The first animated film in the Transformers franchise chronicles the effects of a power vacuum through the demise of infamous enemies Optimus Prime and Megatron in their philosophical origin story.

Orion Pax and D-16 are two cogless droids down in the mines with dreams of making a mark on the Cybertronian society. Out of the two of them, the ambitious Orion Pax is ready to take risks to prove these two miners have more to offer than their social standing conveys. D-16 more the worrier doesn’t want to break the status quo living a life to do what is needed to serve the greater power and be a diligent loyalist. 

Lacking the power to transform due to being in congress, Orion sees an opportunity to prove their greatness through participating in the celebratory race to gain the eyes of Sentinel Prime, the last remaining Prime. Their plan works but ends them in a sublevel society of social rejects buried beneath the surface of civilization where they meet B-127 and reunite with their former supervisor, Elita-1.

Seeking redemption, the foursome leaves Iacon City to travel to the surface to locate the Matrix of Leadership that has the power to restore the flow of Energon. High hopes of being seen as heroes to the Prime their images of life as they know it are shattered as they find out the truth of the Primes and the suppression of their kind for years. Now equipped with a truth bomb that would free the citizens of Iacon, leadership is put to the test as differing ideologies arise making the quest back as rocky as the mountains on the surface.

Best seen in 3D to fully unleash the power of ILM’s work to develop a world of the Transformers yet to be depicted on the big screen, Transformers One animation style surprisingly adds additional layers of heartbreak and emotion to this origin.  The kinetic energy makes for thrilling action sequences watching these new Transformers discover their new abilities for the first time and have no clue how to use them. Their clumsiness makes their fighting types unique and less so formulaic. Impressionisitic stills rise amongst the dystopia of hope that is eye candy to the iris. 

More convincing than their CGI live-action counterparts where an audience can fully lock in on the animation versus wondering how they filmed these creatures in a real-world setting. The noise and debauchery in the live-action are completely wiped to fully focus on the characters at hand. Replicating the looks of their cartoon styles allows them to fully encompass the way they are supposed to be seen and move and more importantly transform. Identifiable faces and personalities break down the barrier allowing a more humanistic story of power imbalances and leadership to take shape. 

Director Josh Cooley’s story removes the myth of these beings following them as average machines trying to find a place in the world. It is a sophisticated animated feature for any age and more importantly for children who can take note of how different forms of power are created. Orion who eventually becomes Optimus Prime is accused by his friend D-16 who eventually becomes Megatron of doing things in the best interest of himself versus the greater good of the miners. In the end, D-16 flips this on his head when he sidesteps everyone else in search of his vengeance for finding the truth believing that this continuous cycle of violence is the only way to resolve conflict.  To correct years of pain the myopic views take over that this will never be forgiven or forgotten and the only way to fill a centimeter better is to instill pain onto others disguised as leadership.

Orion in the end sees this power vacuum as a lesson encouraging his friend and fellow bots to become the bigger person no matter their size and take the high road to put an end to this abuse. Going as far as trying to prevent his friend from killing their leader results in him sacrificing himself thus ending up with the Matrix of Leadership and becoming the iconic Optimus Prime that the final reveal built up over the phone is extremely satisfying as he says “I am Optimus Prime.” It is a true hero’s journey for Optimus Prime that is well deserved from his inspiring speeches to the masses on how they are worth more than their size encouraging people to break the social hierarchy and rise to full potential for themselves and not a dictator. 

Cooley puts the entire film franchise back on track removing the spectacle of it having to be bigger and better every addition to finding why the story of the Transformers even resonates with audiences. In doing so he creates a complex tale of friendship and the effects of power.

Those images of a younger Megatron and Optimus Prime fist bumping with the promise of having each other’s backs no matter what is the final knife in the chest as we all know what is to come for these former friends. 

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: Best Animated Feature
Should be Considered: None

Release Date: September 20, 2024
Where to Watch: In Theaters