Netflix's TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON (2020) 0

[Bosco685]

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Chapter 1 in Transformers" War for Cybertron gets off to a great start on Netflix!

This is a mostly spoiler-free review of the first chapter for Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy, titled "Siege." All six episodes are currently available to binge on Netflix.

Hasbro's iconic Transformers franchise has been around for over three decades, and with a seventh live-action film reportedly on track for 2022 and an animated feature from Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley in the works, one might assume the robot-heavy stories are in danger of losing their potency due to sheer overuse. Netflix's latest venture into this imaginative universe, titled Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy, proves that there's still plenty of Energon left to mine with an action-packed storyline that explores what happened on the Transformers’ home world of Cybertron before the Autobots and Decepticons make their way to Earth.

While the main plot of this six-episode first chapter surrounding the Autobots and Decepticons’ search for the AllSpark will be familiar to fans of the live-action movies, there are some fascinating new bits of lore that are worth tuning in for. One of the most notable and exciting aspects of the series is actually getting to spend a significant amount of time on Cybertron, as opposed to brief flashbacks. Instead of focusing on the Earthbound conflicts, here we get to follow iconic characters like Optimus Prime and Bumblebee through the ruined and abandoned streets of their once-prosperous civilization. It’s a distinctively different, more dystopian atmosphere: we’re watching the Titanic-like inevitable demise of this world rather than the hopeful establishment of a new home.

 

Netflix's Transformers: War for Cybertron gets off to a great start, with an engaging first chapter that's both action-packed and insightful. The series offers a unique and memorable glimpse into the Transformers’ home planet, but it certainly could have been explored more thoroughly if the story wasn't in such a hurry to get to the more relatable conflict on Earth. Due to the huge ensemble of characters, some storylines get lost in the mix, but the wonderful mix of music, nostalgic sound design, and gorgeous animation make it a distinctive take on the universe that both reward old-school fans and welcomes new ones.

 

[Bosco685]

 

[Buzzetta]

I watched the whole thing... 

Non-Spoiler comments

It was better than Transformers: The Last Knight 

Voice acting was okay... 

Backstory between the Autobots and the Decepticons is far more interesting than just the traditional Transformers good guy vs bad guy routine.  I liked that alot.  It made the conflict make a lot more sense. 

Interesting introduction to Bumblebee... 

Some of the roles have been changed... so Red Alert who as a toy or on the cartoon was in charge of security is the Autobot medic for most of the season.   Not a big deal.

Watch it... it was a decent way to kill some time. 

The cartoon models are definitely toy accurate to 2019's Siege of Cybertron. 

I should have bought an Omega Supreme

[Sauce Dog]

22 minutes ago, Buzzetta said:

 

It was better than Transformers: The Last Knight 

 

 I thought the series was pretty bland at the best of times, and this the most accurate praise one could give to it. It was better than Last Knight (and better than the prior Machinima series too as I recall).

Felt really weird they decided to focus on doing a Cybertronian origin story but have all the toys be their earth alt modes, making most of the Autobots feel out of place on Cybrtron (of course they tried to hide this by not having them transform much, and when they did it was pretty dark or in gritty smoke - such as was the case with Hound in the early episodes). The show did look decent, though a little too dark and gritty (which made the scenes very bland and repetitive. Add some alien tech / neon to spice things up!)

Optimus felt like an incompetent leader with no inspiring morality to share with his troops beyond "HAVE FAITH WE MUST KEEP FIGHTING!". Bumblebee likewise didn't feel like the character at all and they were struggling find a way to slot him in; in fact I really think if they just re-colored him red and said it was Cliffjumper it would have made more sense and been in keeping with the character (Heck, his name is literally evoking the idea he is jumping between factions but never deciding on one. Being reckless to survive.)

Edited August 2, 2020 by Sauce Dog

[Buzzetta]

4 hours ago, Sauce Dog said:

 I thought the series was pretty bland at the best of times, and this the most accurate praise one could give to it. It was better than Last Knight (and better than the prior Machinima series too as I recall).

Felt really weird they decided to focus on doing a Cybertronian origin story but have all the toys be their earth alt modes, making most of the Autobots feel out of place on Cybrtron (of course they tried to hide this by not having them transform much, and when they did it was pretty dark or in gritty smoke - such as was the case with Hound in the early episodes). The show did look decent, though a little too dark and gritty (which made the scenes very bland and repetitive. Add some alien tech / neon to spice things up!)

Optimus felt like an incompetent leader with no inspiring morality to share with his troops beyond "HAVE FAITH WE MUST KEEP FIGHTING!". Bumblebee likewise didn't feel like the character at all and they were struggling find a way to slot him in; in fact I really think if they just re-colored him red and said it was Cliffjumper it would have made more sense and been in keeping with the character (Heck, his name is literally evoking the idea he is jumping between factions but never deciding on one. Being reckless to survive.)

That I disagree with.  I liked the new characterizations to be honest.  The last thing I wanted to see was another goody-two-shoes, can-do-attitude, Bumblebee.  I think there is a difference between the majority of people that watched the original cartoons and myself.  I originally read the comics and then watched the cartoons much later.  So, Larry Hama's portrayal of GI Joe was eye opening while the cartoons were background noise with ho-hum plots.    The same held true with Transformers... I was deep into the comics before I ever turned on an episode.  The comics were not as kid friendly as the TV shows were... so even now... the TV shows for both do not hold up well for me. 

The transformations are exactly what they were on Earth as we saw from the Seekers and the mold they used for Prowl, Sideswipe and Red Alert.  I umm... might have bought a couple of toys last year and might have them in front of me on my desk.    I agree though that the Optimus Prime Cybertronian cab mode looks like what will be hauling trailers here on Earth by 2045. 

[Sauce Dog]

1 hour ago, Buzzetta said:

The transformations are exactly what they were on Earth as we saw from the Seekers and the mold they used for Prowl, Sideswipe and Red Alert.  I umm... might have bought a couple of toys last year and might have them in front of me on my desk.    I agree though that the Optimus Prime Cybertronian cab mode looks like what will be hauling trailers here on Earth by 2045. 

My problem is that they are exactly earth mode alts and not pre-earth cybertronian - which make for a stark contrast to the setting of the entire show.

Prowl is literally a Japanese police car (right down to the paint applications found in Japan), and all cars are likewise based on existing earth vehicles (albeit with some stylization). We rarely have any of hint of their 'alien' modes, and had a great opportunity to show some things that maybe were not even toys yet. I know the Siege toy line (and all recent lines) have been leaning heavily on G1 influences and designs, but they had a chance to at least introduce some unique cybertronian modes here before the characters all left for earth (War Within was a great comic that offered better alt modes that still evoked each characters G1 design, or even the War for Cybertron game - lots of references to pull from). Just seemed lazy and a missed opportunity to me

I agree, I also didn't want another standard Bumblebee, it was more that it felt like they were trying to shoe horn him in someplace without really thinking about who the character was in any past comics (not just the G1 show. Most IDW comics handled him well). I certainly won't advocate for anything being more like the G1 cartoon, as that was pretty bad (comics were better as you said), but there has been a wealth of other media that shows we should expect better (especially with characterization), as I previously mentioned War Within was amazing (and set the standard)

Edited August 2, 2020 by Sauce Dog