The latest installment in the Transformers film series, Transformers One, was released just over a month ago on September 20 (in Vietnam and the USA at least; other countries had different release dates). Set in a separate universe to the live-action films, this film follows two best friends on the robotic planet Cybertron, Orion Pax and D-16, and the beginning of their journey to become the series’ two most prominent characters: heroic Autobot leader Optimus Prime, and his villainous archnemesis, Decepticon leader Megatron. The film has been hailed by the general moviegoing audience, hardcore Transformers fans, and professional critics as one of, if not the single, best of the Transformers films (the abysmal reputation of most of the rest of the series notwithstanding). However, does this film manage to rise past the lows of the franchise’s past works and stand as a genuinely good movie? (Spoilers are being avoided, but do lie ahead, be warned.)

First, some general thoughts before I get into more detailed analysis. I generally quite liked this movie; beyond being easily the most consistently-good and high quality film in the Transformers franchise yet, it’s generally a rather strong movie. The animation is nothing short of phenomenal; environments and models are very detailed and borderline lifelike. The director (Josh Cooley, known as the director of Toy Story 4) is clearly well-versed in dynamic and effective action; all the action scenes manage to keep up the energy and momentum of a fight whilst still being cohesive and easy to follow (a common complaint leveled at the action-heavy live-action films). The direction isn’t afraid to vary in scope, style, and pacing, fitting every scene well. The writing is generally strong; while the humor might be hit-or-miss for some (I generally found both the written and physical humor to be effective), the writing is not afraid to delve into more mature elements. It also serves as an effective introduction to the series for those unfamiliar with it; references are abundant, but the film does a good job of explaining classic elements and ensuring they are understandable within the context of the film itself.

The voice cast received much scrutiny when first revealed, decried by some as another example of animated movies prioritizing celebrities over professional voice actors, but others were cautiously optimistic. With the release of the film, it is safe to say that the skepticism was unnecessary; the cast is generally quite good. Brian Tyree Henry as D-16, later Megatron, is the strongest performance in the film, seamlessly and effectively evolving his voice through the movie from the calmer, more genial nature of D-16 to the aggressive, brutal Megatron effectively. The emotion and passion consistently put into Henry’s voice acting is impressive, contributing a great deal to what may be the best version of the Decepticon leader yet put to screen. Chris Hemsworth, meanwhile, provides an equally-strong performance as Orion Pax, later Optimus Prime. He conveys the upbeat nature of Orion Pax well, but as the film progresses his voice begins to take after Peter Cullen’s classic take on the character with its gravitas and tone, very much sounding like he (both the character and actor) could become the Optimus Prime we know and love. It’s genuinely a charismatic and compelling performance, worthy of the legacy of the character and his many prior voices. I have less to say about the other performances; all suit their characters and roles well and no one feels miscast or like they’re phoning it in.

But the main thing I’d like to discuss is how the film works to humanize these characters. The crux of the film is Orion Pax and D-16’s close relationship, and how it inevitably falls apart when they become arch-enemies as Optimus Prime and Megatron. It works incredibly well; from the start, it is shown that they are close friends, the writing and acting working in service of their chemistry and making their relationship believable. But, as the film goes on, and the cracks in both their relationship and their characters begin to show, the film maintains the drama and tension throughout as D-16 becomes increasingly ruthless and Orion is powerless to stop him.  By the time everything comes crashing down and D-16 finally goes off the deep end, it genuinely feels harrowing. Their falling-out is an inevitability, one predictable by anyone with an inkling of knowledge of the franchise; despite this, the film works to build their friendship, making its collapse all the more tragic. It truly feels like there’s no going back for them by the end of the movie, that nothing can be the same again for Optimus and Megatron. In general, this is the most alive the Cybertronians have ever been; far from the brutish metallic warriors of the live-action films, the Transformers are humanized and developed, with Cybertron and its society being well-developed beyond the relative afterthought it ends up being in most versions of the story. The film’s worldbuilding is subtle and strong, both utilizing past concepts from the franchise while making them easily digestible by new fans. There’s a lot more to be said on this matter, but the article’s long enough; simply put, never have Transformers on the big screen felt like actual, real people more than this.

Despite all this, I do feel like the film had some missed opportunities in regards to some of its characters. The Cybertron High Guard are underutilized. Their leader Starscream at least manages to characterize himself in his few scenes (Steve Buscemi, while a fitting voice for the character, feels more he’s just doing a cameo in comparison to everyone else), but his cronies Shockwave and Soundwave have little to do or say beyond being classic characters subservient to other more important characters. The status of the High Guard as the former proud servants of the Primes, now turned guerrilla warriors against Sentinel Prime, feels rather underdeveloped as is presented. At least they make for an effective depiction of where Megatron’s Decepticons originated. The alien Quintessons also feel underdeveloped; while they seem like they are being set up as the antagonists of a potential sequel, explaining their relative lack of focus in this film, their origins and reasons for their war with the Cybertronians goes largely unexplained. The few scenes they do appear in are effective and convey their menacing, otherworldly nature well, but they could still stand to be fleshed out.

In conclusion, a good –– maybe even great –– movie overall. While some aspects may be lacking, others are strong and serve to make the film both the best Transformers film yet and a strong movie in and of itself.