A young Optimus Prime—before he went by the name Optimus Prime, he was known as Bob—rallies his friends to battle corrupt forces on his home planet in the animated action movie Transformers One.
Notably absent of any human characters, Transformers One of course puts the Autobots—and Bob—front and center, a refreshing change from the Michael Bay flicks and even the more recent (and decent but still overrated) Bumblebee. Featuring solid if not groundbreaking visual effects, a relatively lighthearted script that vaccinates between humor and self-seriousness, and a good if predictable story, Transformers One is a fun and entertaining ride.
I’m a kid of the 80s and watched the show some as a kid, but never was invested in the lore and don’t remember anything about the specifics. So I’m not exactly sure how Transformers One fits in that regard, but I imagine that Transformers diehards who rolled their eyes at the increasingly inane Bay movies will find something to like here.
More importantly, kids should enjoy it. I took my almost-six-year-old, and aside from getting wiggly for a few stretches (the infusion of Starbursts and Lime Fanta was also a contributing factor), she appeared pretty enthralled. There is lots of action and humor (not necessarily good humor) and things happening on screen to keeps the kids occupied.
I wasn’t expecting an Oscar-winning script, but If I were to fault the movie anywhere it is that Transformers One attempts to bite off more than it could chew. It would have been wise to save much of D’s transformation into the villainous Megatron to a sequel, as his turn to the dark side felt rushed and unearned. There are a few other forced plot points too. Then again, this is a movie about living robots who can transform into cars, so I’m not going to overthink this thing.
Transformers One isn’t the second coming of Christ, but it’s a fast-paced, entertaining thrill ride—and sometimes that is all you need. And as Bob would say, “Transform, and roll out…” to theaters.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.