Transformers One is one of the most recent Transformers projects that I have actually enjoyed the story for. The action, the characters, and the story were almost perfect in how they executed the main narrative and visuals of the movie, showcasing how the characters we know and love from the other films developed before they came to Earth. We get to see the characters transform from unrecognizable miners to Optimus Prime and Megatron. Throughout the movie, they gradually turn into their counterparts, and it couldn’t be more beautifully tragic.

Orion Pax and D-16’s relationship is the focal point of the film. Their brotherly bond demonstrates how they have each other’s backs while watching that connection slowly dissolve as they uncover the lies told by their superiors over the course of the movie. Their characters gradually transform into the iconic figures we know and love: Orion becomes Optimus, and D-16 becomes Megatron.

The climax of the movie, resulting in Orion’s death and Optimus’s creation, is the best scene in the entire film. It’s the culmination of an entire movie’s worth of character regression and progression. Megatron betrays Orion and leaves him to die while he kills Sentinel for betraying the rest of the Primes. However, Cybertron itself deems Orion worthy of becoming a Prime to lead the rest of Cybertron to victory. In turn, Optimus banishes Megatron and focuses on reforming the government.

10/10 would watch again if I weren’t broke.