Transformers One Review – Underrated Future Classic

If there are two things I love talking about on this website it is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers. My Transformers cred here at The Outerhaven is second only to Keith, who started a whole series, Toys on a Tuesday, because of his love for an Optimus Prime toy. I, on the other hand, have reviewed video games, movies, card games, TV series, special events, and the 40th anniversary of the series for this site. This is why I was excited to go see Transformers One, the first animated movie featuring those transforming robots since 1986.

Title: Transformers One
Production Company: Paramount Animation, Hasbro Entertainment, New Republic Pictures, Di Bonaventura Pictures, & Bayhem Films
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Directed by: Josh Cooley
Produced by: Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Michael Bay, Mark Vahradian, & Aaron Dem
Written by: Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, & Jon Hamm
Based on: Hasbro’s Transformers action figures
Release dates: September 11, 2024 (Sydney), September 20, 2024 (United States)
Running time: 104 minutes

Before They Were Enemies, They Were Friends…

Transformers One: Story Summary – SPOILERS

Story Review – Some Vague Spoilers

There is not too much I can say about the story of Transformers One without spoiling it.

The main point of the story is the relationship between Orion Pax and D-16, who eventually become Optimus Prime and Megatron, setting off the great war between Autobots and Decepticons. This relationship between these two is extremely satisfying to see on screen, showing the slow frustration of D-16 driving him from a mining worker to a revolutionary leader while Pax goes from troublemaker to leader of a whole race of beings. This happens over time and gives you a deep dive into both personalities as they come to terms with their eventual roles and destinies.

We also have other characters who come along for the ride, mostly Elita-1 and B-127 (aka BumbleBee), who do pretty much nothing overall but also are critical to the plot, because without them, things do not move along and it would appear to be pretty boring to see. However, you could also lose both characters and lose nothing… Weird.

When it comes to the lore of Transformers, we get to see the 13 Primes, the original Transformers made by Primus, the god robot who sacrifices his body to create Cybertron, and his blood to become Energon. As a Transformers fan, this is an epic thing to see as the designs of the Primes reference versions of them that have been seen in other media over the decades. How they get into the plot and shape the way of things to come is interesting and a joy to see.

I’d say more, but I want people to get out there and see the film for themselves, so go do that.

A Whole Toy Shelf of Collectibles

There are so many Transformers in Transformers One that I would spend a lot of time talking about them, but I’m going to keep it to the main roster that is central to the film. However, there are some of the background Transformers like Jazz, Ratchet, Ironhide, Arcee, and others who pop up with voice lines that do a good job with the limited time they have both on screen and in the script.

• Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax / Optimus Prime
  You wouldn’t think that Thor would make for a good Optimus Prime, but thanks to voice-altering technology, Hemsworth gives a performance that you can see leading into the legendary vocal talents of Peter Cullen. Hemsworth gives Orion Pax the troublemaker persona that he has in Transformers One and grows in performance just like the character does in the movie. While some people would prefer Peter Cullen to stick around forever, I’m happy to see someone like Hemsworth doing the role justice and keeping the role alive for future generations.
• Brian Tyree Henry as D-16 / Megatron
  If there is a role that would also be in contention alongside Optimus Prime, it is Megatron… Except we have to remember that we are not dealing with Megatron, but D-16. This is a D-16 who didn’t have rage and hatred in his heart, who wanted to just do his job in the mines and not get involved. So hearing Henry’s performance isn’t something that I could compare with Frank Welker, but at the same time, much like Hemsworth as Prime, I can see the vocal transition from D-16 to Megatron, leading to what we know in Generation One.
  
• Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1
  One of two characters who could be removed from the film and nothing would change overall, but at the same time is critical to the plot in order to keep it moving. Thankfully, there is no forced romance between Elita-1 and Orion Pax, so we don’t need to go through that. However, Elita-1 helps shape the leader that Orion Pax will become through her actions during the adventure. Johansson does a good job as Elita-1, giving the same persona that she did as Black Widow in the Marvel universe, given that both characters are somewhat alike in their fighting style and attitude.
• Keegan-Michael Key as B-127 / Bumblebee
  Kill me now… Every moment that B-127 is on screen, he’s either talking a bunch of nonsense or doing something stupid. Long-time fans of BumbleBee are going to be left hanging as this is not the BumbleBee we know and love, but an ADHD-riddled child who is annoying to the point where you’ll want to see his vocal processor crushed. This isn’t the fault of Key’s performance, but those in the writing room when the script was produced.
• Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion
  I didn’t know that Alpha Trion had a beast alt-mode… Cool. Fishburne does a great job of playing the wise older Transformer who sees potential in a bunch of young bots who have had their destiny ripped from them. Sure, the character does a lot of exposition in the middle of the film in order to get the main plot rolling, so that is pretty cool. They could have gone in the “crazy rusted bot” route for him, but to see them keep the wise robot from Generation One here was cool.
• Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime
  One word: Scumbag. If you are someone who hates political characters who will do anything to get to and keep power, then you are going to hate Sentinel. Hamm does a great job of playing the pompous scumbag character that is shown on screen. You’ll see why I keep calling him a scumbag in the same frame as MJF is a scumbag in AEW. Self-serving jackass who the audience will enjoy when he is doing his thing, mostly conning the population into thinking he is doing good when he is doing badly. A good performance and role.
• Vanessa Liguori as Airachnid
  For someone who people thought was a Blackarachnia knock-off, Airachnid is a breakout character. Liguori does a great job with limited dialogue and screen time. You’ll want to see more of her character as the movie progresses, and will be disappointed when you find out she is just there as someone for Elita-1 to fight and defeat.
• Steve Buscemi as Starscream
  While not getting too much time in Transformers One, Buscemi’s Starscream gets a moment to shine as the leader of the rebellion against Sentinel Prime before getting his face punched in and vocal processor crushed, giving him a higher pitch that would become the character’s trademark tone in Generation One. I’d love to see more of this character going forward, but he did get some time to shine which was better than other series have given him.
• Jon Bailey as Soundwave
  Bailey as Soundwave is ok, but a lot of it comes from the vocal change that is needed to give Soundwave his trademark voice. You can’t tell too much difference between Bailey’s and Frank Welker’s versions of the character as they are over-vocalised. Not to mention that he doesn’t get many lines in the movie is a shame, nor does he launch any of his minion tapes at all. Soundwave deserves better.
• Jason Konopisos-Alvarez as Shockwave
  Much like Bailey as Soundwave, Konopisos-Alvarrez doesn’t get much time to do or say anything during his time on screen. However, I’ll give old blinky props for being the one who welded B-127’s mouth shut, even if it didn’t work for too long. Much like Soundwave, Shockwave deserved more time on screen.

