This post reminded me that this movie was on my backlog and I just finished it. I’ve heard good things but it was absolutely fantastic! I honestly felt that it was about as flawless as it can get for an animated movie. Be it plot, character or action scenes!
It’s really cool that they start the movie with Orion Pax in the data room as a callback to his comic backstory of being a data clerk before becoming a Prime
One thing really interesting about Transformers lore that this movie conveys really well is how the politics of Cybertron are inherently linked to its creation myth which is also inevitably linked to everyone’s mechanical function. This creates a system primed for corruption and unrest
The Cybertronian caste system is so fascinating because in a world where you’re literally created as a machine, you’re theoretically created with one function in mind, but what if that function isn’t what you want? What if it means you become a lower class citizen because of it?
Spoilers but this is also why D-16’s turn makes sense. Sentinel Prime isn’t just a corrupt politician to D-16. He’s an angel. He’s God. And how would you feel if you found out your God mutilated your body to keep you subservient? What if the caste system your life revolved around was false?
And one thing that’s really interesting about D-16’s worship of both Megatronus Prime and Sentinel Prime is that it shows his belief that society should rely on one great powerful figure who has the power to make things either good or bad for the world. This is the ethos of Megatron.
the roberts run on the IDW comics explored this super deeply too, i was super pleasantly surprised to see one take this and run with it while making it its own thing too
Functionism is so fascinating and part of the reason why the IDW comics are so compelling to me. It really really explores the various “uses” for each transformer and what it means to be a machine.
I love how the changes they made to their origins weren’t due to apathy to the source material but solely for the story’s sake, like how d-16 isn’t a gladiator but still had that duel with starscream
Yeah, it's not some half baked DreamWorks shit like the trailer implied. Hasbro is terrible at marketing because, frankly, they haven't had to actually do it themselves in many years.
I’m also hoping for a sequel, and also that they learn and market the movie heavily.
I think they saw how well Puss and Boots did with little marketing and thought they could do that too, but they forgot that the movie has the whole name of the shrek franchise to piggyback while transformers has
I think the music choice of the original trailer really killed the vibe of the movie. It looked very campy and kiddy like. Hopefully if they get another chance, it can be marketed correctly!
Comments
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Functionism
Between this and finding out how fucking well they did starscream in Earthspark I think i'll eat well for a while
Apparently they got the audio designer from that show and threw in a couple audio references to it? Which I thought was real cool
I think they saw how well Puss and Boots did with little marketing and thought they could do that too, but they forgot that the movie has the whole name of the shrek franchise to piggyback while transformers has