Transformers One

Transformers One is an American animated science fiction action film based on the Transformers toyline by Hasbro. Serving as the eighth installment in the Transformers film series, the film is directed by Josh Cooley and written by Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, and Steve Desmond. The ensemble voice cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, and Laurence Fishburne. The film is described as an "origin story" set on the planet Cybertron and will center on the relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron.
In March 2015, following the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Paramount Pictures tasked Akiva Goldsman with working with Michael Bay, Steven Spielberg, and Lorenzo di Bonaventura to set up a writer's room to create ideas for potential future Transformers films. By May, Barrer and Ferrari had joined the writer's room, and one of the ideas that came from there was an animated prequel that would be set on Cybertron. The film was announced in August 2017, and by April 2020, Cooley had been hired to direct. The title and voice cast were revealed in April 2023, while Industrial Light & Magic provided animation.
Transformers One was theatrically released in the United States on September 20, 2024, by Paramount Pictures. It was a box office success grossing $515 Million. It was critically acclaimed is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. It was praised for its animation, plot, writing, themes and characters.
==Plot==
On Planet Cybertron. Robotic lifeforms called Cybertronians are enslaved and abused by aliens called the Creators. The Creators are mining the planet for a powerful energy source called Energon however the Cybertronians put their faith in the thirteen Primes, deities created by the god Primus and enemy of the evil Unicron. Some Transformers believe that the Cybertronians were created by Primus and some believe they were created by the Creators. In Iacon City the capital of the Creator’s government, a resistance movement against the Creators forms by a cybertronian named Alpha Trion but the Creators crush the resistance and impose harsh rules of social inequality on the cybertronians making disloyal and older models of Cybertronians work harder jobs while they replace the cybertronians with newer bodies created by the Creators made from living metal harvested from other worlds.
Three Energon miners Orion Pax, D-16, and a smelter B-127 witness several of their own being abused by the creators who ignore the pleading of a supervisor named Elita. The creators try to kill Elita for disloyalty but Orion and D-16 intervene and destroy the creator freeing Elita. D-16 and Orion discover the creator is wearing a suit and is an alien from another world rather than a Cybertronian which they had thought as they are Quintessons alien beings created by Quintus Prime. They realize that the Quintessons are trying to erase the spiritual hold of the primes on the planet by replacing primitive cybertronians on the planet with newer Cybertronians controlled by the Quintessons. B-127, Orion, and D-16 decide to work together to start a rebellion to free the planet from the Quintessons. The miners organize a resistance to free the planet from the Quintessons and begin a battle against the Quintesson royal guards led by Starscream.
The battle against the Quintessons begins and D-16 and Optimus become brothers in arms. Orion discovers that Amalgamous Prime one of the original thirteen had access to a transformation cog that allows shifting between multiple forms. D-16 and Optimus decide that using it is the natural step in the evolution of Cybertronians so they seek out the Transformation Cog in an ancient shrine of the thirteen. They find a transformation Cog and begin to mass-produce them giving them to all their teammates. With it, the new Cybertronians having become transformers gain the upper hand. D-16 overthrows the Quintessons and defeats Starscream. The royal guards defect wanting the Transformation Cogs and Starscream pledges his loyalty to D-16. Iacon City is taken over and the Quintessons are driving off. However, the planet’s main power source is deactivated upon the Quintesson's departure. D-16 and Orion realize they must find a decent energy source to revitalize the planet.
Orion realizes there is a sacred artifact called the Matrix of Leadership that has been passed down through the descendants of the Thirteen Primes which can light the darkest hour and access the memories and knowledge of the leaders of Cybertronian History. D-16 believes that its energy will allow them to create a new dynasty ruling Cybertron while Orion believes that its knowledge will lead them on a better path for the future. They meet Sentinel Prime, a living descendent of the primes who reveals the Matrix lies in a vault of the primes. D-16 and Orion begin to argue over their goals as D-16 wants to take over the planet and rule through tyranny while Orion believes in a peaceful coexistence and that all sentient beings deserve freedom. D-16 secretly brings the royal guards of Iacon with him to take the matrix with force. However, Alpha Trion and several of his followers defend the vault.
During the battle, Alpha Trion defends the Matrix from D-16 and Orion. Orion offers to surrender but D-16 jumps on and kills Alpha Trion. D-16 tries to activate the Matrix but fails. Orion is horrified by his brother-in-arms and asks him to abandon his destiny of Tyranny. Orion and D-16 fight for the first time and Orion steals the Matrix, he opens the Matrix and it chooses him as the next Prime, making him a descendant of the Thirteen. Orion dubs himself Optimus Prime and D-16 vows revenge. Optimus Prime uses the knowledge of the Matrix to restore power to Cybertron and creates a faction of Transformers called the Autobots. Meanwhile, D-16 forms a renegade faction called the Decepticons and names himself after the fallen prime Megatronus prime. The Decepticons form a city-state in Kaon where they’re branded with the Decepticon Insignia.
==Voice Cast==
* Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax / Optimus Prime
* Brian Tyree Henry as D-16 / Megatron; Tyree Henry is the first African-American actor to be voicing Megatron in the franchise's fourty-year history.
* Scarlett Johansson as Elita
* Keegan-Michael Key as Bumblebee
* Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime
* Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion
* Tom Kenny as Starscream
==Reception==
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, Transformers One has an approval rating of 98%, based on 254 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Transformers One captures the excellence of the franchise with a well written story with deep messages and a perfect cast. " On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 83 out of 100, based on reviews from 62 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale.
== Future ==
In April 2023, di Bonaventura stated that there is discussion for Transformers One to become a trilogy of films. By June, he confirmed that the story is mapped out to progress over three movies, detailing the progression of the characters into their depiction in the live-action film series. The producer explained that Hemsworth's depiction will grow into the leader depicted in the previous installments, stating that the transition from Hemsworth's voice to Peter Cullen's will make sense within the story.
Following the film's success, two sequels were announced for 2027 and 2029. Plus a sequel to Rise of the Beasts entitled Crossroads in Time was announced for 2026. Also the continuity of Transformers One created a new canon that Bumblebee, Rise and the Beasts and Transformers (2007) fit into while retconning the series so that Revenge of the Fallen and the subsequent films are non-canon. The film's events became the definitive origin story for all future continuities of the Transformers franchise including some that had already ended such as the War for Cybertron Trilogy and Earthspark.
Due to the critical and commercial success of Transformers One, Crossroads in Time was the highest grossing and most critically acclaimed Live Action film of the franchise. A sequel was announced for 2028.
Category:Transformers
Category:2024 films
Category:2024 animated films
Category:Science Fantasy
Category:Science fiction films
Category:Animated science fiction films
Category:2024