Review: 'Transformers One' is a cleverly conceived animated tale of 'robots in disguise' that works better if you ignore the marketing

In the 40 years since the first “Transformers” series played on TV screens, there have been countless animated TV shows, videos and movies — plus six overamped live-action films (plus a really good one, “Bumblebee”) — and now the fully computer-animated “Transformers One.”

This latest iteration of the “more than meets the eye” mechanical shape-shifting robots that sell a lot of product for Hasbro is energetic and entertaining — and could have been even more, if the Paramount and Hasbro marketing departments hadn’t gotten in the way.

On the planet Cybertron, all the locals are robots but aren’t all created equal. The elite of Iacon City, led by the charismatic Sentinel Prime (voiced by Jon Hamm), have the power to change their form — while the rest, robots without the “cogs” that allow transformations, labor in the mines digging up the “energon” that powers the planet and helps Sentinel Prime fight the never-ending war against invading aliens on the surface of Cybertron.

One of the “no-cogs” in the mines, Orion Pax (voiced by Chris Hemsworth), thinks there’s something out there better for him. He convinces his buddy, D-16 (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry), to enter Iacon City’s big race, something no cog-less ‘bot has ever done successfully. Their bravado impresses Sentinel Prime, but not their mine supervisor, who banishes them to the lowest levels — where they encounter a chatty robot named B-127 (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key), or Bee for short.

Eventually, Orion, D-16 and Bee wind up on the surface, along with a no-nonsense robot, Elita-1 (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Up there, they learn some hard truths about the war, Sentinel Prime, and the ancient “Prime” robots who once ruled Cybertron. The truth makes Orion determined to change things for all robots, while it makes D-16 feel betrayed and seeking revenge.

The conflict between Orion and D-16 fuels the back half of this smoothly animated movie. And if you don’t want to know the “spoiler” — the one that is the focus of the movie’s marketing campaign — skip the next paragraph.

The movie, the advertising tells us, is the origin story of the most important figures in the “Transformers” canon. Orion becomes Optimus Prime — the red paint job is an early clue, and eventually the semi-truck look is a giveaway. That makes D-16 the future Megatron, who becomes Optimus Prime’s sworn enemy for the franchise.

The thing is, not knowing what’s in that last paragraph makes “Transformers One” a more interesting movie — because without that knowledge, the audience is allowed to discover these characters as they evolve. With that knowledge, the audience is just tapping its collective feet, waiting for the inevitable reveal.

The animated action set pieces are engaging, as director Josh Cooley (“Toy Story 4”) and his band of visual stylists make Cybertron a fully realized world with some interesting robot creatures living there. The pacing is solid, and even if you don’t know what’s always happening, it’s never boring.

“Transformers One” is a solid movie, and one that’s most likely to spawn a couple of sequels to explore the myth-making that the franchise’s diehard fans from childhood will want to see.

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‘Transformers One’

★★★

Opens Friday, September 20, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG for sci-fi violence and animated action throughout, and language. Running time: 104 minutes.