What were my expectations going into Transformers: One? Whatever they were, it doesn’t really matter, because the movie blew away any and all ideas of what I thought it would be. This is a return to Transformers, thousands of years before we meet Optimus Prime on Earth. This time, most of the Autobots and Decepticons don’t even know each other yet. Optimus is Orion Pax, Megatron is D-16, Bumblebee is B-127. Enemies are still friends, the world hasn’t changed from constant war. Transformers One stars different voice actors than the normal Transformers films as well, Chris Hemsworth voices Optimus, Brian Tyree Henry voices Megatron, Scarlett Johansson voices Elita, Keegan-Michael Key voices Bee, Jon Hamm voices Sentinel Prime, and Laurence Fishburne voices Alpha Trion.

This is the first animated Transformers movie to hit theaters in 38 years since the original 1986 Transformers: The Movie. It’s really a tale of two excellent halves though. The first half shows the budding friendship between Orion and D-16. They’re trying to rise up the ranks of life on Cybertron, including entering a race that’s only for bots with a spark. They hold their own, but just miss out, enraging their superior officer in the process. This sends them down to the lowest levels of Cybertron where they meet Bee. As they hatch a plan to escape, they meet up with Elita, and unravel a conspiracy from the very top of society. It’s quite the stark difference from the sort of happy-go-lucky beginnings of the film. From there, the shape of both Optimus Prime and Megatron as characters forms into who we know today.

Transformers One

As it goes on, Transformers One shows itself to be a much more adult, thought-provoking film than it lets on. There are issues of class disparities, who should be leaders, how people are affected by stress, and how friendships can change over time. Combine that with the fact that it’s just a great movie for kids to watch, the screening I saw, the kids in the audience were going nuts for every moment. We don’t get enough great kids content these days, but Transformers One will satisfy the youngest and the oldest of fans.

With new voice actors taking over classic roles, the question comes up of how they stack up to previous voice actors. The most important is Chris Hemsworth. He already has an immediately recognizable voice. However, as the movie goes on, he resembles Peter Cullen’s timeless performance as Optimus. There are small changes throughout, but by the end, I was in awe. Same thing with Bryan Tyree Henry and Megatron. He’s sparky, upbeat, and somewhat higher pitched at the start of the film. By the end of it, it’s gravely, deeper, and just all around more menacing.

Those two combined with Keegan-Michael Key and Scarlett Johansson are excellent. Bee is the throughline for most of the comedy in the film and it just works hearing Keegan-Michael Key as Bee. He’s hilarious and upbeat, even when the film gets to its darkest moments. Fishburne might not be in the film for very long, but his performance is absolutely must-watch.

Optimus Prime in Transformers One

The third act of Transformers One is one of the most technically beautiful and thrilling animated sequences in recent memory. From when they return to Cybertron from the outskirts to the end of the film is a thrill ride. It might be presented as a bit of a kids movie, but make no mistake, Transformers One is just as entertaining for adults. The humor, the action, the animation, it all adds up to one of, if not, the best Transformers movies ever. You get interesting looks at how the characters we know and love became who they are. Seeing Optimus and Megatron as friends and then turning into enemies is heartbreaking. Watching Orion Pax turn into one of the cinema’s greatest heroes is a sight to behold.

Transformers One is a spectacular showcase for animation. It’s stunning in technical aspects, but also provides an excellent Transformers story.

Transformers One releases in theaters on September 20th.

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