Transformers One

Once upon a time, there was a young boy. He would one day reach an age and state of maturity that cause everyone to call him “Jimbo” but at this point in his life he was still known as “Jimmy.” Dude loved the Transformers. He watched the cartoon and had a bunch of the toys. It took him FOREVER to see the animated movie when it came out because of circumstances (not the least of which was that he was too young to have a job and couldn’t pay for the tickets himself) but he saw it eventually and he loved it. It was a great time to be a kid. The Transformers comics were a hoot as well.

Then Jimmy grew up, became Jimbo and a string of goofball Transformers movies came out. Not terrible movies, per se. They relied a little more on special effects and a little less on good writing, but it was still a good time if you weren’t looking for highbrow art. I mean, I’m a big dude and if you can give me a chance to eat some popcorn and not choke on it, I’m good to go. That’s pretty much what the recent spate of live action Transformers films has been.

That much having been said, I never really like the appearance of the Transformers in the newer movies. Transformers are, by definition, robots that turn into vehicles or other machines. They shouldn’t have an “organic” appearance. They’re not organic. I don’t watch Transformers for “organic.” If I wanted “organic” I’d by some overpriced kale and feed it to someone evil enough to deserve that kind of treatment. Seriously.

What I wanted was something that reminded me of what I had as a kid. I wanted an Optimus Prime that looked like Optimus Prime. I wanted a Megatron that looked like Megatron. And listen, I’m from Detroit and this is blasphemy, but Bumblebee had no business being a Camaro. Dude is, and always has been a Volkswagen Bug. That never computed with me.

So anyway…

When I heard about Transformers One I was tentatively excited. Why tentatively? Because it’s a rare day when Hollywood finds a project it can’t screw up. Most of what has come out the last few years is five times worse than terrible. Then again, it was animated. There was a chance that it wouldn’t be those same goofy looking things from the live action movies. And, who knows, maybe we’d even get a decent script. It was possible right?

Guess what. It actually happened. We actually got a good movie out of Hollywood for a change. I mean, Top Gun: Maverick was good, but that’s about the last new movie that I’ve seen that actually worked. Still and all though, I liked Transformers One.

Transformers One is an origin story. It tells the story of how the Autobots became the Autobots and the Decepticons became the Decepticons. It’s a story of how Optimus Prime and Megatron became enemies. It’s a story of betrayal and resistance. It’s a story of irrepressible optimism. It’s a story of standing up to authority. It’s a story, in short, that is an actual STORY and was obviously written by someone who knows how to write a movie.

Oh, and the Transformers (as well as the un-cogged miners) look like actual machines. For the record, the cog is what allows the Transformer to transform. There’s no weird circulatory system made of hanging hoses. You can see the gap in the chests of the miners (One of which happens to be named Orion Pax. If you’re a Transformers fan you get that. If not, WATCH THE MOVIE.) where their cog should go. This works out well later because reasons.

And okay, Bada… err… Bumblebee still isn’t a VW Bug. He’s not a Camaro though, and it’s easier to forgive when everyone is a Cybertronian vehicle and not an Earth vehicle since this is an origin movie and they haven’t been to Earth yet. It makes sense in-universe so I’ll accept it.

There is a list of villains which work well, not all of which I can list. I will say that things take a big turn at one point. Hold on if you can because things kind of flip on you out of nowhere. Although it also kind of makes sense, considering. It’s kind of one of those things that you don’t see coming until it does and then you kick yourself for not spotting it ahead of time. In short, it’s well foreshadowed and makes sense eventually.

The Quintessons are back though, and I still don’t like them. They’re part of the villain parade and they definitely deserve to be. They’re a lot creepier than they were the first time around. I kind of liked that about them. There are also a lot more of them than I ever would have thought there would be. That’s good though. There needed to be.

It’s weird. Orion Pax/Optimus Prime was the undisputed hero of Transformers One, but maybe the best part of the whole thing for me was D-16/Megatron’s character arc. Megatron changes a lot through the movie and while I’m not saying I approve of the direction he took, it makes sense given what he goes through and how he reacts to it. He starts out as Orion Pax’s closest friend and by the end of the movie, they’re not all that close anymore. We’re left not seeing the blood feud that came later develop but the basis for it has definitely been established.

There are a few Easter eggs here and there throughout Transformers One. At least one of them almost made me fall out of my chair I was laughing so hard. The thing is, it’s not like you need any prior knowledge of the Transformers universe to understand the movie. The writing team did a really good job of laying out who these people (robots) were and what was going on. I was really impressed.

Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Energon Cubes

Transformers One
Paramount Animation, Hasbro Entertainment, New Republic Pictures, 2024