Transformers One

Voices of: Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, Jon Hamm, Vanessa Liguori, Jon Bailey, James Remar
Directed by: Josh Cooley
Rating: PG
Genre: Animated, Action, Science Fiction
2024

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Origin story of Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry), who had an inauspicious start on Cybertron.

Review:

Tim: One of my many complaints of the main, live action Transformers franchise is that the mix of humans and giant robots doesn't work within their storytelling structure. There's always a need to have the humans "help", but none of it makes actual sense. I've desperately wanted a human-free Transformers film. This isn't the only issue, but it's one that has seen a very bad 4-movie streak of "not good" films. Transformers One finally gives us that. And, surprise, surprise, it's the best Transformers film in 17 years and arguably, the best all-time.

I don't want to limit Josh Cooley's stunning success to just that. His film has a tremendous script, a surprising amount of humor, real heart, twists and turns, and pure entertainment from start-to-finish. I couldn't believe how effective this movie was. It's one of the most pleasant surprises of 2024. The film is an origin story, which is always a little iffy. However, the script wisely pulls things way, way back. The characters we see on screen are nearly unrecognizable from the characters we know. They go through a tremendous transformation (ha) throughout the course of this film. That journey- either to herodom or to the dark side- is stunning to behold. This film is geared towards kids, but it tackles everything with such energy and fun that viewers of all ages will find much to enjoy here.

I watched the film with my 9 year-old son and 6 year-old daughter and they both loved the movie. There's so much action, so much movement that they weren't bored for a second. While they enjoyed the story, they really took so much away from the humor. I have to give Keegan-Michael Key immense credit for his work as B-172. His delivery of the continual joke, "Bad-ass-atron" had my children cackling. I admit, for such a simple joke, it's nearly perfect for kids of a certain age. It's not just this hilarious repetition, the movie's dialogue is crisp and comes at you fast. Everything is hyped up, but not in an overwhelming way. Cooley manages to deliver a film that feels like it's a flat-out sprint from start to finish, but one that never totally exhausts the audience. It's something to behold.

The voice cast is great. I'm a big fan of Chris Hemsworth and while I occasionally wish he'd leave room for other actors, I admit he does good work as Orion Pax. Over the years, he's refined his heroic voice to the point where it absolutely works here. Brian Tyree Henry was an unexpected yet inspired choice for D-16. Henry is a truly talented actor and I loved the casting here. I would have expected a bigger name to be cast, but he was excellent in the role. He brings so much depth to his performances and he accomplishes that here. Scarlett Johansson is excellent, too. She's another one where it feels like there are other great actresses who could have been cast, but Johansson proves to be a wonderful choice. Elita-1 emerges as one of the more memorable and cooler characters of the film. Bringing some feminine energy to the future Autobots was an excellent, long-overdue decision. I thought she more than held her own, emerging as one of the biggest delights in the film. I already mentioned Key and his constant scene-stealing work. I loved him in this film. Steve Buscemi and Laurence Fishburne were both brilliantly cast, and Jon Hamm does great work, too. As a whole, the assembled cast is a big reason why this movie works as well as it does.

The visual effects are all top-notch, too. In a time where computer graphics have advanced so far, it takes something unique and special for us to take notice. Movies like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse and The Bad Guys are rarer and rarer- movies that make you sit up in awe of the graphics. This movie doesn't reach those heights, but it's beautifully designed. It's definitely much more impressive than many animated movies being released these days.

I'm still a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed Transformers One. It takes a franchise that hasn't been good in 13 years and delivers one of the absolute best films we've ever had. Literally, the only argument might be the original live action movie, but this film's humor is 100x better than the trash in that film- so, upon further reflection, this might be the best film in the entire franchise. That's a wild success, 17 years in. The box office was surprisingly low ($59 million domestically), but some of that might be the fatigue from audiences used to below-average films. I'm sincerely hoping they continue with a sequel, I might actually go to the theater with my kids to see it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Transformers: The Movie, Toy Story 4, The Wild Robot