Most of the films, live-action or animated, in this franchise have focused on the so-called "robots in disguise" already living on Earth. This film, directed by Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4), is a prequel to most of those films. If one knows the premise of this franchise, one knows that it's about a group of robots battling another group of robots. The good robots are known as Autobots and their leader is Optimus Prime. The bad robots are Decepticons and their leader is Megatron. This film shows how Optimus Prime and Megatron became the leaders of their different factions and why they were fighting each other at all. It's an origin story. If one is familiar with probably the most well-known sequel story, one will recognize that there are a lot of similarities between this and the Star Wars prequels. Mainly, the film is about classism and how an oppressed group can rise up, as well as the different ways there are to rebel.
Chris Hemsworth (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and Avengers: Endgame) stars as the voice of Orion Pax, a miner, similar to a coal miner. He works on Cybertron, the home of the living robots. He's treated like a second-class citizen. He's considered nothing more than a laborer like most of the robots on Cybertron. The only robots that are treated better are those robots that can transform into various vehicles or other objects. Orion dreams of being treated like those transformers. He's always doing things that push his social status, even though it means breaking the protocol or the rules from the bosses or so-called leaders. He also has a spark of compassion because he often breaks the rules to help others, even if it puts himself in danger.
Brian Tyree Henry (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Eternals) co-stars as the voice of D-16, a fellow miner and the best friend of Orion Pax. He admires the leaders and their bosses. He respects them. He also respects the protocol and following the rules. He's not as much of a rule-breaker as Orion. He has some of the same aspirations as Orion and wants to be more than just a worker bee, but he lacks the boldness or bravery to make any moves to change things. He generally goes along with what Orion wants to do, but he ends up resenting him when things don't always go as planned.
Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow and Avengers: Endgame) also co-stars as the voice of Elita, one of the aforementioned bosses who leads the miners on Cybertron. She's even more of a person who doesn't like breaking the rules. In fact, she is the most annoyed about Orion's antics. She's annoyed mainly because she thinks she can advance her social status by following the rules and being the best at it. She actually has the same goal as Orion, but her tactics are simply the opposite. She's a bit obsequious and maybe even aggressively so.
Keegan-Michael Key (Wonka and The SuperMario Bros. Movie) also co-stars as the voice of B-127, another miner that's in an even lower level than where Orion and D-16 work. He's a very happy-go-lucky person. He's not even a second-class citizen. He's like a third or fourth-class. He's literally on the bottom of everyone else. Yet, his personality is very enthusiastic and chirpy, constantly, much to the aggravation of those around him. He's also clearly lonely and in need of friends.
If one came here for similar action to the films directed by Michael Bay, there's some to satisfy. Given that this is wholly animation, it can do even more than Bay could do who had to contend with live-action elements. Oddly, if one loves seeing the robots transform, there's not a lot of that. Seeing how Bay's film took time to show how the transforming robots have their parts move and switch was part of the charm. That charm doesn't exist here. One of the gimmicks is that Orion and D-16, as well as the others, can't transform, purposefully. There is a scene where these robots learn how to transform but it's not given much due or weight, as the film passes by this essential aspect.
Rated PG for sci-fi violence, action and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 44 mins.
In theaters.