Their explanation for this change is a take on the story of the Autobots and Decepticons by having known arch-rivals, Optimus Prime and Megatron, begin as friends and show their descent to bitter rivals through their approach to the Transformers leader Sentinel Prime.
The stand out performance of the film has to go to Brian Tyree Henry as D-16, whose pain and grievance with the system on the Transformers’ home planet of Cybertron pushes him down his dark path towards becoming the villainous Megatron. Henry’s conviction and emotional vulnerability regularly steals scenes and frequently represents the contrast between the films that came before, as there are no humans like in the Michael Bay film series. His ability to show emotion through animation as a robot is incredible and certainly steals the show.
a nostalgic treat for those who watched the original series
The animation style is similar to that of the new TMNT films and the Spiderverse, films which have become popular with audiences as classic trademarks and likenesses are remade in their original comic book form - or in Transformers Ones case, the style of the original TV series and toy brand. The film maintains this animation style throughout, as it gives the machines a new fluidity that replaces the clunkiness of the robots in the live action films. This style allows the characters to have more freedom with the transforming sequences and with fight scenes that replicate what the 1980’s era of the brand felt like to audiences.
The film is clearly targeted to a younger audience but the classic look and feel of all the Transformers, with Optimus and Megatron getting their vintage style back, allows the film to be a nostalgic treat for those who watched the original series.