By Matthew Moorcroft

Strong Recommendation

• Directed by Josh Cooley
• Starring Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Jon Hamm
• PG

Despite it’s origins in animation, it’s taken nearly 40 years for Transformers to return to the big screen in the format that initially made them famous in the first place. After floudering around for 16 years in live action films whose quality ranged from great (Bumblebee) to terrible (basically any of the Bay films outside of Dark of the Moon), it seems like the folks at Paramount finally wised up and realized a fully animated version of Transformers would probably be the way to go, and it comes courtesy of Pixar vet Josh Cooley whose directorial efforts on Toy Story 4 already helped elevate a seemingly pointless sequel into something really special.

Filled with manic, childlike energy from frame one, Transformers One is easily the best Transformers film since that classic 1986 installment for much of the same reasons – brimming with lore, high-concept sci-fi realms, and vibrant animation. And while Bumblebee might still take the cake in terms of emotional impact, this particular installment feels tailor made for a new generation of fans, which is the highest praise I can lobby at such a film like this.

That said high concept realm turns out to be Cybertron itself – here portrayed a desolate, ever shifting wasteland of metal and rock – which has been divided into a caste system that benefits those with the ability to transform. It’s a blatant of a class conflict as you can get, complete with analogues for revolutionary figures of all kinds and discussions of self worth that kids will likely find inspiring. Much of the first half of the feature is far more self contained then you would think, developing the comradery and friendship of Orion Pax and D-16 prior to their inevitable turn in silly yet always fun ways. A particular sequence during a race ends up being a highlight, with snappy quips from both parties and an underdog story that makes it easy to root for.

The stakes are initially so low, in fact, that the sudden turn into a greater rebellion story is almost sudden, the film pulling the rug out of it’s kid audience likely expecting a cute story about how their favourite characters used to be friends. It’s impressive on how quickly Transformers One goes from simply just pretty good to downright fantastic, but once Brian Tyree Henry begins to embrace the darker elements of D-16 as a character you know you are in for a ride. The rest of the voice cast is good to great, but it’s really Henry who steals the show here and once the third act rolls around it becomes clear what Transformers One really is about.

Transformers One is a story about idealism vs. extremism, and a rare story aimed at a kid audience with no easy answers. Sure, the film comes away with idealism seemingly as the way to go, but the effective nature of D-16’s extremism – and justified anger at being used as a tool for a system that doesn’t care about him – feels both righteous and applicable. The film never asks you to side with either side, and once the climax does occurs with it’s dual transformations (one soaked in oil, the other bathed in light) it remains equally as muddy. Most adults will have seen something like this before, but I can imagine that most younger folks in the audience will have their first exposure to something like this and it’s good to see that this doesn’t talk down to them, testing their willingness to actually engage with this kind of material.

And that’s really where this should end, honestly. As much fun as I had with Transformers One outside of a couple of quibbles (they definitely don’t know when to shut the fuck up), this is the kind of film that would have been my absolute favorite movie of all time as an eight year old kid into Transformers. This embraces the feeling of two kids playing with their action figures and coming up with crazy, decades spanning stories with them with all of the twist and turns that, while an adult might see coming, a child will think is novel, subversive, and new. And personally, I think there is something really special about films that embrace that feeling with cynicism, playing to that demographic without shame or needing to try to aim at the adult in the crowd. After all, if the adults were kids once, it will unlock the child in them just as the Transformers unlock their own potential within themselves. An absolute blast of a time and a must watch for Transformers fans.