Transformers Oneis two movies in , well , one . It is both a square recreate blockbuster for the whole family and a collection of Easter egg and references that will only matter to kick the bucket - hard fans of its franchise . While its condition - shift character may find it soft to be multiple thing at once , though , Transformers Onestruggles to do the same .
dictated year before the events of its franchise ’s late films , the prequel separate the account of how Optimus Prime ( voiced here byFuriosastar Chris Hemsworth ) and Megatron ( Brian Tyree Henry ) became not only fierce warriors on their home planet of Cybertron but also womb-to-tomb foe . Its supporting cast is littered with recognizable Transformers character , including Bumblebee ( Keegan - Michael Key ) , Elita-1 ( Scarlett Johansson ) , and Starscream ( Steve Buscemi ) , and there are mentions of others as well . The cinema ’s history , meanwhile , feel reverse - engineered to sate in blank bit in its franchise ’s lore that , more often than not , do n’t finger like they ever needed to be addressed .
transformer Onegoes so far out of its way at times to explain certain detail about its type ’ appearance and pasts that it now and then feels less like an organically conceive flick and more like a checklist . Some viewers may even go so far as to call it a colorful slice of Transformers - themed prep . Its unfaltering devotion to reference its franchise ’s future often weighsTransformers Onedown , especially in its second half . That ’s a surprising and disappointing fate to befall the motion picture , which tries very hard to exceed itself off as nothing more than a beautifully liven , lightweight action - filled escapade . There are minute when it convert you that ’s all it is , but they are too few and far between to saveTransformers Onefrom falling down the same well of averageness that its franchise has more or less made its home in over the retiring 20 or so years .
An origin story no one asked for
Transformers Onebegins beneath the surface of Cybertron in the ever - shifting , always architecturally evolving chapiter of Iacon City . There , we are preface to Orion Pax , a blue - and - red robot who appear a lot like Optimus Prime — only modest . He also , it twist out , ca n’t transform , because of his want of a transformation sprocket . He is n’t the only citizen of Iacon who lives sprocket - less . The city is , in fact , divide into a cleared hierarchy between its cog - less civilian , who are draw to lead to Cybertron ’s well - being by mine Energon , the planet ’s dwindling vigor rootage , and the few automaton who were have a bun in the oven with cogs and , therefore , the power to transform . The entire city is run for by Sentinel Prime ( Mad Menstar Jon Hamm ) , the last persist penis of Cybertron ’s long - idle group of Prime Transformers , who makes unremarkable trips to the satellite ’s surface to seek to notice the missing Matrix of Leadership .
Once the Matrix is found , it ’s said that Cybertron ’s Energon reserves will begin to flow and fill on their own again . That ’s why Orion is obsessed with helping find it , even though his efforts to do so routinely get both him and his best friend and fellow cog - less bot , Henry ’s D-16 , into bother . When a hazard encounter in one of Iacon ’s lower levels with an overly talkative former miner , Key ’s B-127 , result in Orion finding his effective star on the Matrix ’s position yet , he sets off with D-16 , B-127 , and their workaholic boss , Johansson ’s Elita-1 , on a trip to Cybertron ’s notoriously dangerous surface . This decision set them one step closer to becoming their future , fabled selves and also sets them on a journey that will completely remold their perception of Cybertron and its history .
To its course credit , Transformers Onemoves at such a well - maintained , brisk stride across its 104 minutes that its traditional knowledge - clayey plotting never becomes overwhelming or judgement - numbing . This is largely a credit to screenwriters Eric Pearson , Andrew Barrer , and Gabriel Ferrari , who streamline the motion-picture show ’s story as much as they can in nastiness of its many , Easter orchis - mandate detours and tan . By focusing so hard on distressingly - title secret plan elements and MacGuffins like “ Energon ” and “ the Matrix of Leadership , ” though , Transformers Onemakes it unsufferable to omit the half - baked nature of so much of its dealership ’s traditional knowledge . Rarely have the Transformers ’ plastic miniature origins ever felt so thuddingly clear .
Transformers One doesn’t take itself too seriously
The plastic film ’s overly earnest manipulation of its most ridiculous face is set off a bit by its lighthearted sense of humor , most of which comes through in Key ’s performance as B-17 . Key is one of the film ’s only mould members who pull off to bring much life to his mechanical fictitious character , even though he is n’t doing much to alter his representative . Hemsworth , conversely , take up a generic American emphasis here that ’s not too dissimilar from the one he employs as Thor . The Australian player prove inFuriosathat he ’s capable of contorting his spokesperson to great impression when given the fortune , but his work as Orion Pax is too pissed to makeTransformers One‘s pre - Optimus take on the character leave a lasting impression . what is more , the film ’s few attempts to blend Hemsworth ’s performance with Peter Cullen ’s iconic Optimus Prime voice only make it even clear how much the former pales in comparability to the latter .
Visually , Industrial Light & Magic ’s 3D animation givesTransformers Onea vibrancy and grandness that is n’t reflected in its storytelling or fictional character workplace . The film looks stunning . Each frame makes the most out of Cybertron ’s many jagged edges and showcases how the planet ’s luminosity reflects off its own metal surfaces , as well as those ofTransformers One‘s robotic heroes and villain . The prequel ’s look is both modern and deep indebted to the animation of 1986’sThe Transformers : The Movie . regrettably , the film does a well job of aesthetically blending its franchise ’s past and present together than it does in its genuine narrative . It may be theater director Josh Cooley ’s follow - up to his 2019 Pixar travail , Toy Story 4 , butTransformers Onelacks the synthesis of imagination and emotion that made that moving-picture show more than just a cash - grab sequel .
In that sense , transformer Oneisn’t all that unlike its franchise ’s late live - action installments . It packs a real optical punch and yet is vacuous beneath its surface — render a viewing experience that is sensorially exciting but weightless .
Transformers Onehits theater of operations on Friday , September 20 .
