Director: Josh Cooley
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm
Screenplay: Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, Eric Pearson
104 mins. Rated PG for sci-fi violence and animated action throughout, and language.

It seems like the Transformers franchise may actually be on an upswing following recent installments like Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, but there were certainly questions about the latest film, an animated endeavor from director Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4). It would be a prequel (though perhaps not), set on Cybertron, and featuring new voice performers in the previously established characters. I kept wondering what this film would be and if it could continue that upswing, and while it certainly has it’s moments, I’m sorry to report that this newest film just didn’t work for me.

The planet of Cybertron is struggling, with Energon resources dwindling, and most of its citizens working in the mines to extract more of the powerful and necessary substance. The Matrix of Leadership, key to restoring Energon, is missing and has been for some time, and leader Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm, Baby Driver) has frequently visited the surface of the planet in attempts to find and secure the Matrix to save the citizens of Cybertron. Two miners, Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth, Avengers: Infinity War) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry, Joker), both know they are more than meets the eye, but Orion is reckless and foolhardy, usually coming up with plans to prove themselves that just end up getting them further in trouble. When they stumble across a map to the Matrix of Leadership, they team up with others to head to the surface and become the heroes they were meant to be.

Part of the marketing confusion for Transformers One is that I just didn’t know what this movie was supposed to be. While that doesn’t affect my thoughts on the final product, I’m still not sure if this is part of the live-action franchise (a number of incongruities with previous entries would assume this not to be the case) or a new take on the material a la Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Not sure how this will affect the box office, but it’s left me more than a little confused since seeing it.

I found most of the vocal performances in Transformers One to be more than a little distracting. I found that most of the cast seemed not to fit the characters, with Henry’s D-16 being a standout along with Keegan-Michael Key (Wonka) as the lowly B-127 and Laurence Fishhburne (The Matrix) as the long-missing Alpha Trion. Chris Hemsworth just did not match the characterization of Orion Pax that the character’s journey leads him to be. It doesn’t help that the writing seems dead set on making Orion Pax into a foolish idiot that fails his friends on multiple occasions. I found his take on the character quite unlikable.

The animation was also quite hit-or-miss. While this polygonal-of-sorts style seemed to aid the environments and backgrounds, it misses the mark on its characters, especially at the beginning of the film. Several times, the sequences where the screen is full of Cybertronians, I found the visual to be almost incomprehensible.

Alas, there are some truly exciting moments in Transformers One. The sequence where Orion Pax and D-16 sneak into the race and the sequences on the surface worked really well for me, and the handling of D-16’s complex arc, while rushed, was still full of range, in part to the writing and aforementioned vocal work of Henry. I’m sure it seems like I just hated the film, but I still had fun with PARTS of the movie, just not enough to recommend it.

Transformers One misses the mark with a script trying to cover too much ground too quickly, some occasionally unappealing animation, and some tonally inconsistent directing. While some characters, plot points, and pieces of humor worked, it was just not enough to be a positive experience for this viewer.

2.5/5
-Kyle A. Goethe

• For my review of Michael Bay’s Transformers, click here.
• For my review of Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, click here.
• For my review of Michael Bay’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, click here.
• For my review of Michael Bay’s Transformers: Age of Extinction, click here.
• For my review of Josh Cooley’s Toy Story 4, click here.