If you grew up in the 80's and was a fan of the robots in disguise, then you probably remember this animated movie from the same folk who gave us the G1 cartoon. Sunbow Productions, in collaboration with Hasbro released this classic in selected cinemas across continental US. I did not get to watch it on the silver screen until many years later in 2018, when it was released for its 30 th anniversary. The beauty of this special screening is that I got to share this experience with my daughter. She had seen the movie several times on DVD but loved the movie nevertheless. We had a blast 'Daring to be stupid', her favorite part of the movie. She thought the Junkions were a hoot and a half, speaking in TV talk! I did get to watch it back in the day, on VHS that is. I remember how blown away I was by the animation, which was of much higher quality than what we were used to from the usual cartoon on TV. And the movie also came with a thumping soundtrack by Vince De Cola. This same soundtrack featured original tracks from Stan Bush like the now iconic 'The Touch', Optimus Prime's theme. Other memorable tracks from Stan include Dare, the song featured right at the start of the movie, and 'Dare to be Stupid' by the incredible Weird Al Yankovic. White Lion redid the main theme from the cartoon.
So what about the main story arc? Well this was the main bone of contention that broke the fandom, and almost the franchise. The powers that be thought that it would be a great idea to wipe the slate clean by killing off all the fan favorites in the first act and introduce a new roster of characters, with the idea that kids would eat it up and buy the new toys. Big mistake. They didn't expect the fanbase to be so invested in the old players from the original cartoon. We all knew how much abuse our characters could take from our weekly viewings of the cartoon. There was absolutely no way that these characters could be killed by one or two shots from the enemy. In this movie, they literally fell like flies. While flying to Earth Megatron and the Decepticons ambush the Ark and literally massacres Prime's main crew! Ironhide, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Windcharger, Prowl, Brawn all fall. And to make matters worse they kill off the boss bot himself, Optimus Prime! The outrage was swift! Hasbro and Sunbow Productions realized their folly and brought Optimus Prime back to life in the cartoon. Fans paid to see their heroes on the big screen but got all new characters for a good part of the movie. Blasphemous!
The movie did get some things right though, namely Unicron, the planet sized devourer of worlds. This big bad reminds me so much of another ginormous being of almost omnipotent power, Marvel's Galactus! Their modus operandi are very similar. Unicron's legacy is explored in much more detail in the comics, and also in animated series Transformers Prime and HBO's Earthrise. I really like the idea of yin and yang, the balance between the light and the dark where Unicron is the yang to Primus yin. This also explain why he is so hell bent on destroying Cybertron and the matrix of leadership, both representations of Primus.
We are also introduced to a new race of half organic, half metallic beings with five faces, the Quintessons. I personally didn't enjoy these characters. I did love the sequence where Optimus Prime and the Dinobots arrive on Earth to defend Autobot city against Devastator and the Decepticons. Prime then singlehandedly takes down a swath of Deceptions and Megatron before succumbing to his injuries and passing on the matrix of leadership to Ultra Magnus. The controversial death of the greatest Autobot leader hit hard. It's only knowing what I know now, I can better appreciate the movie. I actually like some of the new characters like Ultra Magnus, Perceptor, Blaster, Arcee and Springer, Wr eck Gar and really enjoyed the banter between grizzled veteran Kup and future leader Hot Rod. After barely surviving the attack, our heroes prepare to travel back to a beleaguered Cybertron. Unicron has gobbled up both moon bases, with Bumblebee, Spike, Jazz and Cliffjumper. Thankfully they are later rescued by Daniel, Spikes son.
We are also introduced to a new race of half organic, half metallic beings with five faces, the Quintessons. I personally didn't enjoy these characters. I did love the sequence where Optimus Prime and the Dinobots arrive on Earth to defend Autobot city against Devastator and the Decepticons. Prime then singlehandedly takes down a swath of Deceptions and Megatron before succumbing to his injuries and passing on the matrix of leadership to Ultra Magnus. The controversial death of the greatest Autobot leader hit hard. It's only knowing what I know now, I can better appreciate the movie. I actually like some of the new characters like Ultra Magnus, Perceptor, Blaster, Arcee and Springer, Wr eck Gar and really enjoyed the banter between grizzled veteran Kup and future leader Hot Rod. After barely surviving the attack, our heroes prepare to travel back to a beleaguered Cybertron. Unicron has gobbled up both moon bases, with Bumblebee, Spike, Jazz and Cliffjumper. Thankfully they are later rescued by Daniel, Spikes son.
Meanwhile a equally decimated Decepticon ranks make their way back to Cybertron. Running low on fuel, they jettison their fallen comrades. Starscream takes the opportunity to get rid of Megatron and crown himself as the new leader. Megatron lifeless body floats towards Unicron, and he saves Megatron and transforms him into Galvatron. He enslaves Galvatron and task him with destroying the matrix. He first travels back to Cybertron and eliminates Starscream before going after Ultra Magnus and crew. Magnus crash lands on the planet of Junk after narrowly avoiding being blown up, while Kup, Hod Rod and the Dinobots end up encountering the Quintessons. Galvatron confronts Magnus and defeats him and claims the matrix, and tries to wrestle control from Unicron, but is instead punished severely and swallowed by Unicron.. The Autobots encounter Wreck Gar and his seemingly indestructible Junkions and they help repair Magnus. They are then reunited with Kup and Hot Rod, after they escape from the Quintessons and their army of Sharkticons, thanks to Grimlock, Wheelie and the Dinobots.
The final act sees Unicron transforming into a giant robot and tearing through Cybertron with his bare hands. The Autobots, Deceptions and Junkions attack Unicron in a last ditch effort to save their home. The Autobots crash their ship through Unicron's eye and set on foot to locate Bumblebee and crew, and the matrix of leadership.. Hot Rod gets separated from the others and runs into Galvatron and the matrix of leadership. Galvatron offers a truce to work together to destroy their common enemy,but is instantly punished by Unicron. Unable to break Unicron's hold on him, Galvatron is forced to fight Hot Rod. Hot Rod tries his best and tussles with Galvatron, but is quickly overpowered. Just as Galvatron is about to crush the life out of Hot Rod, the matrix illuminates and starts to open. Hot Rod pulls the matrix away from Galvatron as he hears Optimus Prime's voice saying 'Arise Rodimus Prime'. Grasping the handles on the matrix and pulling it fully open, he is transformed into Rodimus Prime. Galvatron tries to blast the matrix out of Rodimus Prime's hands,but instead gets subdued and thrown out into deep space. Rodimus then allows the full power of the matrix to flood the innards of Unicron. Unicron starts imploding. The Transformers have defeated the enemy and ushering a new golden age in Cybertron history.
For all its faults, this movie still remains the best of the big screen outings. From the story arcs, the intensity of the action scenes, the perfect unison of the soundtrack and the set pieces, and the incredible voice talents featured, this movie was and still is unrivaled by any of the Bayverse movies. Five out of five!
This blog post is dedicated to the memory of Leonard Nimoy, the voice of Galvatron and Sentinel Prime, and Orson Wells, the voice of Unicron.
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