‘Transformers One’ movie review: Rip-roaring Shakespearean genesis story breathes new life into beloved franchise

Surely, a new Transformers movie paired with a Linkin Park revival in the same year, couldn’t be chalked down to coincidence? Is the universe planning a comeback tour for our collective nostalgia?

Almost 40 years since Hasbro introduced the first Autobots and Decepticons, Transformers One — the first animated franchise outing since 1986’s “The Transformers: The Movie” — ambitiously turns the gears back to their roots in what roars like an operatic tale of betrayal, class struggle and friendship undone by tragedy. After the franchise was held back by Michael Bay’s heavy-handed, explosion-laden spectacle, Josh Cooley (of Toy Story 4 Fame) steps in to return the ship to its mythical origins.

Transformers One Previous installments trade the Earthbound chaos for a return to Cybertron, a world that’s part Orwellian dystopia, part retro-futuristic dreamscape. Sam Witwicky and his band of self-righteous humans are no longer around to destroy Frames — a list of robots emerging from a brutal battle with Quintesson. Cooley and his team of screenwriters (Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrier and Gabriel Ferrari) take the liberty of digging deep into the mythology of Hasbro’s Toy Trunk, fleshing out familiar tropes with just enough flair to make them feel fresh again.

The narrative narrows to the nascent relationship between Orion Pax (the future Optimus Prime) and D-16 (soon to be Megatron). Their strong friendship, brimming with youthful innocence and vitality, forms the emotional core of the film, depicting their rise from lowly miners to leaders of rival gangs.

A still from ‘Transformers One’ Photo credit: Hasbro Entertainment

Chris Hemsworth’s character Orion is a revelation—a bright-eyed idealist with a slightly reckless streak, who goes from a mischievous young man burdened with responsibility to a ruthless leader. In contrast, Brian Tyree Henry’s D-16 is a ticking time bomb of insecurity and ambition, a character seemingly destined for greatness and consumed by the bitterness that accompanies it.

There’s a lightness to the early moments between Orion and D-16, an almost teenage recklessness that feels tender. And yet, a palpable sense of tragedy is waiting in the wings. The inevitable fracture between these two characters carries the weight of their myth; When the bond finally breaks, it seems as if the world can divorce itself with them.

The main conflict revolves around the social hierarchy of Cybertron, a world where “cogs” – the literal mechanisms that allow transformation – lord over poor cog-less bots, who toil in mines to deplete the supply of energon they don’t know they have on purpose. has been held down. If the imagery feels heavy, it’s precisely this sincerity that injects new life into a franchise whose previous entries have often buckled under the weight of their own spectacles. Injustice bubbles beneath the surface — a parable of oppression, wrapped in colorful, metallic action sequences and a few exuberant moments from Keegan-Michael Key’s Bumblebee.

Cooley keeps the tone breezy but lightweight. His direction finds a delicate balance between nostalgia and novelty, wrapping the lore in vibrant animation that doesn’t lean too heavily on photorealism. Gone are the hyper-detailed, overwhelming designs of Bay’s films, replaced by sleeker, more emotional versions of the Cybertronians. Industrial light and magic outdo themselves, creating a visually rich world teeming with life, and yet, it’s the quiet moments — lingering shots of Cybertron’s gorgeous surface or intimate exchanges between Orion and D-16 — that give the film its heart. .

A still from ‘Transformers One’ Photo credit: Hasbro Entertainment

The film’s pacing, however, leaves something to be desired. Transformers One Moves with a frantic pace that doesn’t always allow its emotional pulses to land as deeply as they should. The first act, in particular, rushes through the world-building with such skill that it risks feeling ineffective. Yet, even in its rushed moments, the film’s Shakespearean central conflict of ambition, betrayal, and remorse shines through.

While these metal titans have waged explosive battles for decades, it’s easy to forget that the Transformers saga began with a simple premise: toys… but with toys — “I am Optimus Prime” gravitas. Cooley approaches the material with a reverence for storytelling that puts it in the commercial trap of selling its toys. This is a film that, for the first time in a long time, seems genuinely interested in the mythology of its characters, who until now have been trapped in a cycle of mindless action and explosions.

Transformers One It may not be the most groundbreaking animated film ever made, but it is, without a doubt, one of the most thoughtful entries in a franchise that is often synonymous with excess. If Transformers is in danger of becoming a relic of a bygone era, this film proves that they still have plenty of fuel in the tank. There is more to them than meets the eye.

Transformers One is currently playing in theaters