In his Transformers One film review, SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne says it is “easily among the best Transformers movies ever made”.
It’s only been just over a year since the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and Transformers fans won’t have to wait too long to get their fix once again. The next installment in the franchise is set to be released on September 20th, and it’s safe to say fans will be pleased. The idea for an animated Transformers prequel has been discussed since 2015, and it was definitely worth the wait.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm, Transformers One is the first fully CG-animated Transformers movie. Set on Cybertron, three billion years before the previous Transformers movies, it tells the never-before-told origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, and how, in Professor X and Magneto-like fashion, they went from best friends, as close as brothers, to sworn enemies. We also get to see how responsibility, and in the case of Megatron, power and the thirst for revenge, transformed the very personalities of the former fun-loving and adventurous duo.
To be honest, I had low expectations for the this film. I even questioned whether I should watch it at all. Thankfully, I I quieted that voice. Transformers One is easily among the best Transformers movies ever made. Despite being CGI-animated, this movie isn’t just for children as some may expect. OG Transformers fans who enjoyed the original 1980’s animated series, those who have enjoyed any of the Transformers movies, and anyone who is into good storytelling will enjoy this film. And that’s the magic behind this movie. Although the graphics, including intergalactic landscapes, are stunning, the secret sauce is the story, told by director Josh Cooley and writers Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, and Eric Pearson. Former friends and brothers turned foes is a tale as old as time, and the team behind Transformers One tell it masterfully. But it’s also a sad, Anakin Skywalker-like cautionary tale about losing oneself to the dark side and how the thirst for power can change someone for the worse. But the sad and dark moments are balanced with funny moments and witty humor, courtesy of Bumblebee, Orion Pax (Optimus Prime) and D-16 (Megatron).
At its core, this is really a coming-of-age adventure story where the two characters go on a journey of self-discovery, and you best believe Transformers One is an adventure worth going on.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 300 international voters for the 81st and 82nd Golden Globe Awards by the Golden Globe Foundation and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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