'Transformers One' review: Origin story rolls out new promise
MANILA, Philippines (Could contain spoilers) — The "Transformers" franchise appears to have regained its spark with brand new entry "Transformers One," set around the origins of Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry).
In the franchise's first animated film in nearly 40 years, the two future archenemies are best friends working in the mines of Cybertron, dreaming of a better life and yearning for greatness given the planet's rich past.
Bouts of mischief see the best friends end up on a journey to discover the truth about Cybertron's inhabitants and history, sending them on diverging paths to reclaim what they believe is right.
Much have been said about "Transformers" ever since Michael Bay began making live-action adaptations about the popular Hasbro toys.
The first film from 2007 was such fresh juice that gave fans much anticipation, but so many came and went without reaching favorable heights, save for maybe 2018's "Bumblebee" starring Filipino-American Hailee Steinfeld.
"Toy Story 4" director Josh Cooley took his experience from the beloved Pixar franchise to make audiences feel excited again about characters recognizable to the general public.
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"Transformers One" works very well as a family movie, showing younger viewers how fun young Optimus Prime, Bumblee (Keegan-Michael Key), and even Megatron can be with new animation techniques supplied by Paramount.
It won't be lost on older viewers that the main characters are seeking to expose the truth about their supposed leader, who lied and took away key parts of the population, which made them lower-class citizens when in fact, everyone could be excercising their autonomy and full potential.
Destinies are nothing new with "Transformers" and neither is the battle of good and evil, but Cooley and screenwriters Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, and Eric Pearson inject solid fuel into this new film, which cements how important such views are even in animation or toys that change forms.
This is Hemsworth's first full-length animation voice role and he carries well the responsibility of becoming Optimus from the iconic voice of Peter Cullen everyone has gotten used to.
But when it comes to the voicework here, Henry takes the most laurels as he emotionally channels the shift from D-16 to Megatron, so betrayed by his beliefs that he turns against everyone, including his closest companion.
The future bodes well for "Transformers" if Paramount decides to continue in this direction, hopefully this time around, the studio remembers the right lessons and give everyone the justice they all deserve.
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