Transformers One

Playing with various versions of Transformers continuity to craft something new, Transformers One gives us the rise of both Optimus Prime and Megatron... eventually. The lack of recognizable characters may have played a role in the film's box office struggles, but fans missed out on what is easily the best Transformers movie in decades.

We start off focused on Cybertron mining robots Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) who, thanks to Pax's recklessness, get into trouble and end up uncovering the truth about their planet which will split the friends and forever change each one's destiny.

Along the way both Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key) will join the adventure with appearances from other notable Transformers including Jazz, Soundwave, Shockwave, and Starscream.

While originally conceived as a prequel to the live-action Transformers films, in the end the story of Transformers One stands on its own (to its benefit and ours). The film uses a smorgasbord-style to create a past for the characters who would become the first Autobots and Decepticons, pulling from various threads and refences over the years in different television, film, and comic stories. The look of the characters most closely resembles Transformers: Prime but with notable design changes that allows it to stand on its own.

It only took nearly 40 years for someone to produce another good Transformers movie (not counting the standalone Bumblebee). Having hated what Michael Bay (who is credited here as a producer) did to the franchise, turning characters into little more than supporting special effects to explore the lives of rather lame humans (while failing to have a basic understanding of what a robot is), I am happy to see the Transformers take center stage once again.

The story involves the two mining robots ending up on Cyberton's surface, with a pair of new friends, and discovering the mythology of their society is a lie. The world's hero Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm) is actually its greatest villain, betraying the Primes and siding with the Quintessons who he chooses to secretly work for from then on. Sentinel removes the ability to Transform from the majority of Transformers created after that point and using them as cheap labor to mine the planet for Energon for the planet's oppressors.

Transformers One is a fun romp across Cyberton that gets more serious in the final act with its two main characters disagreeing on how to take down Sentinel Prime and save the world. It's got a little something for everyone, depending on what version of Transformers is likely to pull on your heart stings and, despite new voices for the cast, the characters shine in ways they haven't on the big screen for decades.

The film isn't without issues, most notably D-16's transformation into Megatron. His anger certainly fuels his rage and quest for revenge, but how quickly that goes from the understandable revenge against one Transformer to all Transformers (including his best friend) may give you whiplash. There's also the script choosing to completely ignore the looming issue of the Quintessons at the end of the movie who still control the surface of Cyberton.

Watch the trailer

• Title: Transformers One
• IMDb: link