Hopes and expectations for Josh Cooley’s Transformers One were certainly at an all-time low when it was announced in August 2017. This was understandable, considering how Michael Bay’s Transformers: The Last Knight (also released in 2017) turned out. Bay’s fifth Transformers film was nothing more than a loud, flashy, and utterly meaningless action extravaganza that took the live-action franchise absolutely nowhere. Despite grossing over $605 million globally, The Last Knight reportedly lost Paramount over $100 million. Only Bay could have achieved such a feat.
Michael Bay’s Transformers movies are exhausting, bland, soulless, and overloaded with over-the-top action, albeit visually impressive. And don’t get us started on the lack of character development and cringeworthy dialogue! Then, out of nowhere, we got Bumblebee from Travis Knight, and we’re so glad we did. This prequel dared to deviate from the established formula. A standalone film and a breath of fresh air in an otherwise lifeless series, it not only revived the franchise but also redefined what a Transformers movie could be.
Now, we have Transformers One from Josh Cooley. Critics have welcomed this film with open arms. One of the things that makes this beautiful, playful, and vibrant animated flick stand out from the rest of the Transformers movies is its ability to stand on its own by staying far away from live-action projects. Transformers One takes us back to the glory days of the titular protagonists when Autobots and Decepticons still resided on Cybertron. It’s a proper Transformers origin story. As a result, it doesn’t have to give a damn about the Earth and its dilemmas, and certainly not about those one-dimensional human characters. We still hate Mark Wahlberg’s Cade Yeager!
Moreover, the dynamic of Optimus and Megatron being friends (now bitter enemies) in their younger days adds a unique vibe to the movie. This dynamic has never been explored to such an extent before, so kudos to Cooley! Plus, the character development is amazing to watch. Bay should definitely take notes on how to treat characters with respect, instead of treating them as ‘use-and-throw’ objects.
Maybe we are thinking out of nostalgia, but we truly believe that the animated Transformers entries always had some sort of magic. They worked best because they were animated. Yes, the idea of a live-action Transformers One movie sounds awesome too. But there’s something undeniably special about its animated form. Transformers One is a reminder that some stories simply resonate better when they are in animated form.
Watch Transformers One in theatres! It stars Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm. Stay tuned for more updates.
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