REVIEW: Transformers One's beauty echoes far beyond the galaxies

"ANOTHER TRANSFORMERS movie? Seriously when will this end?"

Perhaps this was our reaction when it was announced that a film called Transformers One was on the works, and while it may seem to offer a different blend given its animated style, it might follow the same approach that the live animation films have implemented.

But as Optimus Prime would say, 'There is more than meets the eye,' and this is exactly Transformers One in a nutshell.

Transformers One felt like a new beginning for the franchise and the film's decision to focus on the lore and the robots have been a welcome sight.

While we have encountered Optimus Prime and Megatron in previous films, Transformers One gave more depth to their characters, which made them more relatable and most importantly human at heart.

PHOTO: Paramount Pictures International

A simple story with a lot of depth

One of the biggest issues I had with previous Transformers films is that most of them heavily relied on the usual cliches of 'saving the world,' while emphasizing heavily on cheap and oftentimes offensive humor mixed with Michael Bay-esque explosions, while ignoring the other important elements of a good film, like storytelling and characterization.

Some films have tried to break away from this formula as seen from Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts, with the former being the best live action movie.

So where does Transformers One lead to? There was so much that One explored when it comes to the Transformers universe, from the political system of Cybertron, a brief history of the primes, and the origins of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Megatron, which makes it completely different from the live action films which focused more on the interactions between humans and Transformers.

Now did Hasbro make the right move of straying away from the previous film's formulas? It may seem daunting to focus on the Transformers universe and origins, which could be a heavy lore-crafting slugfest, but it wasn't the case with Transformers One.

Plus it can be argued that the narratives were easy to comprehend and the sequence of events made a lot of sense, compared to the live action films which seem to be convoluted or worse nonsensical.

One can feel for Megatron who started off loyal to serving Sentinel Prime, only for him to slowly fall into the dark side.

And one can also feel sympathy to Optimus Prime who started off naive and hopeful, only for him to witness a betrayal, which will mold his character.

This is what made Transformers One standout as the robots were finally given more backstory and emotional depth, something that previous films (minus Bumblebee) lacked.

And because of the simple yet enduring narrative, Transformers One isn't just for diehard fans of the franchise as casual viewers will also love the film.

PHOTO: Paramount Pictures International

The visuals and animations are lovely

Besides the narrative, there are also other problems seen from the live action films, most notably the visual effects can be a bit confusing.

The numerous clashes between the Autobots and Decepticons can be jarring to watch, and the highlights of these clashes would only happen when the military does something special or when Optimus Prime becomes a true bada*s.

Or in the case of Scorponok in the OG Transformers, the film also relied on the quality of its sound design and soundtrack.

Transformers One doesn't fall into that trap as the animations have been crisp. Combined that with a breathtaking color scheme and environment, and One feels like a comic book that was properly brought to life in the big screen or maybe the real world.

PHOTO: Paramount Pictures International

Comedy has been on point

As mentioned earlier, the humor from the live action films, especially the ones from Michael Bay, can be a bit off, and One's decision to rehash everything was definitely the right move.

Transformers One's humor stems from its charm. From the time Optimus Prime fooled the guards into thinking that he can transform, to Bumblebee calling himself 'Bada*ssatron' were some of the key moments that made us laugh.

It didn't need to try hard to be funny, as it was already natural to begin with, making it a welcome sight that caters to all kinds of viewers.

PHOTO: Paramount Pictures International

CONCLUSION

All what the franchise needed was to, 'transform and roll out,' which last happened with Bumblebee, and now it reached a full spectrum with Transformers One, which feels more like a total reboot of the franchise.

But Transformers One manages to integrate the iconic moments of the past with some various easter eggs that referenced the live action films and even cartoons, making it a treat for loyal fans.

Combined all of the positives with a solid cast featuring Chris Hemsworth, Steve Buscemi, Scarlett Johansson, and Jon Hamm, and One was able to fully harness the power of Cybertron.

Overall, Transformers One is one of the best films in the franchise and given the overall direction of the film, I'm eager to see how the sequels will perform.

Like how Optimus Prime felt from the beginning all the way to the end, there's a lot of optimism to be seen with the Transformers franchise taking a leap of faith to a broader galaxy.