Transformers One of Dreams and References

Transformers One is a long-time Transformers fan’s dream. Not only do we get a slightly altered version of well-known origins of Cybertron and Transformers lore, but we also get a HUGE helping of fanservice and references that will keep those fans coming back to their eventual streaming or Bluray copies of this movie for months to come.

The whole dynamic between Orion Pax and D-16 is an amazing thing to watch throughout the film, showing two friends who will eventually walk two different paths in life. Seeing D-16 go from someone who wants to keep himself under the radar to someone who will take the spotlight as the most notorious villain ever is a journey in itself, with Orion going from a rash and outlandish troublemaker to a stoic leader is the other side of the coin. Both sides come together in a story that is what wrestling fans know as a “slow burn” with a payoff that we know is coming but are also surprised to see at the same time.

With references, you need to be on the lookout at all times, to the point where you might be distracted from the story as you search every background scene for other Transformers or references to other characters and things from Transformers past shows. References, like a line from Elita-1 to Orion Pax (“You don’t have the touch or the power”), the leaderboard during the Iacon 5000, other Transformers in the background of the mining group and rebellion, and much more. There is a LOT to find when it comes to Transformers One, and I loved everything I was able to find.

The animation is also something that needs to be praised. Every bot has a unique design when needed (Of course there are a lot of Seekers and Coneheads that get reused, which is a common thing in Transformers media), and the movement is very fluid when transformations happen. Unlike the Bay films, there is very little shakey camera moments as this is all CGI animation, giving everything a moment to shine when it needs to. Even the fight scenes are very well done, with movements that you would see in a video game happening on screen without too much motion blur needed to cover the fact that these are programmed animations.

B-127 is Not Badassatron… And Other Stuff

There is only a couple of things that I didn’t really like about Transformers One: Some of the character models and B-127.

The character models come down to the designs just seem a bit too… off. A lot of people, including myself, are still freaked out by Orion Pax having no face plate when he is Optimus Prime, as this was not how he is remembered by fans of Generation One or other sides except Earthspark… Except Orion Pax didn’t have a face place covering his mouth in any series. Even so, Orion Pax still doesn’t look right in a lot of scenes. It’s a small complaint, but I had to point it out as many people have avoided seeing Transformers One because of the modeling choices.

My other complaint, as I mentioned above, is B-127 aka Badassatron aka BumbleBee.

I have no idea who in the writing room decided that they needed to take one of the most beloved characters in Transformers, one of the key franchise characters, and take him from a loveable young warrior who needs guidance and loves humans, and turn him into the most ADHD ridden, hyperactive, braindead, and overall unlikable characters in the whole movie. Hell, even the movie itself makes a note of this by welding his mouth shut at one point because in every single scene B-127 is in, he’s either talking or doing something stupid. I hate seeing a character wasted like this since he pulls the whole movie down when he is on screen. This is one time I wish his vocal processor was crushed like in the Bay films.

Transformers One: The Origin We Needed

Transformers One is a film that gets let down by its marketing. The trailers do not do this film justice. The story is one of the best to be written for the franchise in years, with vocal work that rivals the legendary Generation One cartoon cast. Do not believe the negative YouTube commenters or some X users who are ripping into this film, calling Hasbro finished, all because the opening weekend box office numbers are not on the level of Deadpool-Wolverine or Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Transformers One is one of the best-animated films since the 1986 animated movie and deserves to be seen in the cinema with all the popcorn that you can shove in your mouth, more than once if you can. We need to get Transformers One rated much higher than it is so we can get a follow-up film at the minimum and a franchise of movies at the maximum. As a Transformers fan, I cannot stress enough how good this movie is.

Go out and see it for yourself, give it a chance, and you might enjoy something that is not a Michael Bay monstrosity.