Transformers Prime

Firstly I grew up with the Transformers series (namely Armada, Cydertron, BeastMachines (I didn't manage to see Beast Wars),a little of the G1 series and Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001)) and the movies more or less broke my heart .Granted when I was 14, I though that were good, but when did a teenage had a fully formed sense of taste and as a adult,I think of then a a disgrace to the Mythology of the Robots in Disguise!

And then I hit by accident more or less this series and I am "for real?" ,then I watch it and my next take was "Why didn't the films have the quality of this series?". The series had great animation, nice voice cast (Megatron and Optimus amazing) ,the story arc of each character either Cybertronian or Human is handle in a pretty mature way of a kids television series. I am not making fun of you guys (ok , maybe there are girls also, but lets be real 90% of everyone reading this review is surely a male) at times you forget that this is series about robots battling out, which by the way is fantastic when it happens. I have to admit this one is if not the best Transformers series ,then it is easily in the top 3.

This quality at the same time fills me with joy and anger for years before, the feature films could be so good, they had bigger budget and the best technology at the time, but no Micheal Bay and Paramount made them in to the abomination they are today :(. Despite I manage to remind myself that it isn't the technology, the budget or the names in the project that made it great , it is something smaller and yet so significant attention the the characters, a good story and understanding what you can do with both of that.

Over all if you also feel betrayed from the movies or you have kids or both then watch with them these Transformer, 100% certain that you will enjoy it.

Transformers returns to the CGI world with TRANSFORMERS: PRIME, the first completely computer animated series since Beast Machines. At first sight, they might bear some resemblance to their live action counterparts and having Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman as writer sure does perpetuate that perception. But free from Michael Bay's creative control, the pair turn in what is easily one of the darker and more coherent story lines in Transformers animation history.

How dark is dark? Well how about having a hero gruesomely murdered within the first five minutes of the show. It is THAT dark. The premise is simple though: The Autobots arrive on Earth in the eternal search for Energon with the Decepticons following behind. Years of peace are suddenly shattered when the Autobot Cliffjumper is abducted and killed. While out to avenge their comrade, The Autobot team consisting of Optimus Prime, Arcee, Ratchet, Bulkhead and Bumblebee discover a clandestine Decepticon plot involving the mysterious "Dark energon" and the return of the dreaded Decepticon leader, Megatron.

With a smaller cast, we get a more focused character driven narrative and more room for development. The entire 26 episode season 1 is split into a few sweeping story arcs balanced with character centered episodes in between. It is a nice balance that few animated series seem to appreciate; shows that the characters are just as important as the story, and not just an excuse to sell toys. The Autobots are a combination of typical superhero team archetypes; fearless leader Optimus, action girl Arcee, gentle giant Bulkhead, and such. But over the course of the season, we get a glimpse into each of their personalities' different layers; a look at the bot within. Incidentally, the Decepticons come across as more interesting than the Autobots thanks to the hidden agendas of not just the compulsive backstabber Starscream, but every other decepticon from Soundwave to Airachnid have their own little moments of depth.

Giving life to these well written characters is an all star voice cast featuring popular voice actors like Steve Blum (Starscream), Jeffery Combs (Rachet) and Daran Norris (Knock out) along with returning fan favorites like Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, who reprise their famous roles of Optimus and Megatron. Of particular note is the inclusion of Hollywood stars like Kevin Michael Richardson (Bulkhead), Gina Torres (Airachnid), Adam Baldwin (Breakdown), Clancy Brown (Silas) and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (Cliffjumper)!

Of course, like all transformers shows, we have the mandatory human kids caught in the crossfire: Miko Nakadai, Rafael Esquivel and Jack Darby, . Now, human characters have always served the purpose of being an "audience vehicle", allowing the viewer to relate to and see themselves in the place of the human characters. Jack, Miko and Raf clearly represent the show's intended target audience: a smart but likable teen, hyper active fan-girl and little genius nerd boy respectively. But the writing never allows the humans to "steal the screen" from the Transformers themselves (something the live action movies are notorious for).Taking a leaf out of its predecessor "Transformers Animated", the humans in TRANSFORMERS: PRIME become naturally integral to the plot rather than a hindrance or a distraction.

