Transformers One: First Watch Reaction

When the first Transformers One trailer came out, I was one of those people who was disappointed. I thought, “this movie isn’t going to be for me.” It looked to me like it was going to be a film made for younger viewers, with lots of slapstick humour not consistent with the tone I was used to with Transformers.

I was wrong.

After having watched that first trailer, I was contemplating letting Transformers One completely pass me by, and not bothering to watch it at the cinema, which was a feeling that was disappointing me. But then the second trailer came out and gave me hope-friends sent me messages asking me if I’d seen it and we’d talked about how much better it looked. I was now intrigued enough to see it on the big screen!

I went to see the movie this week. I’m so glad I went to see it, and I’ve already booked tickets to see it again!

For the first 20-30 minutes of the movie, I wasn’t sure how much I was into it. I was trying to figure out what audience this was aimed at, and if it was really going to satisfy my tastes as a Transformers fan. Despite this, I was instantly impressed at the visual aspects of the movie. It’s beautifully animated and some elements even seemed real at times. It appeared to me that the scenery has been inspired by things we’ve seen before. Some scenes reminded me of things I’d seen in the War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron video games. Although I was not yet convinced that I was loving what I was watching in the early part of the movie, there were enough little nuggets that showed respect and consideration to what has come before to keep me interested and excite the Transformers geek inside me!

However, after the initial half hour or so, the tone of the movie takes a dramatic shift, and from there on I was totally gripped by what I was watching.

The intensity level of the film ratchets up very quickly. We start to get introduced to more classic characters that long time fans are familiar with, and the story develops at a fast pace.

There’s intense action, character development, and beautiful visuals throughout. What unfolds is written in a way that pays respect to, and incorporates aspects of Transformers stories that have come before, while being its own unique story in itself-a merging of ideas that is very impressive.

The voice acting is very good. It took many fans aback a bit when we saw the voice cast with no Peter Cullen or Frank Welker in it, but the cast have done a great job. As the tone of the movie Transforms, so too does the tone of the characters, and the voice actors with it.

I can’t discuss this film without mentioning how fantastic its soundtrack is. Brian Tyler (who you may be familiar with if you’ve watched Transformer Prime and enjoyed the music accompanying that series) has done amazing work with the music in this film-truly epic and it really does add to the experience.

And how about all that comedy we saw in the first trailer? Well it’s still there, but in very small doses sprinkled throughout the movie. There was one particular joke that was done a little too often for my taste, but honestly, it’s so little compared to what happens in the rest of the movie that it doesn’t detract from the experience as a whole. There was one humorous moment that really did make me laugh out loud. This particular joke wasn’t comedy for comedy’s sake and did work well in the context of the scene it was in.

I highly recommend this movie to all Transformers fans. Despite feeling optimistic having seen the second trailer, and good reviews and feedback from others who had seen it, I was still a little apprehensive when I was driving to the cinema. I still had that first trailer in the back of my mind, and was unsure how I was going to feel about the finished product. But I wasn’t disappointed at all, I really enjoyed the movie-and having seen the full thing, even the first half hour that I initially wasn’t sure about when watching now makes sense in the context of the movie and how everything unfolds.

If you haven’t seen it yet and are planning to, just do make sure that you stay until the end credits have finished so that you get to see everything!

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About Steve Shreeve 69 Articles
When he isn't writing about Transformers, Steve runs Shreeve Health and Fitness, using his online training service to train people in any location. Steve loves Transformers and Star Trek, retro toys and cartoons, sharks, and nature.