Transformers One (2024) is directed by Josh Cooley and stars Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Jon Hamm, Keegan-Michael Key, Laurence Fishburne, Vanessa Liguori, Jon Bailey, Jason Konopisos-Alvarez, Evan Michael-Lee, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., and James Remar. The film tells the origin story of Optimus Prime (Hemsworth) and Megatron (Henry) – sworn enemies who began as the closest of friends. When their relationship is still friendly, the two journey across their home planet of Cybertron to discover answers about its mysterious past and seemingly altruistic ruler, Sentinel Prime (Hamm). Their journey forces them to team up with the spunky Elita-1 (Johansson) and the motormouthed B-127 (Michael-Key). Together, they set out to reveal the hidden truth about Cybertron. Unfortunately, Optimus and Megatron soon discover they have different ideas of how to handle the situation. 

Although the voice work is nothing special and the overarching relationship between Optimus and Megatron is a tad basic, I do feel that Hemsworth is a capable lead. His version of the typical Optimus Prime voice is noticeably subdued, but it’s clear this is an intentional choice by the filmmakers. Optimus in this movie is not yet the Optimus we have come to know and him not having his iconic voice is an easy way to signal this to the viewer. The rest of the cast, unfortunately, feels like they are here simply to sell tickets. Brian Tyree Henry has none of the typical strength one expects from Megatron while Johannson voices one of the most generic “I’m as strong as the boys” characters I’ve ever seen. The worst, however, has to be Keegan Michael-Key’s interpretation of Bumblebee. He’s relegated to being the zany yet unoriginal comic relief character in a movie that doesn’t particularly need comic relief. The jokes just didn’t land for me. For example, there’s one joke where Key’s character says AA-Tron and basically winks at the camera (referring to the popular Aaron skit from Key & Peele). 

The visuals look polished, but I also found them a tad uninspired. To me, they just come across as a slightly elevated version of a typical Transformers TV cartoon. Although the animation allows the film to more creatively visualize the Transformers’ powers, there’s something a bit less exciting about seeing them in a world where they’re not unique. In my opinion, half of the fun of the franchise is seeing them interact with the human world, and that’s lost here. The transforming powers themselves are fun to behold, but eventually, the constant flow of flashy bright colors makes the viewer sort of numb to it all.

Thankfully, the script mostly implements the beats a fan of the franchise expects. It feels tonally in line with the larger franchise and tells a portion of the lore fans have been wondering about for a long time. The stakes are also more serious than the typical children’s film which is nice to see. The most diehard fans of this franchise jumped on board with the release of Transformers: The Movie (1986), so it’s nice to see this movie understand that a large portion of its audience is probably in their late 40’s. 

Overall, this is a competently made yet gratingly generic origin story action film that should appeal nicely to kids as well as most adult fans of the franchise. I, on the other hand, found it to be much too generic to recommend – this includes everything from the visual style to the vocal performances. The kids should love it, but most adults will find it all to be a bit silly. C+