Summary
Transformers: War for Cybertron: Earthrise just passes the acid test — fortunately, with obvious direction, it teases the audience with what’s to come.
This review of Netflix anime series Transformers: War for Cybertron: Earthrise contains no spoilers. The series is part of a trilogy. There will be three chapters.
Check out the ending explained.
Check out the review of Part 1 – Siege.
The one saving grace for this trilogy series is that it’s better than the films. I sound snarky, but I actually enjoyed part one of Transformers: War for Cybertron – unfortunately, Part 2: Earthrise feels more or less the same in terms of dialogue and objective. The only difference is, there is less war and more politics. Part Two is a transitional series — there’s an agenda to reach whatever may come in Part Three, which looks way more exciting.
Netflix’s Transformers: War for Cybertron: Earthrise splits the characters up — Cybertron is mostly left behind, and the warfare is mostly enjoyed in space, with Earth nearby on the horizon, waiting. The importance of the Allspark remains, and Megatron’s urge to destroy and rule is thirstier than ever. The opening premise provides horrific dictatorship, as Lord Megatron has decided to use his own Decepticons to drain their energy for his own use — he’s now more desperate than ever. As for Prime, he’s as righteous and predictable as ever.
But there is hope that this trilogy becomes one of the shining lights of the Transformers story; equipped with enjoyable battle sequences, heavy rhetoric from both the Autobots and Decepticons, and a clash on moralities and beliefs, the trilogy has appeared to capture what the story was meant to truly be about, and not a fetish for highschool boys.
Transformers: War for Cybertron: Earthrise expands the canon, introducing more characters that shape this Universe, offering extreme challenges to both Prime and Megatron. A single criticism can be thrown at the series for its predictability — like Part 1, every fight between Prime and Megatron is almost the same exchange of words and statements. It’s a reflection of that Joker line, but repeated over and over again — “You won’t kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won’t kill you because you’re just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.” And while that’s the point of their diseased relationship, it does not mean it makes for good entertainment. It’s almost there to fill time when the story could be focused more on other characters.
Transformers: War for Cybertron: Earthrise just passes the acid test — fortunately, with obvious direction, it teases the audience with what’s to come.
