The Most Underrated Transformers Movie of All Time is Already Being Forgotten

As a product of the early 2000s, I know exactly what it’s like to look back fondly on the Transformers franchise and remember the spectacle of the Michael Bay Transformers movies. While they lost their way in the end, the original trilogy is hard to forget. Granted, I know they aren’t perfect, but it’s also wild how such a largely socially problematic franchise also saw so much success. Unfortunately, as the brand evolved on the big screen, leading to its second animated film in almost 40 years: Transformers One, fans simply didn’t care anymore.

To criticize early news of Transformers One as an origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron with voices like Chris Hemsworth, Bryan Tyree-Henry, and Scarlett Johansson would make sense. With such big names, how could you hear the voices of these beloved characters come through when it’s just Thor telling Autobots to roll out? Nevertheless, Transformers One was released to little fanfare at the box office but with more than enough word-of-mouth praise. While it wasn’t enough to keep the franchise afloat for much longer, and is even being forgotten already, Transformers One did accomplish being the most underrated of the entire film franchise.

Transformers One Isn’t Perfect, But It Knows Its Audience

Transformers One Poster

To say Transformers One is a tried and true masterpiece isn’t the point of this article. I can admit that there are some elements that likely won’t age well, whether it’s the manic humor of Bumblebee or the deadpan delivery of Optimus Prime and Elita-1. For older audiences, it’s also hard to see a young Orion Pax act the fool for most of the movie before embracing his destiny as Optimus Prime. Even still, with its jagged jokes that come early on, the one thing Transformers One does that I think is a testament to the writers is that it understands the audience better than most franchises.

It’s hard to create a movie in a franchise that caters to young children and adults like Transformers. Yet Transformers One shows that the best way to do this is to be genuine from the start. Yes, there are some moments where the jokes will be adolescent, like when Orion gives one of his superiors a middle finger. But there will also be more than a few serious notes that stand out in a huge way. The best example of this is when D-16, who will become Megatron, learns of Sentinel Prime’s betrayal of the Cybertronians and how he wants him to be paraded to the masses and killed publicly. I

These dark moments sandwiched between light-hearted adventure show the dexterity of the franchise as a whole, but most importantly, and the most underrated aspect of the film, is how it’s not afraid to present mature situations to younger viewers. Megatron is a bad guy by the end, and they ensure that they show this by having him betray his best friend and rip Sentinel Prime in half, leading to a shocking finale. There’s no ridiculous turn to villainy as the humor may tease, and by being serious, Transformers One can tackle serious topics while still being a fun romp.

No! I want to kill him! I want to put Sentinel in chains and march him through the mines, so that everyone can see him for the false Prime that he is! I want him to suffer, and then to die, in darkness! – D-16 to Orion Pax

I will always respect an animated children’s movie that caters to younger viewers while also taking its story to logical points that kids may not understand, but adults will. It’s what makes the movie so impressive and why it improves on the original animated film, which tried to do the same but instead succeeded in killing a LOT of characters in the process. From transforming scenes and epic fights to fun humor and hard truths of growing up, Transformers One has something to say for everyone, and I think that’s saying a lot for animated films of this day and age, where so few have a strong message.

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Transformers One Reinvents and Revives Optimus Prime and Megatron’s Rivalry

Optimus Prime and Megatron face off in Transformers One.

Knowing the audience is one thing to help Transformers One, but for a movie whose main goal is to sell the tragedy of Optimus Prime and Megatron’s rivalry, One does so by exploring their bond in an ingenious way. Being a movie geared towards kids, even I have to admit that their adolescent humor and almost uncharacteristic traits were a bit of a drag at first. I failed to see that Orion’s optimism would fuel his future namesake, and D-16’s drive and hero worship of Megatronus Prime would be the spark to ignite his war against deceptive individuals who lie like Sentinel Prime. But when it happens, the full scope of what the movie has to offer comes to light, and it’s amazing.

