Review: Transformers One gives a stale franchise some much-needed shine

 I don't have a deep history with Transformers. I watched the Beast Wars show as a kid (and loved the McDonald's toys) and have seen a handful of the live-action movies, most of which weren't really my cup of tea. The roommate I moved to LA had a tattoo (maybe multiple) from the series, and I remember being surprised because I didn't really know how deep the lore went, or how much there was to dig into. But he was reading comic books and talking about characters I had never heard of. I clearly have a lot to learn.

So I wasn't super enthused about the prospect of Transformers One. These aren't characters I have a strong attachment to, or who have ever inspired any sort of emotions in me, so I figured this would be another not-for-me shrug of a movie. The trailers reinforced this notion; they didn't sell me on the conceit.

Color me pleasantly surprised! Transformers One is a breath of fresh air for the franchise, serving as an exciting and funny origin story to the major players in the franchise, specifically Optimus Prime and Megatron. We aren't reinventing the wheel here, but we are learning how these robots specifically gained access to their wheels, which is good enough for a couple hours' entertainment.

I was taken aback by the movie's pacing. It moves along so fast, with characters' decisions or plot points sometimes seeming to happen just because we needed them to. There's not a lot of room to breathe; we're too busy zipping along to the next thing. But by the end, I was surprised the credits were already rolling. This thing flew by. So it's an odd duck in that I never felt like my time was being wasted, but I also felt like my time wasn't being spent as well as it could have been? There are far worse sins a movie like this can commit.

Thankfully, it fares better on with its characters than its plot, which is more important. The movie does a great job of establishing who these characters are, what they want, the world they inhabit. The characters' designs are great (and recognizable, at least the ones that I know enough to recognize), and I really loved the art deco sheen of their city, even if I found the animation a little flat/lifeless overall. Maybe it's because they're robots, who can say. The starry voice cast does a great job bringing them to life. This isn't a case of actors being brought on just so you can recognize their voices. These are really great performances, with Chris Hemsworth, Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm standing out.

While the ostensible "main plot" is pretty by-the-books and predictable (and feels a little unresolved by the end), the movie smartly doesn't try to pull any punches with those obvious beats. There were a couple reveals that I expected to happen later in the game than they did. The filmmakers clearly knew that the real meat of the story is the relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron (or Orion Pax and D-16, as they're known at the beginning of the movie). Without getting into spoiler territory, it's really satisfying to see these characters become who we know them to be. There's a particular late-movie sequence that is done with such power (and, honestly, poetry) that it had the crowd whooping and clapping, and I just about got swept up in it.

(Seeing this in a theater full of fans was a lot of fun. There were a lot of bouts of spontaneous applause throughout, including every time that Jazz, a minor character who pops up in a few scenes, spoke. It ends up the character's voice actor, Evan Michael Lee, was in the theater. with. Living in LA is cool.)

The action scenes are full of all the flash and flame you'd want, with some really cool fight choreography. Occasionally, the action edges into that all-too-familiar blockbuster territory where the action is so hyper-kinetic it becomes illegible, but thankfully that's a rare occurrence here. The film's greatest strength, however, is its sense of humor. I was surprised how many great jokes, zingers, and running gags this was packed with. Again, kudos to the cast for their comedic delivery, and the script for finding every chance for a good laugh without every undercutting the heavier, more emotional moments (Marvel, take notes!).

I shouldn't be too surprised this turned out as well as it did with Josh Cooley at the helm. As one of Toy Story 4's most ardent defenders, I should've known I was in good hands. I hope he gets to tackle another one of these (Transformers Two?), because there's obviously room for more, as the post-credits scene promises. If/when it comes, I'll be ready to (sorry) roll out.