User reviews

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

Transformers(1984) is still the best of the Transformers shows, but Transformers: Prime even with its faults is one of the better shows in the franchise since then. Bumblebee does have a rather bland personality this time round, Mikko is annoying(the only character in the show who is) and there is some occasional clunkiness in the dialogue for the human characters(though not as goofy in nature as the worst of the live action trilogy films). The animation however is beautifully rendered, it is smooth with beautiful dark colours and shading and the robots look just great. The music is hauntingly moody, and does help in bringing tension when called for, the action sequences especially are very well scored. The dialogue on the most part is meaningful and intelligent which more than makes up for the occasional clunkiness, while the stories are involving, rich in atmosphere and clearly structured, nothing formulaic or dull at all. The action sequences are well-choreographed, intense and compelling, and the show does a good job in maintaining a balance between story and action without one over-shadowing the other. The characters are well developed- especially so later on- and have distinct and mostly likable personalities, Optimus and Megatron are the most memorable but brownie points also for Knockout, who's very funny, and Jack, the most identifiable of the human characters. And of course the voice acting is superb from all, Jeffrey Coombs, Kevin Michael Richardson, Daran Noris and Steve Blum are very dynamic and Peter Cullen and Frank Welker are without equal as Optimus and Megatron. All in all, a very good show if not as great as Transformers(1984), which is and probably always will be the pinnacle of the franchise. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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.

Quite admittedly I had never been a Transformers fan until recently. I often tried the original series when I was a kid but I always found it too childish, even as a kid. I preferred G I JOE. The concept of transformers always interested me but I never actually found a cartoon that did justice to the franchise. The movies rekindled my interest but they were far from great. Too much emphasis was given to the human characters to go with other problems. In Transformers: Prime I have finally found something that I had always wished Transformers to be.

The basic mood of this series perfectly suits Transformers. It's serious but has enough humor. It has a dark feel to it which seems to be a missing ingredient of all previous Transformers series.

The picture quality is amazing. The robots look fantastic and the humans look fairly good too. The background quality does vary a bit from episode to episode but even the minimum level is very good. The camera work is excellent.

The writing is generally very good as well although there are times when it feels a little stretched out. The dialog is impressive.

The musical score is excellent and that really helps the mood and tension of any scene. Transformers is meant to be epic. That is exactly what the music reflects. At times the power of the music is such that if you get involved enough it will take you places.

But the true strength of this series is the characters. Every single character has incredible depth and development, and you can really feel that every character is unique. The bad guys are always more interesting but here you'll also come to love the good guys because you'll feel that you really know them and get to ride along in their emotional journey. The writers did not throw cheap characters by the hundreds but instead carefully chose a few and decided to make them complete.

I would go as far as to say that the quality of the show is wasted on young viewers who would probably struggle to realize just how good it is, but enjoy it all the same. This is art, not just entertainment for kids.

If you will ever love Transformers then this is it. Even if you never liked it before give it a try. You might just fall in love with it.

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.

I loved this show, it had a perfect balance, ever since i took on this show, i went ahead to see the old transformers shows and i was interested in Optimus, there was more depth to him, than i had seen in some of the other shows, but i nave really studied the others in time yet.

This show was different from pretty much any other show i have ever seen in my life and if i could i would pitch a crossover with this show with my own charatcers from my novel, thats how amazed i am by it. of course I'm trying the other shows as well for history reasons, but this one its different.

I will just say this on my reason why its different. while i was depressed and i could not do anything about it, this show was there for me in a time i needed distraction and happiness in my life, and i still watch it even now, its just...epic

Best animation best transformers show and best script

I know what i'm talking about when I say, THIS SHOW IS AMAZING!!! I used to watch this show every night at 6:00pm after school, but sadly, the series ended, oh well, guess i'll just have to wait till series 3 comes out. It's actually something to look forward to after a tiring day at work, school etc.

I love how they've made the transformations all complex like the live action movie trilogy. It makes a great evening show for those between 10 and dead. It has cutting edge technology designs and an good choice of characters.

This show follows a good and basic story. I recommend watching.

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.

Transformers doesn't get better than this. masterful storytelling, relatable, likable and unique characters, action packed scenes that give you goosebumps all over and a continous plot that thickens and never gets boring. Most people (including) me thought this was gonna be a boring kids show. Then already in the wery first epidode we are proven wrong. Despite it's pg rating this show gets very dark and the show goes as far as actually showing on screen human death. The ending is super satisfying and i highly reccomend you stick around to see it.

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).

This show has a good script, also is darker that any other transformers series, the Decepticons and Autobots are equal at in strength. The voice acting is great, Also it shares some things whit the action live films, but it does great unlike the action films. the plot is great, a very good addition to the Transformers universe.

Awesome show.

It's a little boring at times, Optimus shows little to none emotion and the show seems to be confused how physically strong the bots are supposed to be.

Other than those issues which occurred through the whole series this is an awesome show and should be treated as such!

Legit all characters are entertaining. All of them have personality (except prime but he's still badass.)

This incarnation of Soundwave and Starscream is one of the best. Also the Orion Pax origin story is awesome and better than the G1 origin.

There are a lot of interesting filler episodes and awesome plot lines and writing.

The action is enjoyable and so is the expensive animation.

If you like transformers or are new to transformers and want to get into it watch this series then, you won't regret it!

Plot-wise, Transformers Prime is the best entry in the Transformers franchise so far. I will please both G1 and young fans and will bring new layers to some of our beloved characters. I used to say that Beast Wars was the best thing that ever happened in the Transformers universe, but Prime is as good as or even better. It is has decent animation, deep characters and an involving plot, and it is not as silly as The Animated Series or Robots in Disguise.

Contains a lot of references to the multiple series that came before it while adding new aspects to the franchise. The characters grow and have depth which we see throughout the show. One of my favourite versions of the franchise so far.

I remembered the story when I was a kid It was good,solid and mature . It stuck in my head when I was a kid cause I wanna know the end of it. Now when I knew it...I'm happy for the kid inside me ,yet i'm a little disappointed cause they could done better. The series is kind of long they took their time to tell their story , the animation is very good , I love these kinds of animation the villian is ironically best than half of "Dc and Marvel" villians and we have a good gang to be honest ,the team is good .but The worst thing in this series is without doubt "The Dialogue" so cheesy and childish.

It's so good,One of the best animated series I've ever seen,I watched the transformers movie only for this show.

WOW! I started watching this series after reading Exodus, Exiles and Retribution to know the Origin of Transformers. The show perfectly makes sense after those three novels.

Man, I am a big fan of Megatron. This is the best portrayal of the the greatest gladiator of Kaon. Movie version was good design wise but TFP Megatron is lethal.

I cried on some scenes and the tension on some points got my nerves. The end was amazing and I wish they make more of it.

Fantastic in nearly every way, the plot, the animation all of it is just great. Recommended for kids and adults alike

Transformers Prime is one of the greatest TV shows of all time and one of my absolute favorites. It makes the movies pale in comparison. It looks amazing; the CGI is really incredible. The story is great and deep--you can really get involved in the epic struggle between Autobots and Decepticons, unlike the boring action spectacles that the movies are. That's not to say that Transformers Prime doesn't have its fair share of great action sequences, which it does. I'm totally astounded by some of the wonderfully choreographed fights. The characters are entertaining and interesting, and the show makes the Transformers the main characters, not the humans--another thing that's better than the films. After watching this show for the third time, my only regret is that it only has three seasons. I wish it could have gone on forever.