Chris Hemsworth in “Transformers One” (2024).
We could all become villains. Our past experiences make us who we are. And when we’re unable to free ourselves from the things that hurt us, or bring us to an untethered rage, we can become the villains in our own stories. “Transformers One” walks us through an origin story and a life seeped in disappointment that leads to irrepair.
“Transformers One” is an impressively dramatic film hidden behind a disappointing marketing scheme that depicts the film as nothing more than children’s entertainment. Unlike other Transformers films, “Transformers One” highlights these robots as real characters, alternative to the cars and chaos that drive around Sam Witwicky (Shia Lebouf). The film is funny yet tragic, and at times may seem gruesome for parents looking for a lighthearted movie night with family.
The story of the Primes Optimus and Megatron may not be a new one, but it is met with a completely different approach in “Transformers One.” Starting from the very beginning, audiences are let into the brotherly friendship between Orion (Optimus, played by Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Megatronis, played by Brian Tyree Henry), two miners drilling for the energy source Evergon on CyberTron. We watch as Orion and D-16 search for greatness outside of the lower class that they were born into — born without a T-cog, unable to transform like the other citizens of CyberTron.
Excitement and passion exudes from Orion and D-16; the first quarter of the film is overwhelmingly fun to watch with action packed scenes in various locations of the world from train stations, to mines, to the race track in the center stadium of the city. We’re able to see so much of CyberTron and learn about the rules of its society early on. The humor rich performances from Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry aid the experience of seeing the Transformers as “people.”
But good fun and laughs didn’t create the Decepticons. When Orion decides that he wants to be more than a miner, he drags D-16 as well as Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and BumbleBee (Keegan-Michael Key) on a quest for the Matrix of Leadership hidden amongst the bodies of the 13 original Primes.
Ultimately, while sparing the details of your new favorite film, deception is the root of D-16’s transformation to Prime to Decepticon. The “Death of a Hero” is a phrase that characterizes a revelation of an unknown truth; a moment in which someone discovers something about their “hero” that destroys that image of them in their mind forever.
When D-16 becomes a Prime–Megatron, he struggles to see past his anger. He looks back at all the time spent living a lie and can no longer see a way forward. He loses his trust and faith in humanity (or transformanity?) and allows his rage to drive him to a point of no return. His actions after CyberTron are dishonorable and his mentality of leadership is skewed. What hurts most as a viewer, is the way we can understand his emotion. We can see the experience of Megatron and understand what motivates his actions. When we ask ourselves if he had to become the villain, if he really had to make the decisions he did, it’s hard to answer. Maybe the point of no return for Megatron is the belief that he has lost his friend, his brother. When Optimus doesn’t agree with Megatron’s actions and has to bear witness to them and fight against them, Megatron feels like he has finally lost everything. His emotions drive a wedge not only between him and his brother, but himself, D-16. Megatron is no longer D-16, he’s not bright eyed and filled with belief anymore. And his uncontrolled action from his deafening sorrow has made him the bad guy that long time viewers thought they knew all along.
A movie like “Transformers One” manages to show us what deceit and anger can do to a person. We don’t just see robots, we can see ourselves, and we can think about what we could lose if we let ourselves go with the cards we’ve been dealt. If we soak in our anger and sadness and let it turn us into someone we can no longer recognize.
“Transformers One” may be the perfect introduction to the Transformer series, and the start of a new and sound animated universe. But what stands out above all is the emotion of the characters, which speaks to us through the tin and cogs. The lessons we can learn from movies like “Transformers One” are no child’s play. All Transformers fans should make their way to the theaters or their couches at home to stream before this new wave of Transformers passes them by.
