By Lee Krebs 

(image from TRANSFORMERS ONE Is a Surprisingly Dark Animated Adventure) 

Last weekend, I went to see Transformers One. I’ve been absorbing every piece of Transformers media I can get my hands on for three years now, and, while most of the recent movies haven’t been stellar, they have been fine. I had high hopes for Transformers One, and I’m glad to say I was not disappointed. 

The marketing hypes this movie as “the story of how Optimus Prime and Megatron became enemies.” However, it’s also a lot more than that, which is why I can’t exactly leave spoilers entirely out of this review—to do so would detract from so much of what makes it good and the context it sorely needs. If you are planning on seeing it and want to go in completely blind, this review is not for you. 

The movie starts with exposition. Our main character, Orion Pax, is hunting through a library wherein it is explained that the food Transformers need to survive, Energon, no longer “flows freely” throughout their home planet of Cybertron, and therefore some Transformers are forced to mine for it. When he is caught and about to be arrested, he gets away with the help of his friend D-16. D-16 is a hard worker and does not like to break the rules for fear of what will happen to him; beyond that, he idolizes Cybertron’s leader, Sentinel Prime. Together, the two of them work in the mines under the supervision of Elita-1. After some circumstances, they end up meeting B-127, who is (unknowingly) in possession of a map that will lead them to the Matrix of Leadership, the key to restoring their supply of Energon and saving their planet. Together, they travel to find it. 

Now, here is where things get a bit spoiler-y: while traveling, they meet one of the planet’s original protectors, who explains to them that Sentinel Prime is a fraud who is responsible for the disappearance of the Matrix of Leadership. This moment is where the movie’s tone distinctly changes from being a good-albeit-cringy children’s movie to a fantastic one. After this point, there is no going back for any of the characters; this permanently changes their lives. There is a specific moment where, after this revelation, Orion asks D-16 if he wants Sentinel to be exposed for the traitor he is. D-16 says, “No, I want to kill him.” Orion, Elita, and B-127 all look at him with varying expressions of concern, but when I saw this movie and when I heard D-16 describe the betrayal he felt, I looked at him with understanding. 

This movie is not just about the origins of two iconic characters from a children’s cartoon. This story is about being betrayed by the people who promised protection and safety. It’s about working every day in hopes that you will have a better life, only to learn that there is no better life waiting for you, and Orion Pax and D-16 represent two ends of a reactionary spectrum to that knowledge. Orion Pax goes on to become Optimus Prime, a leader who wants to bring peace to every living being and make things better to the best of his ability, while D-16 becomes Megatron, hellbent on revenge, not looking to play nice after a lifetime of being forced down. Megatron is angry with how things have turned out for him and how the people of Cybertron have been lied to. 

We all have been in the position of D-16 at some point. We have toiled, believing that the people above us are working for our best interests. Moreover, I am sure all of us have had a heartbreaking moment where we realized there is only one thing those above us are concerned about: power. Whether financial, social, or governmental, we have all had a heartbreaking realization at some point that we are being deceived. D-16 is a genius character who represents everyone; every worker is only given a pittance in return. Orion represents what we should do with that knowledge: not destroy everything, but work in the small ways we can to make things better for us and the people around us. 

This movie is beautiful. As a Transformers fan, it is visually stunning and everything I could ask for from a modern Transformers movie. As a worker, the conflict beneath layers of deceptive marketing speaks to me on a very basic level. Watch it if you like Transformers. Watch it if you don’t.