‘BEAST WARS’
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This is the first ‘Beast Wars’ story and it happens to be a two-parter. Interestingly, it’s simply referred to as ‘Beast Wars’ and no other title. I imagine viewers would find this confusing should they start to watch ‘Beast Wars’ for the first time on DVD or YouTube. 😀
I recall seeing ‘Beast Wars’ as a kid over the Easter holidays in 1998, I believe, when it was transmitted on GMTV along with ‘Beetleborgs’. I missed seeing ‘Part 1’ on Good Friday, but I definitely saw ‘Part 2’ on Easter Monday. I would watch ‘Part 1’ years later via VHS. 🙂
In ‘Part 1’, we open with a battle in outer space where the Maximals, a group of benevolent Cybertronians that are the Autobots’ descendants, are chasing after the power-seeking Predacons, the descendants of the Decepticons. They end up crash-landing on the Earth.
Yes, it’s not revealed that this is Earth, as the Maximals and Predacons consider this a mysterious planet, but it’s later revealed that this is prehistoric Earth. This shouldn’t be a surprise, since the Maximals and Predacons can transform into certain Earth-like animals.
The Maximals are led by Optimus Primal (voiced by Garry Chalk), who can transform into a gorilla. The Predacons are led by Megatron (voiced by David Kaye), who can transform in a tyrannosaurus rex. Megatron is seeking Energon, the power source for all Transformers.
Optimus Primal is joined by three Maximals – Cheetor (voiced by Ian James Chorlett), who can transform into a cheetah, Rhinox (voiced by Richard Newman), who can transform into a rhinoceros, and Rattrap (voiced by Scott McNeil), who can transform into a rat. I like them. 🙂
Megatron is accompanied by five Predacons. There’s Terrorsaur (voiced by Doug Parker), who can transform into a pterodactyl, Waspinator (voiced by Scott McNeil), who can transform into a wasp, and Tarantulas (voiced by Alec Willows), who can transforms into a tarantula.
There’s also Scorponok (voiced by Don Brown), who can transform into a scorpion, and Dinobot (voiced by Scott McNeil), who can transform into a raptor. Dinobot leaves the Predacons, and challenges Optimus for leadership of the Maximals by the end of ‘Part 1’.
In ‘Part 2’, we have a duel between Optimus Primal and Dinobot on a stone overpass with Cheetor, Rhinox and Rattrap watching them. The duel is interrupted by Megatron and the Predacons firing upon them. Optimus saves Dinobot’s life, as they escape being fired on.
The Predacons’ firepower causes a mountain to explode and reveal raw Energon inside it. Megatron and the Predacons make their way towards the mountain in beast mode. The Maximals do the same and hope to get to the mountain of Energon before the Predacons.
The Maximals face obstacles as they get attacked by Terrorsaur and Waspinator. Dinobot has joined the Maximals by this stage, but Rattrap doesn’t trust him. This is where their rivalry begins. The Maximals also discover a very unusual stone structure along the way.
The Maximals and the Predacons confront each other on the mountain. They must fight in beast mode. Apparently, being in robot mode for too long causes the Maximals and the Predacons to receive Energon field build-ups, which is likely to put them into stasis lock.
The fight between the Maximals and Predacons in beast mode is pretty epic and thrilling to see. Most of the attention is given to Optimus and Megatron and apparently, there are echoes of King Kong and Godzilla when they’re fighting each other as a gorilla and as a T-Rex.
There are catchphrases for the ‘Beast Wars’ characters. This includes Optimus’ “That’s just Prime”, Megatron’s “Yes!” and Rattrap’s “We’re all gonna die”. Out of the ‘Beast Wars’ characters so far, Cheetor is my favourite, since he’s young and I was able to relate to him.
Optimus is saved by Dinobot deflecting a missile fired upon him by Megatron, who transforms into robot mode just as the Energon fields build up around him. Surprisingly, Megatron survived, and he escapes the mountain when the Energon inside it blows up. 😐
Despite the Energon and the mountain blowing up, it’s not over for the Maximals, as they must keep on fighting the Predacons whilst they’re on ‘the mysterious planet’. Thus, Optimus declares the Beast Wars have begun. Overall, this is a good two-part series opener.
‘Beast Wars’ rating – 10/10
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