section and be in awe of the Grimlock or Optimus Prime that was on display. I followed two seasons of the cartoon series, the 1988 movie (the best Transformers movie and still is), and even the Bay-verse Transformer movies.
I was excited when I heard that there would be another Transformers movie, and this time, they were exploring the origins of the titular characters, Optimus Prime and Megatron. This premise has been visited a few times, first in the Season 2 Episode 43 of the Generation 1 cartoon series and later in the Dreamwave comic line with The War Within storyline written by Simon Furman.
I was now stoked at the prospect of the retelling of their origins while also playing at the fan theory of Optimus and Megatron being long time friends before being bitter end rivals throughout Transformers history. Though I was reluctant and apprehensive when I saw the trailer for the movie, I went to the premiere with an open mind and without my bias as a keen fan of the franchise.
After watching the whole movie, what is my verdict of the movie? Without going into spoilers, the movie was an average Transformers movie that can serve as an entry point to the franchise, but disappointing for long time fans.
Still, the spectacle of the movie is alluring with Iacon, the city of the Transformers, bustling with life as each character goes about their daily lives. The cityscape of Iacon and the environment of the surface of Cybertron are beautifully rendered with each scene showcasing different environments never seen before in the franchise.
The plot and story itself are easily digestible for movie goers with the Matrix of Leadership being the McGuffin of the movie, the item that our protagonist Optimus and Megatron set out to find in order to prove that they are more than meets the eye.
Their adventures are packed with cliché jokes and mysteries as they solve what happened to the Matrix that was lost during the war between the Primes and the Quintessons, one of the movie’s antagonists. As the plot progresses, they find more companions in the form of Elita and Bumblebee, and later on gain their transformation cog to transform into their vehicle form.
I appreciate the animation style that differs slightly from other CG movies from more well-known studios like Disney or Pixar, but sometimes when the camera zooms or pans out, the characters do look stiff and toy-like. Whether this is a deliberate decision of the studio or just a byproduct of its animation style, this awkward toy-like style does bring me out of the movie as I am reminded of myself playing with the Transformer toys.
Other than that, the animation of the transformation and actions scenes are spectacular and smooth, bringing me joy as each of the Transformers uses both of their robot and vehicle modes to fight in surprisingly creative ways.
The biggest disappointment in my opinion is the portrayal of Megatron and Bumblebee, which are familiar characters in name, but have different characteristics and personalities from the cartoon iterations or the Bay-verse movies. Megatron’s characteristics of being militaristic, full of confidence and rebellious was replaced by loyalty to the “government”, being full of doubt, and satisfied with life as a miner.
Optimus, on the other hand, who should be content with peace is instead the Transformer who is rebellious and seeking out adventure to fulfill his destiny. Meanwhile, Bumblebee has become the butt of the joke and the clumsy jester that tries to make the characters laugh, but it seems jarring when none of the gags quite land with its audience.
The movie also suffers from pacing, where the first half of the movie was mostly spent on exposition and introducing the characters and their personalities. This section was to my enjoyment as I got to know these characters all over again. Alas, the second half of the movie suffers from rushed storytelling trying to condense five different plot points into one finale that had me scratching my head over the climax.
Megatron’s inevitable switch to the Decepticons and the decision to be the antagonist of the future was quickly resolved as the movie’s run time ends. The name and emblem of the Decepticon is explained, yet the recognizable name itself is never once mentioned while Optimus calls themselves the Autobots without any prior explanation or lore to it at all.
Overall, I would give the movie an average 6 pies out of 10 pies due to the pacing of the movie and the characters themselves being not as I remembered. The nostalgia came mostly from seeing the cameos of the other Transformers, and not from the leading roles of Optimus Prime and Megatron as the characters are too different from what I have watched or read when I was younger.
The movie suffers from its second half and would have been better if it was split into two movies, resolving the current plot and moving Megatron’s expected betrayal to be the leader of the Decepticon in another.
