Transformers One review: Animated prequel is earnestly enjoyable
It’s all a little predictable, but it's a pleasant surprise to see a Transformers film where you can tell which hunk of metal is lamping which.
"It’s time to show ’em we are more than meets the eye," declares a robot in this animated Transformers prequel.
Even working with the well-worn materials of a rusty screen saga – 2018’s franchise high Bumblebee aside – and an origin story, director Josh Cooley manages to show just that with his take on Hasbro’s metamorphosing metal-heads. Against the odds, Cooley has crafted one of the most earnestly enjoyable toy-based animations you didn’t ask for since his last one, Toy Story 4.
His methodology is nicely simple: strip the ’bots of their main attributes and rebuild them again. With the action set on the planet Cybertron, the focus alights on familiar characters when they were lowly workers who can’t even transform due to the absence of a crucial "T-cog".
All they do is mine Energon, an energy source vital to Cybertron but in short supply. Essentially slave labour, these robots bring to mind an unexpected cross between Antz and Aliens' marines, complete with locker-room banter.
Their number includes one Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and his pal D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry), who tends to get Pax out of trouble when required, which is often. Pax has dreams of greatness and D-16 is more cautious, and their contrasts will set these friends on a path to conflict that Transformers fans know well.
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Meanwhile, this version of Cybertron is lorded over by Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm), a robot with a pristine paint job. He’s also the last surviving Prime, after the others were wiped out by an alien species. Into this class-divided climate comes Pax, who sets out to restore the flow of Energon to Cybertron by attempting to locate a vital artefact on the planet’s surface. Aided by D-16, workplace supervisor Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and joshing fellow miner B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key), Pax instead uncovers a conspiracy involving off-world oppressors, political corruption and missing T-cogs.
If the prospect of a Transformers film about oppressed workers revolting sounds unlikely, that’s why it’s welcome. A likeable voice cast helps, with Hemsworth projecting roguish charm and his Marvel friend Johansson proving instantly recognisable. Steve Buscemi cameos as Starscream, continuing a trend in Transformers films to score with voice actors.
Laughs-wise, Key banks the lion's share of chuckles as Bumblebee-to-be B-127, who insists on declaring his preferred title of ‘Badassatron’ to anyone interested or not. Meanwhile, the emergent villain is prone to pronouncements like "The truth is what I make it," which almost makes him seem like a Trump parody.
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Along with the voices, the animation keeps the heroes more appealing than their live-action CGI versions, not least due to their soft human features. The environments are beautifully realised, too, from the living quarters and glinting cityscapes to a racetrack that unfolds like something out of Mario Kart.
While the script (Marvel veteran Eric Pearson, with Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari) briskly fires off quips, Cooley ensures the action remains quick on its feet as the robots hurtle along the track and beyond.
True, where those tracks lead is no great shock. One robot’s turn to evil is a foregone conclusion, which still happens too swiftly for effect. The climactic fights are over-familiar, too, although Cooley recognises that even predictable problems can be somewhat leavened by clarity in the stakes and stylings.
You know where all this is headed, but it’s a pleasant surprise to see a Transformers film where you can tell which hunk of metal is lamping which and – without overstating the case too much – where you care a little about who wins. After the regressive Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Hasbro’s metal scrappers might just have earned themselves a fresh screen future.
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Transformers One is in UK cinemas from Friday 11th October 2024.
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