Movie Review - Transformers One
L-r, Brian Tyree Henry (D-16), Keegan-Michael Key (B-127), Scarlett Johansson (Elita-1) and Chris Hemsworth (Orion Pax) star in PARAMOUNT ANIMATION and HASBRO Present In Association with NEW REPUBLIC PICTURES
A di BONAVENTURA PICTURES Production A TOM DESANTO / DON MURPHY Production
A BAY FILMS Production “TRANSFORMERS ONE”
The Transformer franchise has finally found the right format to explore its universe. I enjoyed this origin story more than I thought I would. This is the best story-telling of any Transformer movie to date. Granted, that bar isn't set too high.
Voices
I liked the choice of voices for the characters, but I didn't love them. My personal preference would be to use fewer well known stars for voice acting. There are a lot of great voice actors out there who can use some work. And most of the actor voices were barely noticeable. For instance, I'm not sure I would have noticed that Chris Hemsworth voiced Orion Pax if I didn't know that going in. Mainly because he covered up his accent and I didn't think his voice was as deep as it normally is. I certainly never would have guessed that Brian Tyree was the voice of D-16. And it was about half-way into the movie before I recognized that Scarlett Johansson was the voice of Elita.
My point is, why bother using a named actor to voice a character if it's not obvious who the voice belongs to?
That being said, I really liked hearing Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion. It was driving me crazy during the movie because I knew the voice well, but couldn't place the actor. And it was cute using Steve Buscemi as Starscream. And even after I found out that Jon Hamm was Sentinel Prime I couldn't tell it was him.
The only value I can think of for using A-list actors for animated movies is that the studios get to take them on press tours and get free publicity. Maybe it's worth it, but I'm firmly in the camp that an animated movie should focus on the story and animation and leave the voice acting to actors who specialize in that.
Animation
The animation style didn't wow me. I found it in the valley between not realistic enough and not un-realistic enough. Meaning, it would have been better if they went with a hyper realistic animation style or to a style closer to what the Spiderman animations use.
Character and Story
This is where I think the movie shines. It is easy to see the seeds of Optimus and Megatron in Orion and B-16 respectively. The story provided the perfect motivation to grow those seeds into the characters we know now. I don't see how this could have been much better. It appears that the writers Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer are writing partners, working together on all the same scripts: Ant-Man and the Wasp, No Exit, Die in a Gunfight. It looks like Eric Pearson was the senior writer on the project, with movies like: Thor: Ragnarok, Godzilla vs King Kong, and Black Widow in his filmography.
Going Forward
I there are many more movies to come in this version of the Transformers. This would actually make a good mini-series in combination with the occasional theatrical releases.
Grade: B+
| Rated: | (PG) Language | Animated Action Throughout | Sci-Fi Violence |
| Genres: | Action, Adventure, Animation |
| Starring: | Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson |
| Director: | Josh Cooley |
| Writer(s): | Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, Eric Pearson |
| Language: | English |
| Country: | United States |
Plot 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.
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