KSL Movie Review: ‘Transformers One’ is the best Transformers movie yet

Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial like a news article is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.

SALT LAKE CITY — I missed the window for the “Transformer” craze, as I was already a husband and a father of twin girls when the cartoon series and some of the early movies in the mid to late 80s came out.

Over the years, I’ve managed to see most of the major motion pictures featuring the Transformers, some good, some bad, yet without developing much of a personal connection to the franchise – until now.

A return to Transformer origins

It’s ironic that this current “Transformers One” movie doesn’t have a single human in it, and yet is filled with more humor, heartache and emotion than any of the previous films. This version also takes us back to the origins of two distinguished characters, Optimus Prime and Megatron, which helps those of us unknowing, but willing to learn, what this is all about, aside from various metallic objects trying to destroy each other.

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In fact, it’s this very effort to bring together a prequel origin story, for fan and fledgling alike, to actually tell a good story all can grasp. In so doing, this has got to be the best “Transformers” movie yet, since it deals with friendships, betrayals, silliness, wit and wisdom – all things we mere mortals can relate to.

Small-town miners turned heroes

I’m told it’s set millions of years ago, where robots lived on planet Cybertron. There was a civil war between factions and the “Matrix of Leadership” went missing. The current revered leader of Cybertron, Sentinel Prime (voiced by Jon Hamm) has been heading missions across the galaxy to retrieve it, but so far no luck.

Now Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and his best pal D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) are lowly miners with no powers to transform. They sneak into an annual race featuring real transformers and become instant heroes to the common robots for even daring to compete. This gives them the courage to try to rise above their station, to maybe eventually be transformers themselves.

They have stumbled upon a clue that could lead to the “Matrix of Leadership” but will need the help of a cranky former boss, Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and an even lowlier bot with a motor mouth, B-127 (Keegan-Michael key). Together, they travel to the planet’s surface and begin their adventure to bring the “matrix” thing back to their home world.

Accomplishes the unthinkable

We’re getting close to the extent of my knowledge about transformers, but I do know plenty about Keegan-Michael Key who introduces us to a recycling helpmate called A-Atron, which I hope was a reference to a Key & Peale skit where Key plays a hard-nosed substitute teacher who is mispronouncing white kids’ names – like Jacqueline becomes Jay-quel-in, Blake is Bah-lakay and Aaron is A-Aron. If you haven’t seen it, YouTube it. It’s hilarious!

I’m sure there are tons more inside jokes, especially for Transformer pros, but “Transformers One” has accomplished the unthinkable – it’s actually relatable to more than just its fan base. So I say – well done.

TRANSFORMERS ONE (B+) Rated PG for sci-fi violence and animated action throughout, and language. Featuring the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne and Steve Buscemi. Directed by Josh Cooley (“Toy Story 4” co-wrote “Inside Out”) – filmed at Paramount Animation and Industrial, Light and Magic. Running time: 104 minutes.

The KSL Movie Show with Andy Farnsworth and Steve Salles airs Fridays on KSL NewsRadio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Follow the show on Facebook, and join The KSL Movie Show Club for exclusive perks by texting MOVIE to 57500.