Critics Take a Shine to ‘Transformers One’s Metallic Heroes

Long-running franchises often run the risk of fatiguing even the most loyal of fans, and after 40 years of toys, TV cartoons and big-screen blockbusters, Transformers has had its share of hits and misses. But, the popular robots in disguise are back on the big screen with a fully-animated twist in Transformers One this month, and the CG refresh is shaping up as a worthy entry in the saga, according to a majority of film critics.

Releasing through Paramount Pictures on September 20, the Paramount Animation/Hasbro adventure tells the untold origin story of the great Autobots-Decepticon rivalry, taking audiences back to ancient Cybertron, where Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) face a momentous change to their planet with the bond of brothers — before they transform into the sworn enemies Optimus Prime and Megatron.

The film has rated an 88% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (from 43 critics’ reviews), with a more lukewarm average on Metacritic at 63 points (from 13 reviews). Positive reviewers praise the introduction of new ideas to the well-trod storyverse (crafted, after meticulous fandom research, by director Josh Cooley and writers Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari, finessed by MCU alum Eric Pearson for the screenplay), as well as its deeper exploration of its characters and themes of friendship, loyalty and heroism. Detractors, meanwhile, convey exact opposite feelings about the freshness of the plot or the depth of the chrome-faced characters.

Here’s what some of the critics are saying:

“Despite the expert visual effects work done by Industrial Light & Magic, Digital Domain and others on the first five live-action Transformers films, ILM not only exceeds itself here in creating believable animated characters but makes a convincing case that photorealism is not the best aesthetic for bringing them to life on screen … But Cooley, who won an Oscar for directing Toy Story 4, does more than simplify these heroes and villains’ familiar silhouettes. He creates a stylized and cohesive reality where these characters are both physically and metaphorically finding their place in the world … [I]t’s exciting to watch a new installment in this franchise and actually feel something again.”

— Todd Gilchrist, Variety

“Screenwriters Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari expertly weave together comedic and dramatic elements in their fast-moving story. Along the way, there’s plenty of fun to be had, with the film thankfully forgoing the current animation trend of pop culture references in favor of throwaway jokes delivered in deadpan fashion … The gorgeous 3D-style computer animation is a wonder to behold throughout, from the character designs (these seem the most expressive Transformers yet) to the elaborate action sequences (the race is a highlight) to the varied settings that make the environments seem fully lived-in. There’s so much visual imagination on display that multiple viewings seem essential to take it all in.”

— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

“The writing team does a superb job of weaving established Transformers mythos into the shape of a character-driven narrative where it’s easy to like and care about our underdog protagonists. The voice cast is uniformly committed in their performances, Henry in particular selling D-16’s societal disillusionment with unexpectedly tragic gravitas. The animators at Industrial Light & Magic took on the unenviable challenge of bridging the gap between the quasi-realistic renderings of the live-action films’ Transformers and the emotively cartoonish models of more recent animated offerings, a creative choice that threatens to read as painfully generic in the gray metallic environments of Cybertron. However, they add enough colorful touches and retro-futuristic flourish to allow the action beats to read as excitingly coherent rather than cluttered, even if the attempts at slapstick would have benefited from a more exaggerated style.”

— Leigh Monson, AV Club

“While the film’s plot rails against the glossy-surfaced lie of capitalism (or at least the alien-robot equivalent), its own surface leaves a lot to be desired. At a time when many CG-animated films are boldly experimenting, the odd mix of natural lighting and realistic textures here feels uncanny more often than not. The glossy realism clashes with the intentionally blocky, toyetic character designs.

At least there’s often a solid sense of comic timing, with Cooley — whose last film was Toy Story 4 — delivering some effective humor. And even if its aesthetic decisions hold it back from greatness, this is a valiant effort to make something new out of Transformers lore: a parable about class warfare, made palatable for kids.”

— Kambole Campbell, Empire 

“Transformers One, with its cute, easily marketable character designs (comedic relief B-127, voiced by Keegan Michael-Key, has a frame that’s begging to be captured with a plushie) and generally light tone, feels like it’s aimed at an audience even younger than usual for the Autobots. Still, that’s no reason that the movie — whose director Josh Cooley has plenty of experience with franchise extensions after making his debut with Toy Story 4 — couldn’t satisfy as a compelling bit of kiddie space opera action in its own right. And yet, for all of the garishly shiny lens flairs that gleam off our heroes’ metallic heads, Transformers One feels rusted over, offering a predictable, formulaic product as generic as its ‘working title that never got dropped’ name.”

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire

“After decades of experience with the Transformers in various forms, I have come to the following conclusion: They make better toys than movies. As toys, you get the puzzling-solving pleasures of manipulating a jeep or a fighter jet into a cleverly articulated cyborg. As movies, you sit passively as endless reams of nonsensical mythology involving advanced alien machines wash over you.

[Additional Thoughts:] I’m not sure why a movie that is clearly aimed at younger kids (and rated PG) needs to have the Bumblebee character jokingly refer to himself as ‘Badassitron’ … Children are absolutely going to mimic him, and parents are absolutely going to have to deal with that. ”

— Matt Singer, ScreenCrush