The Transformers movies have long served as a dividing line among fans. Criticism varies from poorly scripted stories to too many liberties taken with characters to just failing to capture what “Transformers” is actually supposed to be all about (whatever that may be). It’s important to keep in mind that, from the comics to the cartoons to the movies, each medium has delivered its own take on the Transformers story, but the one thing that has remained largely consistent throughout each interpretation is Optimus Prime, the de facto heart and soul of the Transformers universe.
Optimus Prime is one of the things Michael Bay’s Transformers movies has gotten right, at least “right enough” that I can watch these movies and know what to expect from Optimus: he’s going to be the hero who’s going to make the tough moral choices that no one else can. Even his character design isn’t as much of a departure from his original Hasbro incarnations as some other characters (like Skids? Ugh), but even though there have been some definite design liberties taken, he is still very much recognizable as “Optimus Prime,” and once Peter Cullen’s unmistakable voice fills the room, there there is no doubting the legitimacy of this interpretation.
Now, there is no shortage of movie Optimus Prime toys. For each movie Hasbro has supplied stores with Optimus Primes in a variety of class scales — we’ve seen leader class, voyager class, deluxe class, legends class, not to mention non-transforming retail action figures and upper-end Revoltech figures.
What I’m getting at here is, by this point, it’s tough to get excited by yet another movie Optimus Prime figure.
But this figure is a little bit different.
On the back of the box, we immediately see what we’ve been waiting to see since the first movie debuted back in 2007 — Optimus transforms into a flat-nosed cab, just like the G1 figure we all know and love. It’s still a movie Optimus through and through, but the G1 homage here is a very welcome sight.
In contrast to previous movie lines, Hasbro is taking the “less is more” approach to the packaging design, and it’s a breath of fresh air. They’ve abandoned the traditional Transformers logo and have replaced it with a large, bold “Transformers” in solid red down the side of the box. The result is something that catches the eye instantly in the toy aisles. I’m a fan of it; I think it looks really sharp and I’m happy to see Hasbro isn’t afraid to try new things in terms of marketing.
In his brief bio on the back of the box, we see the reasoning behind his switch to the classic cab design. It reinforces the notion that in these movies the Transformers are truly “robots in disguise,” and the alt modes are embraced as an important part of the narrative.
His ‘bot mode is basically a G1 Optimus Prime seen through a movie filter. Apart from his blue shoulders, the color design here is very “G1,” and it works well with this mold. But as nice as the red and blue looks, they don’t do a lot to bring out the detail in the sculpt. It’s a beautifully sculpted figure, and some more (any?) paint detail would do wonders to bring that out because so much detail just gets lost in the red and blue plastic. If you take a look at the figure pictured on the back of the box, it’s clear to see that we did lose some paint apps from prototype to product, most notably the silver band below his chest windows. His shoulders look completely different as well. As fond of this figure as I am, I do wish the final product more closely resembled what we’re seeing on the packaging.
Paint apps aside, the sculpt is fantastic, and it even brings to mind his look from the IDW comics a bit because of the way the windows that form his chest lay. This is the first voyager movie Optimus I’ve ever purchased, and I do have to say I’m impressed with it. The transformation is intricate, though not migraine-inducing like some other movie Optimus Primes, and there is little to no kibble to deal with once he is transformed. Both modes are nice and clean, which is awesome.
He features some of the best light-piping I’ve seen recently, and after my most recent Transformers purchase, Masterpiece Black Convoy, it’s nice to see a figure that doesn’t have “dead eyes.” These positively glow when light hits the back of his head.
There are even “pupils” sculpted into his eyes that are highlighted when the light-piping feature is activated — this is the kind of attention to detail that I love to see in a Transformers figure.
Now, I know Optimus without his faceplate is not everyone’s cup of tea, and I would prefer him to have his signature faceplate myself, but the level of detail in his head sculpt is just superb and it totally sells it. Since he’s pictured without it most of the time in the movies anyway, I think it works here and I’ve definitely warmed up to it.
Because there is virtually no kibble to deal with, there is nothing hindering his posability and range of motion. He’s as posable as the best Transformers figures out there, and the only meaningful point of articulation he’s missing is an ab crunch. As a result, it’s easy to get him in cool action poses.
He comes with just one accessory: a giant shotgun. There’s a spring-loaded missile that will go flying at the slightest provocation, so be aware of that. I’ve nearly lost mine three times now.
This is actually the gun Megatron used in the previous movie, so including it with Optimus is a bit strange. It was clearly not designed for Optimus just based on how he has to hold the thing — it looks downright silly. The actual handle is designed to fit in Megatron’s hand, so since I don’t own that particular Megatron figure, I think my shotgun is just going to be tossed in the ol’ junk drawer.
Fortunately, my iGear Ultra Leader was willing to donate his gun to Optimus, and it looks to be a perfect fit. Even the size works well. Since this figure is a very overt homage to the G1 figure, it’s fitting that he should have a G1 blaster. I like it.
He’s definitely a voyage in size, coming in at just over 6 inches tall, which means previous leader class Optimus Prime figures will dwarf him (pictured is my custom-painted leader Optimus Prime from the Revenge of the Fallen line). He fits better with other figures that aren’t leader class, so he doesn’t look all that out of place with the new Masterpiece Optimus Prime or the Generations Orion Pax. To me, this is just another take on the character that works well in the collection.
Now, this is the money shot. This is the mode that’s really going to sell this figure for a lot of people. This figure’s alt mode is an outstanding homage to the G1 Optimus Prime toy. In fact, it looks better than any non-Masterpiece Optimus Prime we’ve gotten in recent years. The colors, the sculpt, the paint apps — everything works here. The only thing missing to make it truly “G1” is a set of smokestacks. Otherwise, this alt mode just screams “classic Optimus Prime.”
As beautiful as it is, it’s not perfect, however. The main windows of his cab don’t line up perfectly, which can be a little distracting when viewing the cab head-on, and the rear of the cab is… pretty bad. It’s just the pieces that make up his chest in robot mode folded in, and in no way do they resemble what they’re supposed to resemble, so it ends up looking pretty lame. But if you don’t view him from this angle, then there’s no problem, right? Still, for a voyager class figure, it’s a pretty solid alt mode, despite these shortcomings.
The giant shotgun can be planted on the top of his cab in case he needs to waste Decepticons as he barrels down the highway. It’s neat, but it also looks a little silly.
Of all the Age of Extinction toys I’ve picked up so far, and please bear in mind it is just a handful, I have to say this figure is the gem of the line so far, which is truly surprising. And I’m not saying it’s “good for a movie figure”; this is just a well-executed Optimus Prime figure. With so much emphasis on the DInobots, I don’t think anyone was expecting an Optimus Prime figure to outshine Grimlock, Scorn, etc., but outshine them he has. Even if the movie figures aren’t your cup of tea at all, this figure is worth your consideration.
Be sure to check back next week — we’ll be taking a look at more Age of Extinction Transformers figures, including a couple Dinobots!
This is the only AOE figure I plan on buying, and I’m glad I did. Your review is dead-on in its praise. I too lament the fact that the shoulder pieces are blue, since the red and silver pictured on the box looks so much better. The transformation is actually really intuitive, which is a nice change from the beautiful but insanely complex ROTF Leader Class Prime (I can imagine a kid actually figuring this one out). Even the DOTM voyager Prime seemed needlessly complicated, and it didn’t look half as good as this figure does in either mode. I would have preferred the faceplate head…but oh well. Great figure overall.