{"id":4161,"date":"2024-09-22T03:59:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-22T03:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=4161"},"modified":"2024-11-02T21:54:50","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T01:54:50","slug":"transformers-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/09\/22\/transformers-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Transformers One"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Transformers One<\/strong> (2024)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Sci-Fi-Action\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 104 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (sci-fi violence and animated action throughout, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Josh Cooley\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Brian Tyler\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Christopher Batty\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 20, 2024 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm, Isaac C. Singleton, Vanessa Liguori, Jason Konopisos-Alvarez, John Bailey, Evan Michael Lee, James Remar.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0I considered skipping the computer-animated prequel Transformers One<\/strong> for the same reason I\u2019ve recused myself from reviewing all future Super Mario sequels. I didn\u2019t think I was the right person to review it. Then I saw all the good reviews. I also heard a lot of buzz about it being closer in spirit to the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie than the live-action noisefests that have been infesting cinemas since 2007. That\u2019s when I did an about-face and reserved a spot for a Saturday matinee. I\u2019m glad I did. It\u2019s actually a pretty good flick.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Transformers One<\/strong> is directed by Josh Colley who pulled off a remarkable feat with Toy Story 4 five years ago. He made the material feel fresh even though it had been nearly 25 years since the first one came out. He does it with Transformers One<\/strong> as well. Here\u2019s a property that\u2019s been around since the 80s. It started out as line of toys, robots that transform into motorized vehicles (e.g. cars, trucks, planes, etc.). Then it became a popular cartoon that kids rushed more from school to watch every afternoon. It just grew from there with comic book series, spin-offs and live-action movies. Colley brings the series back to its roots by telling us about how the war between the Autobots and Decepticons began.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The plot actually focuses on two bots, Orion Pax (Hemsworth, Thor) and D-16 (Henry, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), best buds who are more like brothers. They work as Energon miners on Cybertron which is currently under the leadership of Sentinel Prime (Hamm, Top Gun: Maverick) who claims he\u2019s trying to save their endangered world by locating something called \u201cThe Matrix of Leadership\u201d. Of course, that\u2019s total BS. We all know a despot when we see one.<\/p>\n

\u00a0There are two types of robots on Cybertron, those with transformation cogs and those without. The ones who don\u2019t have them can\u2019t transform and are treated as slaves. Orion believes it doesn\u2019t have to be this way. He thinks if he can find the Matrix, it will change things for the better. D-16 disagrees. He thinks they ought not to rock the boat. That\u2019s exactly what Orion does which lands them both in deep trouble with the powers that be.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Orion and D-16 decide the only thing left to do is make their way to the planet\u2019s surface and search for the Matrix. They have a probable location thanks to a doohickey found in the possession of B-127 (Key, Wonka), a bot confined to the smelting department of the mining operation. He joins them on their mission as does Elita-1 (Johansson, The Avengers), the supervisor they got transferred to waste management after they broke protocol under her watch. Together, they look for the movie\u2019s McGuffin while Sentinel finally reveals his true treacherous nature.<\/p>\n

\u00a0As the movie progresses, we see the relationship between Orion and D-16 change. Orion merely wants to expose Sentinel while D-16 wants to kill him. He grows angrier and angrier until his friends can no longer control him. It\u2019s no secret what becomes of the two bots. They become the ones we all know as mortal enemies Optimus Prime and Megatron. It sounds a lot like the relationship between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019m surprised by how much I enjoyed Transformers One<\/strong>. It\u2019s a lot of fun. I\u2019d even say it\u2019s one of the best Transformers movies. To its immense credit, it doesn\u2019t leave the viewer with a pounding headache afterwards. It has big action scenes, but Cooley never overwhelms the audience with a lot of noise, confusion and wild overediting. True, the plot is as silly as any Transformers film, but at least it makes sense. It also leads right into the series. Be sure to stay through the end credits for a bonus scene that sets up the war to come.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The computer-animation by ILM is extremely well done. Cooley had them create a visual style that looks realistic while still looking like it was made by artists. In other words, it doesn\u2019t at all look like a video game. The action sequences are genuinely exciting, especially the finale which captures the spirit of an old school Star Wars film.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The voice talents do a fine job with all of the players leaning into their characters full force. Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) shows up briefly as an elder Prime who relates the true history of Cybertron to our heroes. Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) voices Starscream, the weaselly leader of the High Guard who claims to want to end Sentinel\u2019s reign but refuses to join our heroes in battle. Johansson imbues her no-nonsense character with strength and authority while Henry sounds more and more like a mythic hero with his dialogue. In the leads, Hemsworth is fun as the free-wheeling bot destined for greatness in a way he could never imagine.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Fans will appreciate the nods to the original source in Transformers One<\/strong>. At one point, somebody tells Orion \u201cyou don\u2019t have the touch or the power\u201d which is a direct reference to the power ballad by Stan Bush from the 1986 movie. Another scene has Elita refer to Orion\u2019s compadres as \u201cGoBots\u201d, the K-Mart knock-off of Transformers. I\u2019m sure there\u2019s more, but you\u2019d have to ask somebody who actually watched the OG cartoon which I didn\u2019t. I was in high school and not interested.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I don\u2019t know what the future holds for the franchise, but I wouldn\u2019t mind another CA movie like Transformers One<\/strong>. It\u2019s not great cinema, but it\u2019s a good movie. It\u2019s its own kind of art. The parents will enjoy it just as much as their kids, possibly more.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transformers One (2024)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Paramount\/Sci-Fi-Action\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 104 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (sci-fi violence and animated action throughout, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Josh Cooley\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Brian Tyler\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Christopher Batty\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 20, 2024 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Transformers-One-POSTER.jpg?fit=620%2C917&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4161"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5651,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4161\/revisions\/5651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}