Transformers One is a love letter to fans. An amazing origin story that pays its respects to the plethora of lore that has come before it while also taking its own (good) spin on things. It has amazing animation, voice acting, everything. This is quintessential Transformers media, and it is a shame that it might not ever get a sequel that it deserves.
Some background on me. I’ve been a fan of Transformers since I was six. I started with what was coming out at the time (The first Bay movie and Animated), then I eventually got really into the early 2000s stuff (The Unicron Trilogy), and I really just ended up working my way backwards. Eventually, watching Beast Wars and Machines, then finally G1. My intense fandom pretty much ended after Dark of the Moon and early Prime. I did play and love both War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron. I didn’t end up catching back up on Transformers media until a few years ago, when I finally watched the newer live-action movies. I say all this to say, this property has had very high highs (G1, Beast Wars, Prime, Animated) and some of the lowest of lows (2, Last Knight, Rise of the Beast). But this movie right here, Transformers One, is, excluding comics, the best Transformers media to date.
This is probably my favorite take on a Transformers origin story. It combines a lot of aspects that I’ve personally liked from previous origins and adds some new interesting things. It also maintains its fun and humor while doing well to touch on the serious topics that Transformers has always touched on, like caste systems, freedom, and revenge. A lot of plot beats are clearly telegraphed, but they’re still done really well, and also, there are still some very shocking moments and twists that I didn’t see coming. I’m still shocked by the ending and how far they went. I didn’t think they would do it, but they did, and the whole last act of this movie is amazing for it.
I love the group of bots they chose to star in this movie. Orion Pax/Optimus and D-16/Megatron are a given. Bumblebee is always a great choice, and I’m glad Elita-1 got to have a spot. Shes always been important to Optimus’ origin story, but it feels like (outside of comics) shes always been sidelined in favor of Arcee. So having her was nice. Having all four of them be at the bottom of this caste system as cog-less bots that can’t transform and are forced to mine for energom because it’s stopped naturally flowing through Cybertron is a very interesting choice and change to their common origins, but it works really well at giving them all common ground, a semi-common goal, and a common enemy. All while they still have their unique personalities. Sentinel Prime was amazing, too. The cocky arrogance he constantly displayed in every one of his scenes was amazing. I loved to hate him. And Arachnid was so damn cool, like always.
The stars of this movie are Orion Pax and D-16. Brothers in every way but blood (or energon). Making Orion the ambitious go-getter who wants to rise above his station and D-16 the one who’s always saving him from trouble and who just wants to keep his head down and work is such a perfect early characterization of these two for what they become. It makes Orions turn into Optimus, the optimistic leader bots look up to, and D-16’s turn into Megatron, the vengeful leader bots fear, so damn satisfying. After sitting with this movie for a minute and thinking back, this is probably my favorite origin story of the two, and Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry especially bring these two to life in a way we haven’t seen in a while.
Seriously, this is a star-studded cast; everyone did great, but I’m not shocked at all that Brian Tyree Henry was the absolute standout. I have a soft spot for all of Megatron’s former voice actors. With just this movie alone, I put Brian up there with the best of the best. There were legitimately moments where me and my girlfriend were wowed by his performance, and you can hear the change in his tone as the movie goes on. It’s just so good. Just like the animation. This is the best Transformers has looked since Prime. There are so many genuinely beautiful scenes, especially once they hit the surface of Cybertron. It’s beautiful, so is all of Iacon City. The character models are clean and always clear when fighting and transforming. Speaking of, the fight scenes were chef’s kiss. The final act? That’s some of the best animation I’ve seen. It looks so good and so damn cool.
So yeah, it’s a shame that this is probably all we’re gonna get from this movie. Besides the comics, this is the best Transformers media that we’ve gotten since Fall of Cybertron (?). It’s a wonderful origin story that pays homage but also does its own thing. Making it my favorite origin of Optimus and Megatron to date. It was funny when it wanted to be, and it had its darker moments. And overall, I loved this movie. Seeing all the Easter eggs was just icing on the cake, and also, this does one of my favorite things that’s often lost in Transformers, which is some of them just having powers. I always thought that was cool. Regardless! If you’re a fan or not, it doesn’t matter. Watch this movie.
Transformers One – 9/10
Notes – I broke my one figure a month rule (it is my birthday, so eh), and I bought TF One Optimus right after watching the movie lol. I think I’ll try to get the full set before the end of the year. That Arachnid figure looks so dope.
