There is always something exceptional about stories that start as silly cash grabs. Never meant to be taken seriously, only for them to take root in pop culture slowly, and ultimately become the stories that entire generations cherish. From a story about a man dressing up as a bat to stop crime to the adventures of adolescent, to even something as zany as the adventures of a teen dressed in red and blue spandex fighting a man dressed in a goblin costume.
Despite these goofy premises, these are stories that countless children grew up with, stories that entertained people for countless hours, but also stories that opened the eyes of many to unique perspectives previously overlooked. The impact of these stories continues to stay with many and even leads to some of the greatest films and stories ever. However, even though it is not entirely unwarranted, one of the few examples of these kinds of stories that never truly got justice in the cinematic format was the adventures of the Transformers.
This weekend brought the release of a new adaptation of the famous Transformers, in an attempt to give audiences the tragedy and commentary that Transformers has slowly become. One of the most transparent and better changes the film brings is taking away all the annoying human characters that have detracted from many of the transformer films for so many years, and bringing its focus solely to the transformers themselves.
The film also takes a great chance to finally adapt the story of brotherhood and civil war that has always been implied in previous adaptations, but never fully dove into it. Granted, there is only so much grand commentary and storytelling arcs that you can tell with a story about anthropomorphic robots, but the film manages to balance that fairly well.
Even though the film can at times be bogged down by painful jokes and fairly corny lines, it always brings its focus back to the divide that happens between Orion Pax (Optimus Prime) and D-16 (Megatron), and how their brotherhood slowly tears apart as they both begin to realize that everything they once thought to be irrefutable about their government was a complete lie. It is surprising how well this character dynamic is handled throughout the film and how it manages to keep the audience engaged.
Another unfortunate pattern seen in past transformer films is the talent of good actors being wasted. Most of the films seem to have actors who are clearly trying but are given very little to work from both a script and directing standpoint. This is where “Transformers One” may end up surprising many because it takes great actors, gives them a rich script, and lets them take the reins for their characters.
The most surprising performance ends up coming from Brian Tyree Henry as D-16, who expertly conveys the anger and betrayal that his character experiences throughout the film. The only performance that ends up being more of an annoyance than entertaining is Keegan-Michael Key’s Bumblebee. It feels less like a necessary character and more of a way to pander to the audience, like a clown desperate for attention at a birthday party. Other vocal performances may need more time to age to see whether or not they are memorable, but the ensemble cast ends up being enough to give the wonderful animation the emotional edge, or ecstatic heart needed to match.
For many fans, “Transformers One” is the fruition of many hopes and desires for a good Transformers film. And while many franchises continue to challenge creators to do more with their characters and stories, it is refreshing to finally see transformers getting their fair share.
