Transformers One

Since the inception of the "Transformers" back in 2007, the number of films have been many. Of course, the franchise is based on the action figures created by Hasbro, "Transformers One" is the first animated film of the franchise. This film was truly meant to be animated, which is curious of why it was ever produced as a live-action film. 

This is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends, Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry), bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. So, as the two embark of righting wrongs, they enlist fellow coworkers Elita 1 (Scarlett Johansson) and B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key) to help them in their search for the truth. 

Others to round out the cast are Steve Buscemi as Starscream, Laurence Fishburne as Alpha Trion, Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime and Vanessa Liguori as Airachnid. 

This was phenomenally directed with precision by Josh Cooley ("Toy Story 4" '19) plus videos. All of his experience has been incorporated in the animation realm. and with this project, it truly is showcased. His sequencing, staging and pacing were amazing. Even though he has only one feature film to his credit, that, and his videos have served him well. It was written with cohesiveness, clarity and a healthy element of heart and humor by Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, based on a story by Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari. All are seasoned writers here, especially that of Pearson and this script proves it. However, there were a couple of very small places of slowness, it certainly wasn't enough to detract from the story at hand. ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) who created both the animation and visuals of this production were seamless. Both Hemsworth and Tyree Henry were incredibly effective in their performances of Orion Pax and D-16 respectively, which definitely helps so as to work well off of one another. 

If you like the 'Transformers' franchise, you'll especially revel with this. I'm not especially a fan of the franchise, however this even blew me away. As with other productions, stay until all end credits have rolled since it looks to be a sequel in the works. I know, what a shock. If you prefer to see this film in something other than a standard format, it is presented in a 3D version as well. 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                        Rated: PG                                        104mins.