Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Transformers One 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 10, 2024

The world of the Transformers has recently been the domain of Michael Bay, the hotshot Summer popcorn filmmaker whose 2007 film Transformers redefined the effects spectacle, the Acton Popcorn film, and artistic license to take a beloved franchise and reengineer it for a new generation. That film was followed by a plethora of sequels of varying degrees of "bad," and despite a a noble effort to reboot the franchise into something a little more familiar to fans of the original toy line, there has not been an authentic recent Transformers film until...now? Transformers One, as the name implies, is a much-needed origins story that does not take place in the same time or space or even format as the Michael Bay+ films but is instead a reboot that aims to take the franchise back to its animated roots and begin a franchise of its own.

Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) is a non-transforming energy mining bot on Cybertron who is obsessed with the missing Matrix of Leadership, which is said to be the key to balance in the world and endless production of Energon, the planet’s, and the robots’ lifeblood. Since it has gone missing, the flow of Energon has halted, forcing miners to extract it. The planet’s leader, Sentinel Prime (voiced by Jon Hamm), returns from another search for the Matrix empty-handed. But when he gives the planet the day off of work to watch the most popular race on the world, the Iacon 5000, Orion Pax and his best friend, D-16 (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry), sneak into the race with jetpacks to compete in the race and prove the Miner bots are “more than meets the eye.” They shock the world and nearly win. Their efforts are lauded by Sentinel but are afterward they are unceremoniously sent to the incineration where they meet B-127 (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) who, along with Pax’s mining team leader, Elita-1 (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), escape to the surface and undertake the impossible mission of finding the Matrix, a mission that will redefine the Cybertronian landscape for generations to come.

It’s not a stretch to call Transformers One the best Transformers film since the beloved and still excellent 1986 animated film which remains, and probably will always remain, the single greatest bit of Transformers entertainment ever made. But here is a film with Transformers One that plays around with some narrative and artifice license but largely retains the original look and feel of the cartoon and toy line from the 1980s, and the storyline allows for there to be some alterations and evolutions during the course of its runtime until the film reaches that zenith that sets in motion the familiar landscape that the original cartoon, feature film, and toys occupied. The film is certainly not a creative powerhouse in terms of style and structure, going through some basic motions that don't reinvent the narrative wheel but that at least bring some satisfactory beginnings into the Transformers world. And for a franchise so longstanding, so beloved, and so thoroughly deconstructed in various ways over the decades, that's about all one can reasonably ask for now around 40 some years since the franchise debuted.

The film is suitably exciting, adequately plotted, and well animated, with the characters looking and acting a little different (though making sense in the narrative context) but feeling enormously Transformers even in some of the early stages when it's familiar but not exact in its depiction of things. Once the dividing line between Orion Pax (Optimus Prime) and D-16 (Megatron) comes into sharper focus, the film finds its teeth and footing as it, er, transforms into the more familiar territory that was at the heart of the original series. That's good, because my first thought upon seeing the UHD menu screen was how very nonthreatening the characters looked, how friendly and safe they appeared. But that more innocent and childlike stature quickly dissipates as the story evolves. The voice work is solid enough, too (even if I am still somehow shocked Chris Pratt isn't voicing Optimus, just because he seems to voice just about everything else these days). Overall, it'a s solid and fun movie, worlds better than any of the Michael Bay films (his first notwithstanding) and well worth the time and price of admission.

Transformers One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from the UHD disc output at 1080p. They are not representative of the UHD/Dolby Vision image you will see on your screen.

It shouldn't be much of a surprise to see praise heaped upon praise for Paramount's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation of Transformers One. Here is a 2024 big budget animated film from a beloved franchise and produced by a major studio...what could go wrong? Well, lots, really, but fortunately nothing at all is wrong here. The movie is a real looker, with the UHD bringing out the very best of the fine point animation elements, capturing the subtlest points of wear and mechanical interest on the robots while also displaying the complexities of Cybertron and the various landscapes seen throughout the film with precision definition and detail. A Blu-ray is also included, and while I will not speak much of it, I will note that the HUD captures a bit more of that fine detail, not to revelatory levels but certainly offering the more precision-tuned image that does the very best with the content at hand.

The UHD's Dolby Vision grading is wonderful, with bold highlights and brilliant colors that are saturated fully and richly beyond the Blu-ray's capabilities. To be sure, the included Blu-ray is no slouch itself, but viewers will definitely find the UHD to be quite striking for the Dolby Vision color yield, where reds are punchy, silvers are finely tuned, and all variety of color explosions dazzle with practically infinite range, vitality, and life. The Blu-ray just can't match, and it is here, in the color spectrum, where the UHD really shines over the Blu-ray. Additionally, black levels depth is improved a bit as is white balance.

Neither transfer sees anything of concern in terms of source or encode faults, like banding or aliasing. This one is reference grade all the way on both formats, but especially on the UHD with its brilliant Dolby Vision colors.

Transformers One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Paramount brings Transformers One to the UHD format with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The presentation is just about everything one could dream of for a movie of this sort. Musical engagement is wildly wonderful, delivering with plenty of space and even greater fine point clarity, making for a completely enveloping and perfectly lifelike sound field. Ambient effects, especially in some of the quieter scenes (such as when we meet B-127 a few minutes after the race) where subtle and discrete effects, including overhead, build a comprehensive and practically complete environment. Of course, the action scenes are the stuff of audio dreams. They are full, deep, powerful, totally engaging with sound bursting from every speaker and sound traveling through every channel with accuracy and fidelity that still manage to impress deep into 2024. It's great. Add in perfectly detailed and dialed in dialogue with its perfect prioritization and front-center placement, and there's not a single area of complaint with this presentation.

Transformers One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Transformers One contains the same suite of extras on both the UHD and the Blu-ray. A digital copy code is included with purchase.

• In the Beginning (1080p, 10:14): Discussing the film's prequel status, working in the animated realm, the character dynamics between Optimus and Megatron, voice work, Josh Cooley's direction, motion capture work and animation, and more.
• World Building on Cybertron (1080p, 9:37): Visualizing Cybertron prior to its fall and animating it for the screen.
• Together As One (1080p, 11:00): Examining the larger body of voice work in the film.
• The Iacon 5000 (1080p, 6:26): Making the race sequence that is key to the narrative.
• The Battle for Cybertron (1080p, 8:59): Making the climactic action sequence and exploring the emotional pull in it.

Transformers One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Transformers One wasn't written to redefine cinematic drama. It's a trope filled film in terms of story, substance, and style, but it's a solid performer anyway that looks and sounds great and holds interest, especially once the story begins to see the demarcation between Autobot and Decepticon. There are some fun easter egg-y bits here and there, too, so fans of the franchise will probably find this to be a good investment of their time. The UHD is excellent. Video and audio are exactly what they need to be, and the supplements are adequate. This ships with a Blu-ray, but as far as I can tell there is no Blu-ray only release. It's curious why Paramount even included it, but...at least it's there. Recommended.