Director: Josh Cooley
Writers: Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson
Synopsis: The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.
The consensus around another Transformers movie wasn’t remarkable, with many people, including myself, questioning how much more retconning this franchise could take. This property has been trying to capture a high that led to multiple hundred million dollar box office returns and turned Michael Bay into a household name. However, starting in 2018 with Bumblebee, Paramount decided to step away from Bay as a director and was immediately rewarded with what many consider one of the best films of the entire franchise. The box office numbers remained, and the quality rose; even 2023’s Rise of the Beasts received a higher Rotten Tomato critic score than all but the original Transformers when it came to the Bay era of the franchise.
While the success was there, something kept these films from fully flourishing into a franchise with staying power, and similar to franchises like Jurassic Park, whether it be the lack of freedom or the liberties storytellers have to take to make this whole thing not as confusing, the post-Bay era of Transformers just hasn’t been able to carve out a path that works for them. However, the Bay films are primarily how the current generation sees Transformers. Before them was The Transformers, a Saturday morning cartoon in syndication. For many people who grew up in the ‘80s and ’90s, Transformers didn’t include real people on Earth surrounded by explosions and egregious product placement—it was animation. With Transformers One, this franchise doesn’t just go back to its animated roots; it starts over, ultimately cutting any ties this new film series has to any product that came before, and in doing so, revs up the engines, creating a film that feels both nostalgic and original at the same time.
Transformers One is aptly titled as both a restart to the series, outside of whatever is going on with the live-action films, but also in the context of the story as it begins far before the Autobot vs. Decepticon war, back when Optimus Prime and Megatron were friends, hell, even back before Optimus Prime and Megatron had their names. At this point, and for most of the film, they are Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Bryan Tyree Henry), two bots without cogs who cannot transform and are stuck working in the mines trying to harvest the energy of Cybertron. Since the Quintessons arrived and the Primes, aside from Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm), disappeared, the planet of Cybertron stopped producing the energy it needed in abundance, forcing the Transformers to go underground and dig for whatever energy they could find. However, Orion Pax isn’t content with being a miner his whole life and does anything he can to look for clues to find the Matrix of Leadership, a lost cog that also serves as a conduit for Primus’s power, the same power that grants Cybertron its energy. The Matrix of Leadership was lost during the battle with the Quintessons and has been searched for by Sentinel Prime ever since, always coming up empty-handed. Orion Pax and D-16, with the help of Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key), set out to find the Matrix of Leadership. When they discover things on the surface aren’t as they seem, loyalties and friendships are tested.
Director Josh Cooley’s debut feature wasn’t a small one, as he took on Toy Story 4. While I wasn’t a fan of Toy Story 4 and where the story took those characters, the direction was never once an issue. Cooley, whose resume is pretty astounding, proves in his sophomore feature that his vision can be effectively carried out. Hardly wasting any time in the hour and forty-four-minute runtime, Cooley catapults from one action sequence to the next, keeping the pace up and the engagement high. Having the freedom to determine where and how these more than well-known characters come to be can be as tricky as it is imaginative. Cooley effectively lets the story’s visuals take the reins, resulting in some exhilarating action sequences and clever uses of motion blurring that, even though there was nothing too game-changing, was able to look visually fantastic.
Just because the visual style helps tell the story doesn’t mean the script is lacking in any way. Screenwriters Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari, who have all worked mostly on Marvel projects in the past, come together to give Transformers fans something they’ve never seen. The friendship between Orion Pax and D-16 felt real, and the fallout, while never tear jerking, still maintained an emotional feel. The way Transformers One is laid out highlights the nostalgia as, for the most part, the joy from watching the film is reminiscent of the Saturday morning cartoons. I’m not old enough to remember the original The Transformers series, but I remember what it was like waking up and heading to my TV with no school and no plans. That’s how this movie feels, and the script’s pacing helps embellish that.
The voice acting from a loaded cast of A-listers didn’t hurt either. Bryan Tyree Henry, Keegan-Michael Key, and, of course, Scarlett Johansson are both convincing in their roles, as well as funny and sinister. It’s no surprise that Johansson was able to step up to the plate, but Henry and Key both managed to do more than just show up, which is all you can ask for from someone not trained in voice acting. Even so, it’s clear that Chris Hemsworth was the standout. Thanks to the Bay films, Peter Cullen’s voice has become synonymous with Optimus Prime; however, in Transformers One, Chris Hemsworth gives this character a more personal feel. There is stoicism but also wonder and a desire to achieve more. Hemsworth can match Cullen’s low growl while providing a new take on the character.
There was also an undertone to the story that I found fascinating throughout. Maybe it’s because we’re a little over a month from a presidential election, but specific ideas surrounding the role of governmental rule, blind following, and false Primes struck a chord. Ideas floated around discussing a person’s role and if they were always destined for a specific future, thanks to the lack of help from their leaders. It also tackled what it means to lead, a timely and effective segway into future Autobot vs. Decepticon battles, providing more understanding of why characters like Megatron (or D-16) feel the way they do about the rule of Cybertron. These underlying themes aren’t what ultimately drives the film, but they do help it to be as good as it is. Both children new to this world and parents looking to understand their own will be able to gravitate towards some aspect meaningfully. It isn’t an innovative look at this topic, but it serves as an exciting pot stirrer if you allow yourself the time to sit with it.
Ultimately, though, Transformers One works with engaging animation, intense voice work, and a story that doesn’t waste many moments while also, even if just slightly, actually having something to say. It’s not a groundbreaking or game-changing animated adaptation/retelling like Spider-Verse, but it doesn’t have to be; it also never tries to be. Similar to the animated series that came before, Transformers One feels nostalgic, like a Saturday morning in front of the television, just a little more cinematic as well.
