The Transformers franchise for quite some time now has been in murky waters in quality. Though the first film in 2007 has been well loved by many fans, and introduced many to the series entirely, the rest have gone downhill from there, especially due to director Michael Bay’s penchant for American military propaganda, sophomoric humor, and his one true love: explosions. That's not to say it’s all bad though. For every Revenge of the Fallen or The Last Knight, there is a Dark of the Moon or Bumblebee. But now, in 2024, a new film has risen above the ranks, to become the next great film: Transformers: One!

Transformers: One, abbreviated by fans as TFOne, is set on their home planet, Cybertron, and draws inspiration from various other TF media. The planet itself is a robot, Primus, who transforms very similarly to his 2006 Transformers: Cybertron toy, and the first Transformers, the Primes, all draw inspiration from other versions of themselves and others, including Vector Prime, similarly based off of his, Transformers: Cybertron toy, Zeta, who looks like his Transformers: War for Cybertron game design, and Megatronus, who looks a lot more like a character from the IDW comics; Tarn. The entire populace of Cybertron takes inspiration from all across the 40 year old mythos, so fans have the chance to sport their favorite characters and toys walking throughout the city of Iacon. 

The film itself focuses on the backstory of the two biggest names of the franchise: Orion Pax and D-16, better known as Optimus Prime and Megatron! Orion features a similar sense of goodwill mixed with more of a rebellious spirit. Conversely, D-16, as opposed to starting as a revolutionary, starts out as quite loyal to the Cybertron authority, Sentinel Prime, with an affinity for one of the original 13, Megatronus. The film also features Bumblebee, now emblazoned with the ability to speak for a whole movie, and the big screen return of Elita-1, Optimus's original love interest, who acts as more of a foil to Optimus, contrasting his optimistic spirit with a more protocol following and pragmatic nature. The two begin without the romance with chemistry similar to Francium and water but later on their best traits begin to cancel out each other's worst. Also featured in the film are the rest of the famous Decepticons; Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave, and various characters from the 1984-1987 “Generation 1” series, like Ironhide, Jazz, and Arcee. 

Several characters with deep ties to the Live-Action films, “Animated” (TFA), and “Prime”(TFP), show too, namely the ruler of Iacon Sentinel Prime representing the first two, with the color scheme design elements of TFA and plot-twisted Movie story, and Airachnid for TFP, multiplying the original character's creepiness tenfold, now being the Huntress Of Sentinel, with deadly skills and interesting powers. 

The story about two brothers falling apart as advertised in the trailers is masterfully told. Seeing Megatron turn so heartbreaking as his faith in his planet slowly dies as Optimus tries to bring back the friend he once knew. Seeing their split is just heart wrenching on any rewatch.

Transformers: One is a brilliant revitalization of a film franchise that was desperately in need of one. It shows all the current fans what they have wanted, and can bring in a new era of fans experiencing the wonder of the series for the first time, together marching forward to an age of peace and happiness for the TRANSFORMERS!

Till all are one!