Transformers One - A film that's more than meets the eye

As a long-time fan of the Transformers franchise, I have been excited about the release of the newest film, Transformers One, which would be an understatement. Having seen the movie in an early access screening, I am happy to say that Transformers One is by far the best Transformers movie we have gotten in years.

Story

Several million years before the war of Cybertron comes to Earth, we witness a pre-war Cybertron, where their society has been split unfairly between higher-class robots who can transform and lower-class miner bots who cannot, who are forced to mine for Cybertron’s most precious resource, Energon. Two miner bots, Orion Pax and D-16, are best friends hoping to change their world and show the others they are more than meets the eye. After meeting two other bots, confident miner boss Elita One and fast-talking and slightly annoying B-127, they come across a mysterious message that may help them to uncover the most incredible cybertronian relic of all, The Matrix of Leadership. Secrets are revealed, revelations are made, and events will unfold that will change the fate of Cybertron and these four bots forever.

One of the main highlights of the movie is the relationship between Orion Pax and D-16, who eventually become Optimus Prime and Megatron respectfully. You grow to enjoy and like their friendship in the film and feel great sadness when it all comes crumbling apart. D-16’s eventual turn to Megatron is done well, and his reasons for doing so feel natural and well done to the point where he becomes a sympathetic villain toward the end.

The story is well-written and excellently done, containing plenty of elements from the many continuities of Transformers media over the years. There are many easter eggs for new and old-time Transformers fans, some more obvious than others.

Voice Cast

The film boasts an all-star cast for some of these famous roles. Chris Hemsworth voices the young, optimistic Orion Pax, who eventually will become Optimus Prime. Chris does an admirable job portraying a young, aspiring, and inexperienced Pre-prime Optimus. He does his best to do the character justice while not trying to make an impression of long-running Optimus voice veteran Peter Cullen. Toward the end, he ends up sounding more like Peter than before, but it’s forgivable by that point as he’s already progressed to where he has become the heroic leader we all know.

Brian Tyree Henry (Known for Bullet Train and Spider-Man: Into The SpiderVerse) voices D-16 and gives an outstanding vocal performance as the character. His soft-spoken voice when speaking with his friend Orion versus the rage-filled conqueror voice when he becomes Megatron shows his magnificent range.

Scarlet Johansson as confident miner boss Elita One, Keegan-Micheal Key as the comedic relief-focused B-127, Steve Buscemi as the egocentric Starscream, Laurence Fishburne as the wise Alpha Trion, and Jon Hamm as the overconfident, self-centered Sentinel Prime join the cast. All do an amazing job in this film and work well with what they are given.

Animation and Action

The fantastic team at Paramount Animations very well animates the film, bringing to life these characters who haven't been in a theatrically released animated film since the original 1986 cult classic The Transformers: The Movie. Their designs perfectly reflect what each alt-mode they have. Their transformations are well shot and animated as they are essential to them being transformers. I’m impressed that their alt modes are also utilized in many fight scenes, which are well-choreographed and animated with great detail.

Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed watching Transformers One and am glad I was among the first to see it early. With an amazing cast, a brilliant story, and beautiful animation, this is a must-see for any Transformers fan, both new and old. It is highly recommended.

To note: There is one mid-credits scene and one after-credits scene.

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