The recent installments of Michael Bay‘s Transformers juggernaut have remained undeniably profitably, but not exactly beloved of either critics or audiences. Still keen to milk the cash cow, Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4) back to the very beginning, before the robots in disguise land on Earth, and before even the series’ iconic character were themselves. While it’s easy to be cynical about the enterprise, Transformers One is far from the worst film to bear the name, being a decent, well-paced, and satisfying origin story.

Before Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry) were implacable foes, they were best friends and were known as Orion Pax and D-16. Far from leaders of armies, they’re lowly workers in the mines of their home planet of Cybertron. A rebellious spirit takes the pair into the path of career-minded Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and a young and keen Bumblebee (Keegan-Michael Key). The group stumble upon a conspiracy that rocks their home to its core and shapes their destiny.

It’s undeniable that Transformers One feels a little familiar its narrative. At first glance Orion Pax’s accidental hero arc resembles nothing so much as Emmett’s in The Lego Movie. He’s a tiny cog in a weirdly neo-Stalinist system, where only a Stakhanovite rate of productivity will get our hero noticed. It’s essentially another tale of blue collar empowerment and the rising up and toppling of a regime through revolutionary measures (yes, yes, it’s not technically a capitalist regime, but there is the literal seizing of the means of production). But to be honest, if that’s the message Hollywood wants to give to children, perhaps we can hold out for Rosa Luxemburg as the next Disney princess.

Anyhoo, before the strains of the ‘Internationale’ waft too strongly from the screen; to the film’s craft. The heavy duty cast is relatively unobtrusive, not overshadowing the simple but effective characterisation. Given some of the themes of the film, it’s quite fitting that the voice work – along with the animation style – be somewhat utilitarian. Everything is functional, even risking being slightly bland. Brian Tyree Henry gets to bring a tad more personality and a pronounced arc in the evolution to Megatron, and Keegan-Michael Key steals the show as the breathlessly giddy, nervously verbose Bumblebee. Otherwise, everything operates in smooth service to the simple but rather rousing story. It becomes clear early on where the plot is about to thicken, but there is a sense of revelation and intrigue – a real Boy’s Own adventure feel – that will captivate younger viewers. One can appreciate how delightful a discovery Transformers One would be around the ages of nine or 10.

There is fan service aplenty, as is par for the course these days, but again it doesn’t overshadow the story. There are plenty of self-referential nods for those nostalgic for the original cartoon and the ’86 movie, and is a fine introduction to the franchise for contemporary kids. Transformers One definitely aims its targets younger than the original, with a lighter, less portentous and self-serious approach full of snarky banter and slapstick gags. This might grate a little with older devotees, but hopefully some hefty cameos from the likes of Starscream (voiced by no less than Steve Buscemi) and Soundwave will keep the purists happy.

It’s hard to class Transformers One as anything other than a nice surprise. It’s a fun, fast, and faithful take on the mythos of the franchise that absolutely respects the intelligence of the younger audience at which it’s aimed. It’s different in tone, but it’s also got some big themes on its mind. There’s the unexpected but welcome tang of revolution there, but there’s also very contemporary issues like propaganda and misinformation being looked at in accessible, non-obtrusive way. Have the filmmakers behind Transformers One snuck a Marxist kids’ film onto the screen? Probably a stretch, but they’ve definitely made a very decent one.

In cinemas nationwide from Fri 11 Oct 2024