Let me confess from the outset that I was never a fan of the live-action Michael Bay Transformers films. The film franchise other than Bumblebee (2018) always left me cold. I could understand the appeal, the nostalgia, and the more-than-smart merchandising, but I often felt the storytelling was clunky and labored - and this is me trying to be nice and kind. So, I only pin a little hope on having my mind changed with this prequel, Transformers One. Decepticons or Autobots, Megatron or Optimus Prime, they could be interchangeable for all I cared.

Eliminating all humans from the storyline and going way back to a time when Orion Pax and D-16 were good buddies were two strokes of genius. It won’t take a true blue fan to figure out that Orion Pax would become Optimus Prime or that D-16 becomes Megatron - so the how and why of this happening becomes the ‘soul’ (i.e. cog) of this film, and it works beautifully. Plus, the visuals, when watched on an IMAX, with 3D glasses, were simply the best way to enhance the enjoyment of this film. I watched this at SM Aura’s newly improved IMAX cinema.  

As mentioned, the start of the film introduces us to Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and to D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry), two regular mining bots working in a subterranean world and at the bottom rung of the bot hierarchy. The two can’t transform. In the mines, we also meet Elita (Scarlett Johansson), an exceptionally smart and dedicated supervisor bot. And it’s established how everyone’s ’idol’ is Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm).

Other key characters are Starscream (Steve Buscemi), Alpha Trion (Laurence Fishburne), and everyone’s favorite, Bumblebee (Keegan Michael Key). Directed by Josh Cooley, who gifted us with Toy Story 4, there’s impressive world-building achieved here as we see Cybertron unfold and the surface world come to life.

Strong banter and the unique relationship of the two bots, Orion and D, drive the film and elevate this animated feature into something that resonates. We invest in the two leads and their circumstances and the struggle to rise above their being mere mining bots. There’s Orion’s quest for the Matrix of Leadership and how he’s a constant dreamer, instinctively doing the right thing, even when it looks so wrong to everyone else.

And D’s blind faith in the system and how he’ll be rewarded by just following and not questioning. There’s humor - tongue in cheek from Elita and of a more slapstick variety from Bumblebee. As a result, the action, the plot thickening, and the flurry of jokes all mesh together in a manner that consistently entertains.

I have no doubt this movie will be the reboot the franchise needed. It’ll be fun for young kids, while nostalgic adults will be more than happy with the story and how those two icons of the Transformers universe came to be. I enjoyed this film and would like to watch more of this ‘restart.’ And yes, there is more to appreciate if watching on an SM IMAX screen.