Transformers One Scoring Excellent Reviews

The review embargo for Transformers One has lifted and various entertainment websites have posted their reviews of the film. As of this writing, the film is sitting at a very good critic score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes with many critics calling it the best Transformers film to date. Over all the critics call out excellent visuals, predictable but heartbreaking storyline, and better use of humor than trailers suggest. In the US, there is a fan event sneak preview this Saturday with official release on September 20. Below are some quotes from various reviews.

"The new film easily wipes away the bad taste 20 years of live-action Transformers movies may have left for some. It’s big, it’s beautiful, and it’s arguably the best Transformers movie ever. ...Despite what early trailers may have teased, the jokes are only there when needed. Lore is never more complicated than it has to be. And that friendship gone wrong is weaved into a much bigger, more shocking story. Then, once Transformers One gets into its third act, things get legitimately heartbreaking, adding to the drama and emotion." - Gizmodo

"...while it’s ultimately uneven and lacking the inventiveness or visual splendor it would have needed to be truly great, T1 manages to have more smarts and depth than it first lets on. It could serve as a setup for better films to follow, now that all the “origin story” table setting is out of the way. ...The most fascinating thing about the plot of Transformers One isn’t the deep, dark secrets that Orion and his friends discover. It’s the way that Orion learns what kind of leader he wants to be by watching what D-16’s anger over those discoveries does to him, and deciding what kind of leader he doesn’t want to be. ...I saw the film in 3D, which definitely enhances the film’s visuals, giving the central setting of Iacon City a wonderfully layered depth, but Transformers One never figures out how to make the most of its vistas in its action scenes, which often feel like arbitrary diversions from the story rather than involving sequences that contribute to the film or our understanding of the characters in a meaningful way. - Kotaku

"...the story has more humanity than the films that co-star human actors, and ultimately makes you feel the operatic tragedy of Megatron. ...The animation is sleeker than even the computer-animated TV series, though stops short of photorealistic like the live-action movies. Most notably, the characters have faces with eyes, noses and mouths like they did in the toys and old 2D cartoons, as opposed to the Michael Bay movies which fashioned their faces out of mechanical auto parts. Industrial Light + Magic still designed this animation." - Deadline

"There is tension to Transformers One if you have even a passing knowledge of the Transformers characters or mythos, a conflicting recognition that the film’s story is well-told even as it treads the familiar territory of other friends-to-enemies plotlines. ...And after one immediately recognizes that Sentinel Prime’s benevolent leadership is an obvious veneer for ulterior motives, the plot becomes as rote and predictable as a straight road leading from title to credits. ...With so much that Transformers One gets right, there’s still that nagging feeling that we’ve been there, done that. A rushed first act plows through its world-building with such efficiency that it sets a precedent for a tight pace that doesn’t allow much space to breathe between exciting action beats. Inversely, this leaves comedic moments feeling like forced token gestures, leaning hard into kinetic hyperactivity instead of telling jokes that aren’t already stale before the punchline lands." - AV Club

"It’s a pleasure, then, to report that the series’ first animated theatrical feature in nearly 40 years proves a thoroughly entertaining origin story that even the uninitiated can enjoy. Besides the raucous, de rigueur action sequences, Transformers One provides numerous witty jokes of both the verbal and visual variety and — surprise, surprise — genuine emotion. Consider this a franchise revitalized. ...The gorgeous 3D-style computer animation is a wonder to behold throughout, from the character designs (these seem the most expressive Transformers yet) to the elaborate action sequences (the race is a highlight) to the varied settings that make the environments seem fully lived-in. There’s so much visual imagination on display that multiple viewings seem essential to take it all in." - The Hollywood Reporter