Chapter 1 of Transformers: War For Cybertron

Since the 1980s, Transformers have been a pillar of popular culture. As someone who watched the original cartoon as a child, I have seen the series evolve through time.

There doesn't appear to be any way to stop the racing Autobot train, from the Michael Bay films and the Bumblebee sequel on the big screen to the plethora of kid-friendly reboots (many of which are available on Netflix).

The War For Cybertron trilogy is nothing new to franchise aficionados. Before the Autobots arrived on Earth, a war breaks out on Cybertron, dividing the Autobots and Decepticons into two factions.

We've seen this straightforward good against evil scenario before, but the Netflix series deftly makes some changes to make it stand out. War For Cybertron, which features stunning computer animation, is not interested in retreading old ground.

Instead, the plot in this instance unfolds in various tones of metallic grey, starting with Bumblebee's rejection of Optimus Prime.

Of course, that's only one side of the tale, and as the six episodes go on, the tension becomes more and more pronounced in the narrative. The battle lines are established, and both sides start looking for the legendary Allspark.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the final episode finishes on a cliffhanger given that this book has three chapters.

Along the way, the tale progresses according to the expected narrative beats, but thanks to some great character development and a substantial amount of time spent on Cybertron, this desolate planet comes to life.

Transformers: War For Cybertron has stunning visuals. This is the ultimate argument in favour of CGI animation.

The backgrounds are gloomy, ominous, and rich in world-building information. Additionally, both the Autobots and the Decepticons have distinctive designs, and the lighting design is superb.

Having said that, some of the running moments feel awkward and slow, and the fight scenes occasionally still appear a little sluggish.

These are mostly minor criticisms of an otherwise visually stunning animated offering.

The darker atmosphere is a pleasant break from the cheerful kid-centric treats of the past, and it also permeates the voice acting.

Numerous actors on board here fall short of truly enhancing their roles and bringing some much-needed personality to them.

The majority of them have quite similar tones, and some of Optimus Prime's booming directives are more reminiscent of what you might anticipate from Megatron.

The greatest of the lot is definitely Starscream, closely followed by Megatron, who has a respectable amount of vocal strength. Additionally, the fact that the background atmospheric score harmonises well with the images helps.

The first Chapter of Transformers: War For Cybertron is a really strong start.

Anyone who has followed Transformers over the years will recognise the plot right away, but the strong character development elevates this film above average.

The show looks fantastic visually, but it still has the same problems as other CGI productions.

Fighting movements and expressive facial work, which isn't particularly a problem for Transformers but CG animation in general, continue to hold this genre behind, however Chapter 2 shows a lot of promise.

Even while it isn't the year's best animated feature, it is still far superior to Michael Bay's Transformer movies, which is a compelling enough argument to watch it.