When it comes to the best and most popular TV shows for kids from the ’80s, there are plenty of options to choose from, but Transformers stands above the rest. For as beloved as G.I. Joe, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are, nothing really compares to the love that fans have for Transformers. From newer animated shows to comic books to action figures, the franchise has continued to expand over the years. The biggest expansion has come on the big screen, with eight major motion pictures about the Transformers coming to theaters. The results of these films have been a mixed bag, with most being critically panned projects that grossed a lot of money at the box office. Longtime fans had been clamoring for a great movie from the franchise for years and they finally got one in 2024 that ended up as an underrated project.
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That film was Transformers One, which kind of did everything right. It felt true to what people know about the franchise while telling a relatively new story. It did this while going back to the series’ roots, yet not enough people went to see it and the film remains something of a hidden gem.
Transformers One Is Everything A Transformers Movie Should Be
One of the most consistent criticisms that Michael Bay’s live-action Transformers movies faced centered on their visuals. The Autobots and Decepticons looked unnatural and often came across as clunky in live-action. This is a franchise that has always looked its best when it’s in an animated format. That was the case with the original series from the ’80s, shows like Beast Wars, and the more modern adaptations. Transformers One marked the first animated film in the series since 1986 and it looked gorgeous. Visually, Transformers One is clearly the best looking movie in franchise history.
Transformers One also understood key elements like focusing on Cybertron rather than trying to tell a fish-out-of-water story set on Earth. It was the Transformers in their natural habitat, which feels truer to the world that was established all those years ago when fans were first introduced to these characters. Other than visuals, it was often the human characters who were poorly received in the live-action Transformers film and this one did away with them entirely.
Transformers One Is The Best Transformers Film
All the things that Transformers One did to ensure it was true to the lore worked because the installment is widely considered the best in the entire franchise. For starters, Transformers One sits at 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and while that’s slightly lower than Bumblebee at 91%, the Popcornmeter shows that Transformers One beats it 97% to 75%. That makes it clear that both critics and audiences love this film and hold it up as the best.
Nearly every aspect of Transformers One was well-received. The animation style was considered stunning, the voice acting of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, and the rest of the cast was great, and above all else, the story was engaging. The film worked as an origin tale that looked at Optimus Prime and Megatron back when they were Orion Pax and D-16. The relationship between them and how they become who they’re meant to be makes for the best and most emotional story ever told in a Transformers movie.
A Transformers One Sequel Is Unlikely
As great as Transformers One is and as much as loyal fans would love to get a sequel, it feels highly unlikely. With a reported budget of somewhere between $75 million and $150 million, its box office intake of just under $130 million is considered a disappointment. It’s unfortunate that the best Transformers movie flopped while the ones that are considered bad became blockbuster successes. The future looks bleak for another story set in this world on the big screen, though a TV series of sorts was put out on YouTube called Transformers One: New Adventures.
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said there were discussions for a trilogy but that a sequel would only be made if Transformers One made enough money. With the lackluster financial intake, Hasbro announced they wouldn’t co-finance another project based on their properties, so studios have to do it on their own. From there, director Josh Cooley said Paramount wasn’t interested in a sequel, despite fans and the cast expressing interest in it. Instead, Cooley is said to be returning for another live-action Transformers adaptation. It remains to be seen if going back to the live-action well is a good thing, but going away from animation feels like a misstep.
Transformers One can be streamed on both Prime Video and Paramount+.
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Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