In many ways, the bond between Orion Pax and D-16 is similar to that between Moses and Ramses in The Prince of Egypt. They are two brothers who came up together and shared similar lives, but when it came to their personal beliefs, a wedge came between them that would never be removed. In the case of Transformers One, it was like seeing a friend from school change into someone you didn’t like in college. There’s a tragedy to friends growing up and changing, but also an inevitability. While there was death and destruction in One, it’s still sad to see D-16 evolve into an enemy and even stop relying on his best friend and his need to see a silver lining.

When compared to past iterations of these characters, Transformers One does a great job of reinventing the wheel. Rather than having Megatron be a tyrant or gladiator and Optimus a worker or scholar from the start, the film puts them on even footing. They come from the same place and have the same job, it’s just that one is more likely to question things, while the other’s blind loyalty was rewarded with betrayal that reshaped his outlook on life. These subtle changes not only make it easy to understand both perspectives but also make one feel a sense of tragedy, especially during Optimus Prime’s rise and Megatron’s fall.

What makes this pairing so underrated is that everyone is so focused on the rivalry that no one ever thinks about the origin. As a result, there’s a sadness in the fact that so much work went into delivering such a powerful and emotional story, only for it to feel as though it’s been overlooked for the glitz and glam of battles and witty banter. Transformers One is a movie that does its best to give younger audiences a definitive take on the origins of Optimus Prime and Megatron, and I feel time will prove that the choices made were smart ones.

Seeing Megatron rip Sentinel Prime in half is one of the most shocking death scenes I’ve ever seen in a children’s movie, and, unlike the 1986 film’s death of Optimus Prime, it wasn’t cruel for the sake of cruelty. Conversely, seeing Optimus Prime rise as the leader of a free Cybertron was nothing short of biblical, and the thought behind each frame was obvious from the moment the Primes gave him the Matrix of Leadership. It’s an inventive and powerful origin for both characters, and as the credits roll, knowing a sequel is unlikely, I can’t help but feel like the reason the film has already become so underrated is only because it wasn’t given a strong platform to leap off of.

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Bad Marketing Doesn’t Mean Transformers One is Bad

Typically, for movies that focus on major franchises, marketing is the one thing that can make or break them. Even looking at past hits like Pirates of the Caribbean to current hits like Wicked, marketing is the most important element right after the product itself. To that effect, it’s wild to me that Transformers One never got similar attention beyond the bare minimum of marketing. Not only did the movie try to lean into the humorous side of the movie more than anything, but it also set up a notion that it was yet another unserious children’s movie and not a “real” one that deserves attention.

Here, freedom and autonomy are the rights of all sentient beings. Here, all are truly Autobots. – Optimus Prime

These elements have all contributed to the peculiar state of the film, as it has all the ingredients of a movie that would be swept under the rug for not being good. Yet what makes it underrated is the genuine quality that the movie has when people watch it. Even more interesting is how movies like this take time to reach an underrated status, and in the case of Transformers One, it felt like it was almost overnight. The worst part is that it’s technically the movie that has either killed or made dormant the Transformers brand on the big screen. It’s an unfair fate for a movie that had all the necessary components to “transform” the brand and reintroduce it to fans stronger than ever.

Transformers One does more for the franchise than it had to, like explaining the names of both factions. As a child, I always assumed Autobots were called that because they turned into automobiles, and Decepticons had their name due to their deceptive nature. Now, Autobots are named as such because they gained and fight for their autonomy, while Decepticons have their name in an effort to expose deceptive enemies like Sentinel Prime. These small details seem pointless on their own, but exploring these small elements creates a more fleshed-out world.

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In the end, Transformers One earns its name because it feels like a start to something great, and instead, it managed to overshadow even the past two live-action movies to be the most underrated Transformers film of all. It’s fun, energetic, and daring, and the fact that even the powers that be didn’t want to try and give the movie enough of a chance feels like an undeserved fate for such a fun movie. The voice acting and animation helped create a familiar but new world, and those who have seen the movie, myself included, enjoy it quite a bit. With that in mind, there’s no Transformers movie more underrated than Transformers One, and it’s about time it got the widespread praise it deserves before it’s forgotten forever.

Come back in two weeks to see Jamie Parker defend a little-known Western series.