Edwin Sanchez,
Staff Writer.
Hasbro’s Transformers franchise has become a household name over the last 40 years. Its success as a toy brand and children’s animated cartoon spawned various films that have generated the company over $1 billion.
The franchise has decided to go back to its roots by shifting away from live action to an entirely animated film. Transformers One tells the origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron and how their friendship soured into hatred. With a runtime of one hour and 44 minutes, one would expect balancing the stories of two different characters would result in a rushed story. However, the film manages to balance both of their respective stories, resulting in an entertaining experience.
The film’s foundation is the “brother from another mother” relationship between Prime (whose original name is Orion Pax) and Megatron (referred to as D-16 originally) which works terrifically by having early scenes with them together. “I could really relate to the friendship of Optimus Prime and Megatron,” said senior Aranza Reyes. Pairing them together for most of the movie allows the audience to understand what attracts the characters to each other while also demonstrating their differing ideologies. This relationship is the catalyst for the emotional stakes of the movie. “I felt it in my heart,” commented Reyes.
Characters such as B-127 who serves as comic relief and Elita-1 who fits the drill sergeant archetype make up a good supporting cast. The tone of the film shifts, with the first half being more comedic and lighthearted while the second half becomes much more gritty and tragic.
The antagonist, Sentinel-Prime, is pure evil, a rarity in an age where films tend towards sympathetic villains. However, it shouldn’t be mistaken for lazy writing. The narrative relies on that evil to make the final conflict more divisive.
The world of this story is breathtaking and different with each setting, from the surface wasteland of Cybertron to the underground city of Iacon and the hellish fortress of the Cybertronian high guard. The action is dynamic, fast-paced and even brutal at times with the filmmakers finding creative ways of making the bots beat each other into a scrap. This has been legitimately one of the tightest narratives of the year, with epic moments, stunning visuals and heart-wrenching moments that will leave viewers highly satisfied.
