One thing I want to make clear right off the bat; while I certainly have my critiques about this show, I can still say that this was definitely not as bad as Machinima's Prime Wars trilogy. Those shows were simply incompetent from beginning to end and existed just as an excuse to sell the giant gimmick toys that were out at the time. While the "War For Cybertron" trilogy obviously exists for a similar purpose, it is at the very least doing it in a way that wants to tell the story first and worry about the toyline later.
On a side note; HIGHLY recommend the Siege toyline. Great updates to classic characters without sacrificing the overall quality.
That said, however, I don't think I could in good conscious say that "Siege" is a good show. Not that it's particularly awful or even actually bad; there are just several major missteps that hold it back from being more than an above-average watch.
As for the plot... it's Transformers; EVERYONE knows the story at this point. Autobots, Decepticons, Cybertron, war, etc. No thrills or surprises with the story. It even does what "Cyberverse" did over a year ago; with Megatron seeking the Allspark for his own malicious purposes and Optimus dedicating himself to yeeting it through a Space Bridge before that can happen. It's another verse, not much different from the first.
Well, that was a quick summary.
Pros:
The animation is actually really good. It's very fluid and surprisingly expressive given that the show can't have had much of a budget. It's not perfect, however; there are a lot of reused animation models to make up a bunch of the background characters (specifically Sideswipe/Red Alert, Cog, Impactor and Mirage), with most of them having little alterations aside from paint. But otherwise, that's just a nitpick if anything. One thing I am certainly impressed by with the animation is how accurate the models are to their action figure counterparts. Even little details like the battle damage and kibble from the figures are replicated in 1-to-1 detail. I can definitely give the animators credit for that.
One thing that "Siege" definitely has over the Prime Wars trilogy; there's an actual progression of the narrative that has stakes and ideas at risk. The Prime Wars just felt like flash and spectacle for it's own sake; introducing giant things like Trypticon or the Enigma of Combination, but never making it clear what happens if nothing is done about them. In "Siege", Megatron wants the Allspark to control the minds of Cybertronians and wipe the Autobots out for good. Thus, there is a clear establishment of the stakes and what will happen if the Autobots don't fight back.
There are also some decent character interactions that I would've never expected to appear in a Transformers series. For instance, Ratchet and Impactor (who is a Decepticon in this story). There is a sense of camaraderie and respect between these two characters, namely with how Ratchet saved Impactor from death and Impactor also trying to pay him back for it with his loyalty. I also thought that the interactions between Ultra Magnus and Megatron added some surprising depth to the latter's history, as well as showing that he isn't the typically tyrannical megalomaniac that is often expected out of old buckethead.
Cons:
As much as I enjoyed some of the character interactions, it came at the expense of literally everyone else. Most of them, regardless of which faction they are sworn to, are pretty much just expendable cannon fodder who only exist to remind fans that this is a Transformers series. Characters like Arcee or Omega Supreme just come out of literal nowhere, with virtually no establishment of their existence beforehand. From there, they just blend into the background and contribute little, if anything, to the rest of the story. This is made extra annoying with how major legacy characters like Ironhide, Prowl and Bumblebee aren't given much fanfare; they just exist.
This is not helped by the fact that the voice acting, while not awful, is incredibly stilted. More often than not, it feels like the actors are just reading their lines off of a cue card while also doing their best Christopher Walken impersonation; complete with odd inflections and... random... pauses between... words as to... make the... scene and tone more... serious. But while Walken's bizarre acting is entertainingly due to his oddities, the voice cast of "Siege" are trying to make the scenario as deadly serious as possible, with little to joy present in their voices even in moments of actual victory. This is certainly not helped by the fact that the voices for Hound, Ironhide, Shockwave and Mirage just feel... wrong, for lack of a better term.
And that's another issue I have; the tone. I understand that this show is meant to show the horrors of the war and how the characters deal with it. But I have seen other Transformers series, namely "Prime" and the High Moon video games, that dealt with such issues not only with more sophistication, but also with a degree of fun and excitement. The war element was still present in those series, but it was still balanced out with other themes and storytelling elements that made them work and gave them wider appeal. "Siege", however, is basically trying to be the next "Shadow The Hedgehog"; dark and serious to the point of unintentional hilarity. Combine this with the dreary voice acting, and it starts to feel like everyone should be wearing goth make-up while "Bring Me To Live" is constantly playing in their heads. Because of this, when the Autobots win and take off through the Space Bridge aboard the Ark, it victory ultimately rings hollow with how little felt legitimately achieved or earned.
Conclusion:
"Siege" certainly has it's moments and bright spots. The music was really good, as was the animation and action scenes. I will even admit to enjoying this version of Megatron. But I ultimately felt like the core principles of any series, that being the story and characterisation, fell flat, with the bleak tone and minimalist voice acting dragging the series and off-setting the pacing. I won't necessarily fault you if you enjoy this type of show, but I personally felt that it was lacking in the important aspects while also emphasising ones that already had enough going on as is.
That said, this is only the first chapter of a trilogy; so here's hoping that either "Earthrise" or "Kingdom" will be an improvement and can get fans universally happy again.
Overall rating: 5/10 (underwhelming).
If you liked this review, than please consider sharing it on social media; Facebook, Twitter, etc. Also be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you thought of "Siege" if you have seen it by this point. I also encourage you to follow me on Twitter; I'm @MediaHood23. I post on there semi-regularly and use it as the main platform to get my reviews noticed.
But until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
