Transformers One

Transformers One Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, and Jon Hamm

Director: Josh Cooley

What’s Good: The visuals are fantastic, but what really matters is that the script actually tells a story and takes the characters on a journey that will change them forever.

What’s Bad: The first half of the movie might be a bit too much for kids, which might turn off some older audience members.

Loo Break: There are no breaks in this movie, and it goes fast. Every scene is meaningful.

Watch or Not? This is a must-watch for families and for old and new Transformers fans.

Language: English (with subtitles).

Available On: Theaters

Runtime: 104 Minutes

User Rating:

Opening:

The Transformers franchise is one of the most inconsistent ones in cinemas, the franchise has gone from a legendary animated film in the 1980s to a live-action sensation directed by Michael Bay and then to the laughingstock of Hollywood with sequels increasingly more absurd and dumb. Now Paramount is trying to turn things around by going back to the start; the beginning of the war between Megatron and Optimus, in an animated prequel that is aimed at the franchise’s original audience, the kids.

Transformers One Movie Review: Script Analysis

Hearing for the first time about Transformers One was a bit scary because, at that point, the live-action films had failed at basically everything and were becoming something closer to a guilty pleasure than anything else and then with the box-office failure of The Last Knight, the franchise hasn’t been able to turn things around. Last year’s Rise of the Beast was a modest success but not what Paramount truly wanted for a movie that costs more than $200 million.

And so, Paramount has opted for a cheaper alternative. This animated film goes back in time to Cybertron and tells us the beginning of everything, and this couldn’t have been a better choice because Transformers One is indeed, a great film, one that can be enjoyed by both children and adults thanks to a solid script, good humor, great action, and second half that finally hits the nail on what the conflict of the franchise is all about, the inability to see the other’s point of view.

The film is written by Gabriel Ferrari, Eric Pearson, and Andrew Barrer. Although having so many writers in just one script is often a recipe for disaster, this time, it feels like everyone’s ideas managed to find a place in the movie without being too bloated, which really affected the live-action installments. Instead, Transformers One goes for a classic origin story that feels real and deals with very serious topics towards its later half. At the same time, the first half feels a bit too much for kids, but that must be the only sign of imbalance in a script that feels very solid and polished.

There is really nothing new in here in terms of storytelling, but that doesn’t matter; this is a kid’s film and in that regard, it does amazing at not treating its audience as if they were stupid, and besides that, the film also works as a perfect introduction to the world and the mythology of the Transformers universe, which for many has become something that feels unapproachable and confusing, so even if this is your first Transformers film, you will not feel lost at all.

Transformers One Movie Review: Star Performance

Transformers One is very lucky in that it managed to gather quite a number of big talent names for its voice roles, and none of them seem to be phoning it in, actually, everyone in the cast is taking their roles seriously, which enhances all the drama that happens in the second half of the film, and it is there that you feel that this cast is worthy of continuing the legacy of the series, if this film is successful enough to garner a sequel.

Everyone is doing a great job, but Chris Hemsworth, who plays Optimus Prime, and Bryan Tyree Henry, who plays Megatron, are really the stars of the show. Their relationship and the way it develops serve as the emotional focus of the movie, and it is great. Scarlett Johansson also does great; she adds tons of personality to Elita. Keegan-Michael Key is hilarious as Bumblebee, who still has his voice circuits and talks just a bit too much for everyone’s pleasure.