'Transformers One' is an end-of-summer sensation that fans are sure to please (review)

Transform and roll out!

Paramount’s new animated feature “Transformers One” (Sept. 20) explores the nature of the fractured friendship between young Optimus Prime and Megatron, known as Orion Pax and D-19 16 billion years ago on the living machine planet Cybertron. It’s a wildly entertaining animated film featuring a visual feast of next-generation CGI from Industrial Light & Magic.

What began in the 1980s as a Hasbro toy line and animated series has grown over the decades into one of the world’s most important intellectual science fiction products. It is a global billion-dollar business with action figures, comics, video games, clothing, cartoons and films.

Transformers One is considered the first Transformers film to be created entirely using computer-generated graphics. The film was directed by Academy Award-winning director Josh Cooley of Toy Story 4, who wrote a thrilling origin story for Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) before fleshing out the various storylines in the seven live-action Transformers films released in 2007 by director Michael Bay.

Hemsworth and Henry are joined in the all-star cast by Keegan-Michael Key (B-127 aka Bumblebee), Scarlett Johansson (Elita-1), Laurence Fishburne (Alpha Trion), Jon Hamm (Sentinel Prime) and Steve Buscemi (Starscream). Many fans were unsure whether Hemsworth would replace the iconic Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime, but Hemsworth does a fantastic job of evoking a younger, evolving version of the charismatic leader of the Autobots.

Auroras flash across the sky as four humanoid robots watch an alien sunset

Behold the scenic beauty of Cybertron’s surface (Image credit: Paramount)

‘This exciting, family-friendly project, four years in the making, is an exhilarating ride that elevates ‘Transformers’ right back to the top of the modern Hollywood elite with a moving story, stellar vocal performances, mesmerizing visuals, clever humor, a stirring score by Brian Tyler and compelling themes of friendship, trust, loyalty and regret.

To say that Transformers One is easily one of the best films of the year would be a gross understatement. The film is much greater than the sum of its creative parts, and its captivated audience will leave the theater after the credits roll, full of positive energy and hungry for more.

From humble beginnings as lowly Energon mining buddies dreaming of a better life, Orion Pax and D-16 set out for the surface of Cybertron aboard the proto-Bumblebee B-127 and Elita-1 to attempt to retrieve the legendary Matrix of Knowledge for their leader, Sentinel Prime. During their search, they encounter a fallen Prime who grants the group transformation gears, allowing them to transform into their desired vehicle forms. However, clashing ideologies between Orion Pax and D-16 forge a path of contempt that will ignite a Cybertronian war and give rise to the Decepticons.

As a veteran Pixar filmmaker, Cooley has created a beautifully balanced science fiction story that builds on the mythology of the ‘Transformers’. It seems like an ode to the shape-shifting, intelligent robots that have entertained us for almost 40 years.

Character designs are reminiscent of the G1 models of yore, enhanced with enough facial detail to avoid the uncanny valley. Cybertron is a labyrinth of subterranean clutter and sublime natural beauty on the surface, with morphing rocks, blue-tinted auroras, magenta-eyed robotic deer, and other wildlife.

The wizards at Industrial Light & Magic are responsible for the film’s beautiful animation, where metallic textures, evocative reflections and a lush color palette draw attention to every corner of the composition, while at the same time creating a compromise between the live-action photorealistic renditions of Autobots and Decepticons and the simplicity of classic cartoons.

Four humanoid robots observe a robotic deer-like animal

A cybernetic deer-like creature on the surface of Cybertron (Image credit: Paramount)

It is also the first animated “Transformers” film since 1986’s “Transformers: The Movie” and is perhaps the fan favorite “Transformers” film of all time. (Sorry, “Bumblebee!”)

A bold statement perhaps, but probably true! It’s a much-needed reboot that will breathe new life into the franchise in a bright future for fans of those irresistible robots in disguise, regardless of their age.

Presented by Hasbro Entertainment with Paramount Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures, “Transformers One” is produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto, Don Murphy, Michael Bay, Mark Vahradian and Aaron Dem. Steven Spielberg is on board as an executive producer on the film, starring Brian Goldner, Brian Oliver, Bradley J. Fischer and Valerii An.

“Transformers One” will be released in theaters on September 20, 2024.

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