After nearly two decades of live-action Bayhem, the Transformers return to their animated roots, with Transformers One. Directed by Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4), the film takes viewers back to where the great war began, chronicling the rise of the series’ legendary hero and villain, Optimus Prime and Megatron. 

Transformers One throws viewers a curveball, taking a page from X-Men: First Class and delving into the duo’s friendship before becoming mortal enemies.

In an even bigger swerve, as the film begins, Optimus Prime and Megatron can’t even transform. Their names aren’t Optimus Prime and Megatron, either. At this stage in the story, they’re still just Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry). They’re considered lower-class citizens because they lack “cogs,” the advanced doohickeys which allow Transformers to transform.

Orion Pax and D-16 are two blue-collar grunts. They bond while grinding out a living, excavating Cybertron’s unstable Energon mines with the other no-cogs. They’re forced to work under these dangerous conditions because the planet’s Energon supply dried up after a catastrophic war many cycles ago when The Matrix of Leadership disappeared. Only one of the Prime generation warriors, Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm), survived the conflict, and he has claimed the mantle of Cybertron’s guardian amidst these dark days.

Orion Pax, always striving to move up in the world, believes he’s uncovered a clue to the Matrix’s whereabouts. He recruits his weary pal D-16 to his quest and they’re joined by a loopy bot named B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key), and the by-the-book corporate drone Elita -1. 

Their adventure soon goes off the rails, and the crew find themselves fighting for their survival. But pressure makes diamonds, and their life-and-death mission forges Orion Pax and D-16 into Cybertron’s greatest warriors: Optimus Prime and Megatron.

As a lifelong Transformers fan, Transformers One was one of my most anticipated films of the summer. A big-budget animated Transformers movie holds the tantalising potential to create versions of these characters and their world in ways fans have never seen before. But rather than break free from the limits of live-action filmmaking, the shackles of fanservice hold this film back.

The film tells a story that works in theory, but struggles in its execution. This movie exists to give viewers a front-row seat to the series mythology — we’re here to witness the making of fan favourite heroes and villains. While the film delivers on that promise, it does so in the most half-assed way.

Characters start off young and naive but become their iconic selves by the end. But these personality transformations don’t feel earned. Characters don’t slowly grow and evolve into the characters they’re destined to be. They’re character arcs feel more like flipping a switch and instantly becoming their battle-hardened versions. 

D-16 is a cool hang, until he suddenly shifts into supervillain mode. There’s no planting the seeds of his betrayal, nor do we watch his friendship with Orion Pax slowly sour. He turns evil because that’s what he’s destined to do. The same goes for the eventual Optimus Prime. He doesn’t learn how to be a great leader so much as literally fall towards his destiny.

Many of the action sequences function the same way. Characters don’t figure their way out of jams so much as eke things out when someone else bursts onto the scene to resolve the problem for them.  

The voice cast does their part to provide their characters with a degree of depth that the screenplay doesn’t offer. Hemsworth gives a noble effort as a young Optimus Prime, but it’s disappointing that the guy who portrays Thor struggles with capturing the character’s signature gravitas. I get that this is a younger version of Optimus Prime, but Hemsworth’s performance doesn’t sound commanding, so much as punchdrunk.

Henry, on the other hand, elevates D-16 into something more than an underwritten villain. I don’t buy the character’s journey towards becoming a tyrant, but I always feel the passion in Henry’s performance. 

Key’s B-127, who will become Bumblebee, provides the comic relief. He’s excellent as a silly and adorable bot, driven bonkers from too much time in isolation. B-127 may be a total Gongshow, but beneath his shiny yellow surface is a badass warrior waiting to prove himself.

Johansson is also solid but underutilised as Elita -1, the crew’s wet blanket. Steve Buscemi (Starscream) and Laurence Fishburne (Alpha Trion) are welcome additions as well but the film doesn’t give them much time to show their stuff. Buscemi is an outside-the-box choice as the power-hungry bot who will one day become Megatron’s snivelling Lieutenant. And Fishburne was born to play the wise fallen warrior Alpha Trion, the film’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Transformers One is the most political Transformers movie you’re ever likely to see. The story touches on class warfare, weaponized propaganda, and populist leaders. It delivers a not-so-subtle jab at the people headlining the current election cycle, stressing why people should be wary of “heroes” who live for the spotlight.

I’m not saying this film channels the spirits of Michael Moore and Ken Loach, but it’s nice to see some political subtext woven into a family-friendly action comedy.

Transformers One offers plenty to like but not much to love. The film takes the Transformers in a fresh direction while somehow still playing things too safe. Too much of the plot feels shoehorned in, making the story function like an exercise in connecting the dots. Characters passively stumble into their destinies like Mr. Magoo. However, Transformers One finds its footing in the last twenty minutes when everything finally clicks into place and it becomes an epic action flick. 

Now, with the restrictive world-building out of the way, this series has the potential to breathe life into the Autobots vs Decepticons saga. Despite my gripes, Transformers One shows flashes of what this series could be. Hopefully, this next instalment unlocks its creative cog, transforming it into a franchise that delivers on its potential.