Filmmaker Josh Cooley made his directorial debut with “Toy Story 4” (2019) five years ago, and all four “Toy Story” movies have produced merchandise based on the films’ characters. Recently, Cooley released his second feature which has a history of profiting off of making and selling toys to the masses.
The feature is “Transformers One” (2024), which stars Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson and Keegan-Michael Key. The film follows Optimus Prime (Hemsworth) and Megatron (Henry) when they were friends and worked as Energon miners.
Before they became Optimus Prime and Megatron, they were Orion Pax and D-16 respectively. Orion Pax is more of a daredevil, doing things that could get him in serious trouble. D-16 is on the side of authority and listening to the orders of Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm), the head of Cybertron and the leader of Iacon.
Orion Pax’s antics eventually led him and D-16 to be sent to the smelting area after illegally participating in a race only intended for Transformers. There, they meet B-127 (Key) and the three manage to escape and take a chip from the junk of a distress beacon.
On their journey to find where the beacon is coming from, the trio brings along Elita-1 (Johansson), who was the superior for Orion Pax and D-16 before being demoted to waste management for an incident she did not commit.
The four unlikely heroes do find the source of the distress beacon, and it rocks everyone's worldviews about the lives they had up until that moment. After this revelation, the bond between Orion Pax and D-16 grows further apart and results in them becoming the classic Optimus Prime and Megatron all “Transformers” fans know and adore.
Straight out of the gate, “Transformers One” does a fantastic job with its style of animation and character design. The film does not copy what other properties in the franchise have done in the past. It is its own thing and takes pride in being something completely different from previous films.
All of the characters have a distinct look from one another, and it never feels like the animators were lazy or uncreative when designing them. Careful thought was even put into the minor characters.
The same careful consideration was put into the casting process. Hemsworth owns it as Orion Pax/Optimus Prime. For the longest time, moviegoers were treated to the exquisite and iconic portrayal of Optimus Prime by Peter Cullen in all of the live-action “Transformers” movies.
There is never an instance in the film where Hemsworth is trying to be or sound like Cullen. Instead, he does his own interpretation and does it well enough to where he can stand alone and not be constantly compared to Cullen or others who have played Optimus Prime.
The same goes for Henry’s take on D-16/Megatron. Unlike Optimus Prime, Megatron has been voiced by many actors. Henry’s portrayal of the character is one who felt betrayed by someone he looked up to and admired. To be honest, he is the standout of the film.
Henry’s acting is good, and the transition from D-16 to Megatron is seamless. His arc and relationship with Orion Pax/Optimus Prime have been done before, but it does not stop it from being a gut punch when he turns from good to evil.
If this film gets greenlit for a sequel, then it will be more than exciting to see where the writers go next with Megatron and how Henry will develop his character between films.
The action is also worth pointing out. Most of it comes toward the end, and it is a glorious spectacle once it occurs. The incorporation of beautiful colors, blended with well-animated choreography results in an awesome final battle.
“Transformers One” is a film fans of the franchise will find great solace in. It’s not perfect, but for what it is, it’s an amazing film that goes into the core of what makes “Transformers” special. The film is currently being played in theaters.
Rating: 3/5
