"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." 

OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

Everyone has a different history with the Transformers franchise, some grew up with the toys and cartoons, others endured the Michael Bay side of things and others have seen bits and pieces throughout its run. Transformers One is a brilliant starting point for anyone unfamiliar with the brand, but also a great reboot for those who grew up with it. Visually spectacular, incredibly funny and filled with immersive action sequences - this film (apart from Bumblebee in 2018) has more heart than anything that’s come before it. 

While not perfect with some characters (namely side ones) having the opportunity to have been better fleshed out. The two leads of Orion Pax and D-16 share a friendship with a certain undeniable spark to it, that is saddening to see spiral once the truth of the Cybertron comes out. Known to be born without Cogs (the internal piece of the being that gives them the ability to transform), the beings of this planet are overworked servants for the planet’s “greater good”. Things change when secrets are revealed and every bot must decide which side they are on. 

When originally cast, Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry seemed like peculiar choices for the roles of essentially a young Optimus Prime and Megatron, but as they fully invest their voices into  the role, it truly works within the context of the film. Keegan-Michael Key as Bumblebee is a scene stealer, as a known to be usually mute Autobot apart from the use of his radio, this is a much more loud and comedy focused approach. Key is able to bring such humanity to this character and make him hilarious at the same time, he will possibly annoy some with his consistent quips, but for myself and fans I was around — he’s a winner. Now the one sore spot of the film in terms of its side characters is Scarlett Johannson’s Elita-1, her voice never lent much to the experience and her character arc seemed almost forced in. Elita-1 without knowing anything about if she’s an original concept for this movie or a known character from the past, she is a fine side character but lacks  much definition to support her actions. Whether the writing is primarily at fault or not, Johansson’s voice never fully disappears within the character. 

What also guarantees this film to work so well apart from the relationship between Orion Pax and D-16, is its use of the world around them and the inclusion of a peak villain (who will not be spoiled here). This world is visually stunning, showcasing its vast desert landscape and beautiful skies of the universe above their reach. The evolution of the transformers throughout the film is also remarkable in terms of animation, especially as we see characters we’ve known for almost our entire lives: Optimus Prime (for example) evolving into his iconic design. 

A film with a surplus of Easter eggs throughout for longtime fans and enough world building to bring in new fans easily. This is a film made by Transformers fans for anyone to watch and immerse themselves into. Transformers One sits at an easy to digest 95 minutes, one of the shortest entries in the franchise (comparable to the first ever film back in ‘86 at 84 minutes. Avoid the trailers, they’ll distinguish any hype you have for the final product, go in knowing it’s a new path for Transformers and this is only the beginning of their story.