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Transformers One | 2024 | PG | – 0.4.2
Why is “Transformers One” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sci-fi violence and animated action throughout, and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes many scenes of Transformer bots attacking each other, causing visible injuries (broken mechanics, severed wires, and electrical sparks) or death, threatening each other, and some exclamations and name-calling. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.
In this animated origin story, before Optimus Prime (voiced by Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (voiced by Brian Tyree Henry) became enemies, the two were best friends named Orion Pax and D-16, miners on their home planet who dreamed of a better life. Also with the voices of Keegan-Michael Key, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Jon Hamm and Laurence Fishburne. Directed by Josh Cooley. [Running Time: 1:51]
Transformers One SEX/NUDITY 0
– A male bot asks a female bot about herself, which could be construed as friendly or flirtatious; the female bot ignores him.
Transformers One VIOLENCE/GORE 4
– A bot approaches an enemy bot, who is on the ground and attempting to crawl away; the bot catches him and picks him up, the enemy bot screams and the other bot rips him in half (we see severed wires and sparks, and we see the light leave the bot’s eyes); once the bot is dead, the surviving bot rips a cog out of his chest and places it in his own chest.
► A flashback shows bots being ambushed by their enemy in a war and there is slashing, stabbing and shooting, and we see the killing blow delivered to several bots, including stabbing and decapitation. Two bots fight over whether it is the right thing to kill their captured enemy; one bot says the enemy “deserves to die” and attempts to shoot him as the other bot steps in the way and is struck by the blast (we see that he is scorched and missing an arm, with a hole in his torso). A bot transforms into a tiger-like creature and attacks several other bots, biting and ripping them apart (we see wires and sparks). A bot is taken prisoner by his enemy and threatened with a sword at his throat; when he refuses to give the enemy information, the enemy bot stabs and kills him (we see the infliction of injury, and the body falls limp).
► A bot stabs a sword through the windshield of an airship; the bot inside narrowly avoids being struck by the sword. A bot tells his friend not to destroy another bot as she repeatedly hits the other bot with a pipe and she says that she is being gentle. A bot discovers that he has knife hands; we see him stab several bots straight through and decapitate others; he cuts through a thick metal door and destroys a security computer room where other bots cower in fear. A spider-like bot uses her sharp legs to repeatedly stab other bots in several scenes (we see damage in some of these scenes, but the stabbing does not seem to kill them). Two bots fight each other with multiple weapons, using swords, fire, and guns; one bot’s arm turns into a machine gun and the other bot uses an axe-like weapon to bisect the gun arm.
► A bot is seized by an alien creature with tentacles that grabs all of his limbs with its tentacles and threatens him with a spike, angled at his neck; the alien ultimately releases the bot without harming him. Two bots fight, trading blows and one bot pins the other down and begins to choke him (we hear his voice become strained), then threatens him with a large cannon gun; the pinned bot begs for mercy and the other bot does not shoot him. A bot tackles another bot over a railing; they fight as they fall and crash into buildings and when they land, one bot pins the other and threatens him with a cannon gun and the pinned bot begs for his life. A bot threatens smaller bots to get back to work “before I make you,” after they complain that they have been working non-stop without breaks; the threatening bot is struck by an unseen force and is thrown into an arcade machine, breaking it and knocking him unconscious. A bot brands another bot with a soldering gun, carving a symbol into the bot’s chest as he struggles and yells in pain. Many bots brand themselves with a hot iron, with a symbol of their group; we do not hear or see any expressions of pain.
