I was worried when I heard that Transformers One was in development and even more worried when I heard who was directing it. I’m very vocal about my disdain for Toy Story 4, believing it to be unnecessary and unfortunately, Josh Cooley is the director of that. However, I’m happy to report that I could not have been more wrong. Don’t let the trailers mislead you, Transformers One is fantastic and finally shows how good this franchise can be. The animation is gorgeous, the voice cast is perfect, and the story and emotion feel very real. I’m shocked at how much I enjoyed this one. Transformers One is absolutely one of the best films of the year, for both kids and adults alike. It’s the biggest surprise of the year and it blew me away.
Who could have imagined that focusing on the Transformers and cutting the humans out of the story would actually be beneficial? Clearly Josh Cooley and his team did because that’s exactly what they did. Having the story centered on Cybertron and its inhabitants only allows us to see better character development as opposed to tacky action and paper-thin human characters. Allowing the audience to witness proper character arcs was unheard of in the Transformers movies, save for 2018’s Bumblebee, and seeing it here is like a breath of fresh air in many ways. Everything in this movie feels like a mix of perfectly full-circle storytelling that still opens the door, should they choose to continue this story, something I welcome with open arms.
Thematically, Cooley brings the series back to its roots and focuses on the themes of brotherhood, love, power, and honour. We see the relationship between Orion Pax and D-16 slowly crumble, just like all Transformers fans know, and that brotherhood is gone. The idea of power and how it’s used is presented as more than just good vs. bad or black and white. It’s fascinating to see how Cooley handles this theme, using different perspectives and strong arguments for each character to justify their usage of power. Honour is another theme, with Optimus Prime being the obvious focus of it. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before in this franchise but thankfully, this film elevates it to another level.
The voice cast is full of A-listers who completely commit and blend into their roles. Chris Hemsworth might not seem like a good choice for Orion Pax/Optimus Prime, but the Aussie superstar is so good, that you can barely tell it’s him in the first place. However, it’s Brian Tyree Henry who is the best here. As D-16/Megatron, he plays the tragic villain so well and even though his transformation is inevitable, I still get chills at the thought of his performance in this movie. He’s truly incredible and has given me not only a new appreciation for Megatron but for how difficult voice acting is. ScarJo, Keegan Michael Key, Jon Hamm, and Steve Buscemi, among others, are also fantastic. Each character has their moment and never feels sidelined.
The animation looks janky in the trailers but, like every element in that trailer, it’s not indicative of the movie. Everything looks sublime. The 3D animation is a blend of the style in Transformers: Prime and the 80’s Transformers character designs. It’s never really an eyesore, quite the opposite. Every single frame is a work of art and only gets better and better throughout the movie as we see characters and our heroes reach their full potential to transform. It’s absolutely stunning from start to finish and should they make more films in this sub-franchise, I hope the art style continues.
I’m trying to find flaws in this movie and poke holes in my arguments but try as I may (I’ve been trying for a month now), I really can’t. Transformers One is the franchise’s best entry by a massive landslide. It’s truly not even a competition. Josh Cooley and his team assembled the familiar origin story all fans know and gave it new life with a tight script and phenomenal performances. This is not only my favourite animated movie of the year but in my top 5 of the year period. This movie is truly more than meets the eye.
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