Transformers: The Movie celebrated its 40th anniversary in August, a box office bomb infamous for killing off much of the show’s core cast. Among those casualties was Autobot leader Optimus Prime, whose death by Megatron was so scarring to its then-young audience that Paramount’s turned the act of apologizing for it into a summer marketing wave, capped off by a re-release of said film in theaters.
Select screenings of the “classic” come with a bonus in Optimus Prime: Awakening, a 12-minute short starring the fallen hero. Opening literally on him dying and passing off the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus, it then transitions to Prime awakening in the Cybertronian version of the afterlife, where he encounters The One—Transformers’ version of God in all but name—who wants Prime to accept his end and pass on.
Likely destined to initially pass by without much fanfare, Awakening gained greater significance when Prime’s longtime voice actor Peter Cullen passed away shortly before it was even announced. Now unexpectedly meant as a memorial, the good news is that the short shows how much he still had it as a performer. There’s a certain resonance that comes from watching a character see that he’s at the end of his life and try to fight against that tide, particularly when it’s coming so close to the blast radius of his actual performer passing away, that’s more unexpected than it might’ve been for those young enough to see this Optimus die and have it imprint on them for much of their lives. Cullen’s deep voice made anything out of Prime’s voice box compelling, and that continues here as Ryan Parrott’s script gives Prime plenty of time to reaffirm his dedication to protecting his friends and sentient beings from any threats.
Similarly, VFX studio Third Floor and director Josh Wassung, both recently of Predator: Killer of Killers, deliver one of the best-looking modern Transformers projects. The Generation 1 aesthetic translates nicely to this type of 3D stylization, the visuals used convey the scale of The One, and Optimus’ visions show why this was given a theatrical push. It’s impressive how the characters are given a sense of scale without being given longer limbs to make them bigger, and how Optimus is able to convey different emotions despite most of his face being covered up, and if there’s plan for more all-ages animated projects, this style might be a good fit for it.
But however good it looks and nice it was to hear Cullen and Frank Welker as Megatron again, something about Optimus Prime: Awakening felt off to me. This short wasn’t made to honor Cullen’s tenure—how could it be?—so the actual narrative is a bit confused in what it’s trying to say. Early on into their first conversation, Prime is told by The One how he’s meant to die in future events, giving us brief flashes of the live-action Optimus, plus his counterparts from the CG series Transformers Prime and 2D Transformers Animated. (Of those, only the latter didn’t have Cullen reprise his role.) What should be a nice nod to the character’s media history feels like an awkward acknowledgement of how the franchise loves to play this particular hit of his death and rebirth on a reliable basis. Transformers One is the most recent movie, and it also killed Optimus, then brought him back a few minutes later before his body was even cold.
It’s just weird that this and the entire apology tour exists, both in the real world and an isolated Transformers context. Hasbro wanted Optimus and others to die in the 1986 movie so new faces could be introduced, but reactions were so negative that six months later, the season three two-parter “The Return of Optimus Prime” undid its most controversial culling. The idea that Prime wants to keep on fighting is logically sound, but whatever narrative tension this short’s meant to have just can’t really exist for those this would’ve mattered to, ditto anyone who’s since grown up with the franchise and likely seen this same beat tackled in another iteration.
That clash of good intention and real history makes Optimus Prime: Awakening a conflicting thing to watch. Not the worst case of apology media that’s come into the world, and not a bad short in its own right, but it’s definitely got some of the strangest timing to hit a modern IP. Just getting to hear Cullen one last time will be enough for its intended audience, but it still can’t help but feel inorganic.
Want more io9 news? Check out the best movies and TV shows to stream this month and all the upcoming sci-fi, fantasy, and horror books that should be on your radar.