► An airship battle shows airships and bots with jetpacks shooting at each other, and we see crashes and explosions; many bots are struck by gunfire and caught in explosions causing some visible damage with bots losing pieces of their bodies, and we also see many buildings damaged, including walls being destroyed and windows being smashed. Bots see a large warship flying above them, which scans the land and when it detects a mechanical deer-like creature, the warship fires at it, causing an explosion (we see broken pieces of the mechanical deer); the bots run and hide from the scanner, visibly frightened. While working in a mine, an explosion blasts several bots backwards (we do not see damage); the bots flee the collapsing mine and one bot falls and his leg is caught under rubble; other bots save him, but he loses his leg (we see sparks and severed wiring). Bots standing on top of a train try to flee a geological event as rock formations rapidly form and throw the train off the tracks; the bots run, scream, and are ultimately thrown off the train and knocked unconscious. An airship crashes into a tower, striking several bots inside and knocking them out of the way. A bot runs from a conflict but is trapped when large rocks fall on him, burying him; another bot digs him out (we do not see damage but he groans in pain). An injured bot falls over a ledge into an abyss; another bot catches his arm but drops him and the injured bot seems to lose power as he falls but is revived by the planet’s core and returns to the surface. Several bots are struck in the head with devices that give them an electrical shock; we see electricity course through them and we see them fall to the ground, and when they awaken, guns are trained on them; one bot is gagged. A bot creates fake bots out of scrap metal, which he treats as real and when these bots are injured (their heads are knocked off or slashed off), the creator bot screams in distress that they are dead; other bots tell him that the fake bots are not dead and were “never alive.” Several bots find the lifeless bodies of other bots, which have plants growing over them and we see that they were apparently stabbed or decapitated.
► A bot commands others to burn a city down and they begin to bomb buildings and we see explosions. A bot tells his second-in-command to “hunt down the others,” referring to bots that escaped capture. Mining bots protest their conditions, shouting and destroying some of what they have been mining. A bot tells captive bots that he will rip them apart piece by piece, and threatens to execute them. A bot tells captive bots that he will slowly dismantle them and make them “feel it,” or they will get a “quick death” if they give him information. A bot says about another bot, “I want to kill him!” He goes on to say the other bot deserves to “suffer and die in darkness.” A guard bot chases another bot and threatens him, saying, “I’m going to smash you,” “you’re dead,” and “when I get my hands on him.” In several scenes, bots discuss a war taking place on their planet and the death of the original Transformers. A bot says that after he betrayed and killed another bot, he “took his cog,” which resembles a heart in the center of the bots’ chests. A bot tells a friend of his, “What if I kill you for waking me up?” and “I will smelt your face right off.” A bot tells his friend, “If we survive this, I’m going to kill you!”
► Many bots compete in a high-octane race where many bots, in humanoid form and car form, hit and crash into each other, get zapped with electricity, get caught in magnetic traps, and get hit by explosions; some are damaged or injured (pieces of bots break off and one bot tries to continue the race with a limp) and some bots yell in fear or frustration. Several bots find a menacing-looking cave, which one bot describes as a cave “with teeth” and “knives from the ceiling”; they enter the cave and comment on how scary it is. Bots jump off buildings or mountains in several scenes and free fall before they land safely but seem frightened when they fall.
► Bots in a hospital sit in a waiting room as another bot pushes a gurney past them, where an injured bot is lying prone (we do not see his injuries); a nurse bot tells him he will be “fixed right up” as he weakly asks her if he won a race. A bot reactivates another bot that had been offline; the newly online bot startles and begins to spark, lunging at other bots (he stops before he reaches them). A bot tries to wake another bot who was knocked unconscious; when she wakes up, she startles and punches the other bot in the face.
► Bots argue with raised voices and begin to fight, punching each other in the face, grabbing each other, and otherwise trading blows in several scenes (no visible damage results, but bots are occasionally knocked over); in some of these scenes, bots exclaim in pain or state that a blow “really hurt,” and in one scene, a bot exclaims, “She punched me in the eye!”
Transformers One LANGUAGE 2
– One incomplete obscene gesture (a bot suggests he is going to raise his middle finger, but another bot stops him before he does), 7 anatomical terms, name-calling (rust bucket, corrugated cog, glitch, filthy, crazy, dumb, dolts, idiots, boring, annoying, disgrace, pathetic, twits), exclamations (jeez, shut up), 1 religious exclamation (Holy Primus). | profanity glossary |
Transformers One SUBSTANCE USE
– None.
Transformers One DISCUSSION TOPICS
– The brutality of war, inequality, destiny, being in charge of your own life, teamwork, solidarity, betrayal, brotherhood.
Transformers One MESSAGE
– A person is not defined by their abilities but by their spark to live the life they want.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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