Podcast (main): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:05 — 25.2MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More
Paramount dropped the first trailer for the latest Transformers reboot, Transformers One. Plus we have our regularly scheduled reviews of The Bad Batch and X-Men ’07.
2:00 – Transformers One Trailer
We have a rundown of the screencaps here.
It’s yet another Transformers reboot. This time, it looks to be aiming for the Pixar/Nickelodeon audience with celebrity voices and a bigger emphasis on comedy.
The Transformers franchise celebrates its 40th anniversary this year! Years ago, we covered the various incarnations of Transformers in a past episode of Nostalgia Trip.
This latest reboot is unique in that it is a full-on origin story for two of its iconic characters: Optimus Prime and Megatron. Sure, Prime’s origin was told in the original Sunbow animated series, but this film will go into much more detail.
There is definitely some stuff in here that will rub die-hards the wrong way. Most notably the depiction of young Prime and Megatron in a buddy-cop style adventure. But there is also a lot of great stuff here such as nods to Alpha Trion and the menacing Quintessons.
16:35 – The Bad Batch Season 3 Episode 13 “Into The Breach”
MAJOR POINTS
- The heroes are on their way to Mount Tantiss
- Omega is plotting an escape from Mount Tantiss
Omega befriends the lab children and plans her escape, while Echo steals a shuttle and meets the heroes on Bespin. They attach the shuttle to an Imperial transport, heading to Mount Tantiss, despite Rampart’s persistent complaints and negativity.
MAJOR QUESTIONS
- How will they arrive on Tantiss? Surely the Imperials will notice a shuttle attached to the ship?
- Will any of the final episodes be longer than normal?
- Could we see the backdoor pilot of another series set post-Clone Wars?
FINAL GRADE: A
Star Wars is at its best when it has the swashbuckling action along with the banter of unlikely allies. We got that in spades in this episode, so it’s hard to give this anything less than an A. The banter bickering between Rampart and the team was a real highlight.
There are only two episodes left in the series. Will 45 minutes be enough time to wind up all the loose ends? Or could we see a cliffhanger of sports that will be continued in a separate series?
20:30 X-Men ’97 Episode 6 “Lifedeath Pt. 2”
MAJOR POINTS
- Charles Xavier is back and he’s WALKING!
- Storm has her powers back
Deathbird leads a Shi’ar attack on The Kree. her victory monologue is interrupted by Empress Lillandra announcing her engagement to Xavier, who appears in a gold exoskeleton that allows him to walk again. Deathbird demands that Charles renounce all memories of Earth and The X-Men or the marriage will be forbidden by Shi’ar law. Rather than get angry, Xavier uses his teaching skills to explain how The Shi’ar’s ways of fear and conquering other species are wrong. But before he convinces them, he gets a vision of Gambit’s death and the massacre on Genosha.
Meanwhile, on Earth, The Adversary taunts Storm. Forge uses arcane magic to bind The Adversary and send it through a portal. She takes him to Snowsnake Tower, a Civil War outpost, to treat his injuries with a rare cactus. The Adversary reappears as Storm fights her claustrophobia crawling through a tiny tunnel. However, Storm realizes her powers are suppressed by her self-doubt and the lie that humans will never accept mutants. She rises and thwarts The Adversary with her returning powers. With The Adversary defeated, Storm and Forge discuss where they can go to be happy. But their happiness is short-lived when they turn on the TV and see the reports of the massacre on Genosha.
MAJOR QUESTIONS
- Will The Shi’ar attack now Earth
- Is Magneto still alive given that Xavier didn’t see a vision of his death?
FINAL GRADE: B
The “double-story” format we discussed last week was fully displayed here. Both stories deal with characters turning away from the present to embrace the past of who they are. Now that Storm sees what happened to Genosha, she’ll likely return to help in whatever ways she can. It will also be interesting to see if the rest of the world learns that Xavier’s death was a lie. And if they do, will it undo any sympathy for mutants?