"As befits a franchise about shape-shifting robots, 'Transformers' has had more alternate incarnations than anyone cares to remember," said Laura Stott in The Sun. "And in the 40th year since the original 1980s cartoon, we have yet another version."
This one, happily, is "pretty entertaining" – and you don't need to have seen any of the other films to make sense of it.
An animated origins story, it takes us back to the days when Optimus Prime and Megatron – who will become sworn enemies – were "lowly" mining bots on the planet Cybertron, as well as the best of pals. Then a joyride gets them banished to "scrapheap-sifting duties", and they discover that their planet's idolised leader Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm) is a crook – prompting a rebellion. The film does often feel like it's preparing "to flog you some more plastic stuff this Christmas", but it's "pacey" good fun.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
10 upcoming albums to stream during the winter chillThe Week Recommends As the calendar turns to 2026, check out some new music from your favorite artists
-
Kristi Noem might not be long for TrumplandIN THE SPOTLIGHT The Homeland Security secretary has been one of the most visible and vocal architects of Trump’s anti-immigration efforts, even as her own star risks fading
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
10 upcoming albums to stream during the winter chill
The Week Recommends As the calendar turns to 2026, check out some new music from your favorite artists
-
One great cookbook: Natasha Pickowicz’s ‘More Than Cake’the week recommends The power of pastry brought to inspired life
-
It Was Just an Accident: a ‘striking’ attack on the Iranian regimeThe Week Recommends Jafar Panahi’s furious Palme d’Or-winning revenge thriller was made in secret
-
Singin’ in the Rain: fun Christmas show is ‘pure bottled sunshine’The Week Recommends Raz Shaw’s take on the classic musical is ‘gloriously cheering’
-
Holbein: ‘a superb and groundbreaking biography’The Week Recommends Elizabeth Goldring’s ‘definitive account’ brings the German artist ‘vividly to life’
-
The Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treatThe Week Recommends Nikolai Foster’s captivating and beautifully designed revival ‘ripples with feeling’
-
‘Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right’ by Laura K. Field and ‘The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Making of William Shakespeare’ by Daniel SwiftFeature An insider’s POV on the GOP and the untold story of Shakespeare’s first theater
-
Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secretsfeature Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, through Feb. 22