The TRANSFORMERS themselves remain the stars of the show. You can even see it in how much attention to detail the animation studio, Polygon Pictures, pays to the robots. By the way, Polygon pictures is the Japanese CGI studio responsible for the computer generated scenes in works such as "Sky crawlers", as well as the opening cinematics of Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5.

Reflections in shiny surfaces, dirt specks, chipped paint, scrapes and scratches. These ARE mechanical soldiers fighting a constant war, and it shows. Whenever they move, fight or transform you can see gears, pistons and other parts moving too. Design wise, they may take some getting used to at first, but the unique look of these Transformers combine the mechanical realism of the live action movies with the almost human yet inhuman "anatomy" of previous animated series.

It is a look that works. A shame the same cannot be said for the human characters or some of the backgrounds. The humans vary from passable in most scenes to downright clunky looking in others.

Their hair look like plastic clumps at times, their clothing lack any folds; They look only slightly better than the designs in Clone Wars. As for the backgrounds, they are inconsistently rendered with the quality varying from episode to episode.

With dynamic action sequences, complete with breath taking camera angles and even slow motion, TRANSFORMERS: PRIME definitely has all the markings of a high budget production, almost movie-like at times. A rousing score by movie composer Brian Tyler sure helps that impression. A shame that the little slip ups in quality mar what could have been the most beautifully animated CGI series of the past decade.

What we have here in TRANSFORMERS PRIME is a franchise that finally learns from its past missteps and combines the best elements of all previous Transformers show. The superb voice acting and characterisation from Generation 1, The intense action of the animated movie, Focused character driven narratives of Beast Wars, Darker tone and sense of peril from Beast Machines Galactic scale conflicts of the Unicorn trilogy And likable human characters of Transformers: animated. All of this expressed with above average technical competency, barring the occasional inconsistency in quality. True to its name, this is the Transformers brand at its prime. A new milestone that future productions would be hard pressed to top

At first I watched only because it is another TF series and since I am a fan from my childhood (G1 that is) I just watch anything new that TF franchise has to show to see how things are changing and of course out of nostalgia about the 'old days'. It is actually the first series I can watch after many many years without being disappointed (like I was with the 'Unicron trilogy'. The CGI is good, the story so far is good (although not great) and the voice actors are pretty good(and I must say the kids that are watching this series are honored to have the 'original' Optimus Prime and Megatron, Peter Cullen and Frank Welker respectively) In general I think it's the best series after G1 cartoon, it may not be perfect but it is way better than the rest of the TF series (BW and BM excluded since I don't think them as TF series but as TF-based series).

I find this series to be a great take on the Transformers universe. Both Autobot's and Decepticon's are greatly equal in strength, and it has a more realistic atmosphere with being darker than the previous Universes.

The voice acting is done wonderfully, and it's great to see Peter and Frank in their original roles. Something that G1 never had was the power that this one does. Of course, we know being an 80's cartoon for kids, there were obvious set backs for that reason. Some debate on the fact that Prime isn't a kids show, but I believe with the world today, it suits well for children to realise consequence and death, and it's a bonus for us older fans.

Visually, I think this series has it all. Great designs, and great CGI (for a cartoon). The character development is well portrayed, and, of course, they link back to their original 80's personalities.

Overall, I think it's by far the best series up to date, aside from G1--but that's because it's the ultimate classic.

Due to the quality of the Micheal Bay films, when I heard of the newest attempt at a transformers series I was in a word.... Skeptical. My first experience with Transformers: Prime was watching poor quality reruns ripped on YouTube, and I couldn't stop watching. As a die hard fan of Transformers, I've been waiting for a well written series based off of my favorite toys.

In the first season of TF: Prime, it becomes apparent to the viewer that the characters are characters. they have depth and reason to be on the show, unlike the "characters" from previous incarnations of the Autobots and Decepticons. in the past, the characters in transformers have been used as plot devices, only there to offer unnecessary help to the characters that really mattered. Transformers Prime shows the characters meanings through the relationships they discover with themselves and others.

In the second season things do get a bit more jaded, with interlocking stories and more complex characters with more hints to the good 'ol days of G1. from what I can tell so far, Transformers Prime is a fantastic show with dark stories, fantastic animation, and promise beyond expectations. If you've been on the fence about the privately owned series, I can guarantee you'll like it.