By Izayah Morgan Editorial Staff The “Transformers” universe has been fighting an uphill battle. Director Michael Bay’s “Transformers” movie adaptation set a precedent with how much the “Transformers” IP can generate. With the most recent “Transformers” movie “Rise of the Beasts” grossing $441.4 million worldwide in 2023, the movie could not be under more pressure. Combine that with what seemed to be a lack of advertisement, the movie seemed to be doomed to fail. However, as a massive “Transformers” fan, I was pleasantly surprised. The voice acting was a key highlight for me, Chris Hemsworth as Orion Pax (Optimus Prime), Brian Tryee Henry as D-16 (Megatron), Scarlett Johansson as Elita-1, and the standout performance of Jon Hamm as Sentinel Prime. The beginning acts as a setup to the planet Cybertron and how it came to be. Primus was the first Transformer and turned him into the world that the Transformers would all home and produce their life source energon. After Primus transformed, he created the 13 original “Primes,” who were tasked with governing all Cybertronians and protecting them. After years of peace, the Quintessons - another species - attacked. Twelve of the original 13 Primes died in a conflict with them. The only survivor was Sentinel Prime. The Quintessons are an ever-looming threat throughout the movie, and with the planet's energon supply running low, it quite wonderfully speeds up progression in the movie. The Matrix of Leadership is presented to the main Prime and used to allow energon to flow successfully to the Cybertron, which was lost in the battle with the Quintessons. The story follows Orion Pax and D-16. It follows the journey of how their brothership fell into a millenia-long war. Orion Pax, D-16, and many more Cybertronians were born without Cogs, which is what makes a Transformer a Transformer. It allows them to change from robot mode to vehicle mode. Cogless Cybertronians were assigned to the mines to gather the depleting energon. Orion Pax is a classic rebel character searching for answers on history and where the Matrix of Leadership is. D-16 is the character there to largely protect Orion from danger, but also present the opposition of Pax, a character who is largely happy with his life and does not mind the role society has put him in. The movie tells a fantastic story between the two brothers and how they fall from grace. Pax strives for more than his life as just a miner and becoming the hero Cybertron needs. His whole journey and crew's journey (Pax, D-16, Bumblebee, and Elita-1) is to find the matrix and return it to Sentinel prime. The comedy to me stood out as the movie’s funniest part. The interactions between the main crew creates some ease after a tense moment. After learning the true history of the world, the crew has different ideas on what to do. This is the main thing that tears Pax and D-16 apart. Seeing the two sides one can take after learning the “truth” parallels real life in so many ways. Both Pax and D-16 had relatable paths one could take, and make me empathize with the characters more. Overall, it was an enjoyable ride and made me jump out of my seat laughing. Rating: A- A cog doesn't define you