Should EVERY Transformers movie have been as an animated feature? Based on the new origin story TRANSFORMERS ONE, the answer is a resounding yes.
2011's "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon" was a high point for the live action films, with the rest of the endless sequels finding new depths of repetitive, mindless, loud boredom to pillage.
I stopped watching them and friends know that I cringe every time another one is churned out.
Drawn by the nearly unanimous praise this new animated entry was receiving, I had to check it out.
From its first moments, it's different. Funny, fast and engaging, it's a clever combination of beautiful digital animation from Industrial Light & Magic and a very witty script by Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarock), Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari (Ant-Man and the Wasp). Loaded with one liners and throwaway punch lines, most of them land, keeping the film enjoyable for kids and their parents (or grandparents!).
Borrowing a plot hook from "Wicked"'s spin on the Wizard of Oz, this is the untold story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, the mortal enemies, in their younger days. Best friends in the equivalent of college and their entry level jobs as miners, they are known as Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry from "Bullet Train").
Orion is the fun one, always pushing the limits and dreaming about finding treasure and a way out of the mines. D-16 is more grounded, but the two always have each other's backs.
Their world is ruled by Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm having a very good time) who comes off as a star athlete to the masses, adored and followed without question.
The first sequence of the film that really sold me is a citywide race among the Transformer class of robots. Orion Pax finds a way for he and D-16 to enter, even though they, like all the working class, don't have the transformation cogs, or "T-Cogs" to transform.
The sequence is a visual blast, especially in IMAX 3D. Reminding me of the best sequences of Spielberg's "Ready Player One" and last year's underrated "Gran Turismo" the visuals pull you into the action as if you're driving/flying/scrambling.
One of my biggest complaints about all of the Transformers live action flicks is that the action becomes so confusing, loud and overbearing that the film melts into an unending wall of visual noise.
Not here. I don't know why animation gives the action so much more clarity, but it does. Not once did I utter "oh boy, another transformation, who cares.." as I have in every live action version.
The voice acting across the entire cast is excellent.
Scarlett Johansson delivers as Elita-1 and Keegan-Michael Key steals the show as B-127, the young autobot who becomes Bumblebee.
When you have Steve Buscemi and Laurence Fishburne delivering their very recognizable voices to important smaller roles, your cast is undeniably strong.
There are enough great action scenes to keep kids and grandkids engaged, and they save the best for last, loading the finale with big moments that are surprisingly rousing. Unabashedly cheering for the good guys never gets old.
There were moments in the final battle, with ships whirling all around me in IMAX 3D, that conjured up the same sensations of my first flight through the asteroid field in "The Empire Strikes Back" more than four decades ago. I didn't expect THAT going in!
Director Josh Cooley found a way to bring new emotion and power to a legendary film series when he wrote "Toy Story 4", so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised that he's found a way to make Transformers soar, but I am. If you said TRANSFORMERS ONE has not only rebooted the films but elevated them to an entirely different atmosphere, I'd be hard pressed to argue.
Okay, Transformers series, lets start over. I'm in.
Welcome to Cybertron, you win a shocking B+.
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