Movie Review: Transformers One

By John Corrado

Transformers One is technically the latest entry in the blockbuster franchise based on the Hasbro toys, but sets itself apart by being both a prequel and the first fully animated film since 1986’s The Transformers: The Movie. And it’s a decent animated film that easily ranks as one of the better entries in the series.

Directed by former Pixar artist Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4), the film tells the human-less origin story of Autobot Optimus Prime and Decepticon Megatron, back when they were still known as Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry). It charts how they went from being like brothers to enemies.

Cooley’s film introduces us to them as worker bots on Cybertron, serving their master Sentinel (Jon Hamm) in the planet’s mining sector. Orion and D-16 don’t yet have the ability to transform; they are lacking the T-Cogs that would give them this power, confining them to the role of labourers on this planet. Meanwhile, the bots with T-Cogs are the de facto ruling class.

The story is set in motion with Orion and D-16 desperate to prove themselves, and rise above their role as worker bots (yes, this is a Transformers movie about starting a workers revolution on Cybertron). I don’t want to oversell the material, because this is still a movie built around robots turning into vehicles and smashing into each other. But Cooley does at least try to bring some more weight to the story of two friends ending up on opposite ends of the moral line, with one falling to the dark side while similar circumstances turn the other into a hero.

Henry in particular delivers a surprisingly strong vocal performance as D-16, bringing genuine pathos to the character’s downfall. It’s a much stronger characterization of Megatron than anyone was probably expecting, while he also shares some fun banter with Hemsworth. Additionally, the film’s cast includes Scarlett Johansson lending her distinctive voice to female Transformer Elita-1, Keegan-Michael Key providing comic relief as pre-Bumblebee B-127, and the recognizable voices of Laurence Fishburne (as Alpha Trion) and Steve Buscemi (as Starscream).

The biggest strength of Transformers One lies in both the voice acting and the stylized look of the film, which was produced by Paramount Animation. The characters have a blocky, action figure quality to them with their smooth, plasticy surfaces that fits the story well. The animation offers some nice-looking backgrounds when they reach the surface level of Cybertron, matched by the industrialized, mechanical look of the city.

That said, the film still has its shortcomings. The amount of character lore packed into the film makes it feel somewhat overstuffed and convoluted at times, and the story will have greater resonance for fans of the series. The more character-driven elements also do take somewhat of a backseat to the film’s need to deliver one-liners and action set-pieces, as well as sell toys. A good way to describe Transformers One would be that it is maybe the best Transformers movie, while still being a Transformers movie.

But the animated world-building offers a reprieve from the Bayhem of the live action films (it’s also a good deal shorter at just over a hundred minutes). It’s enough to make Transformers One an easily entertaining animated action movie. The fans will love it.

Film Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)