A little while back, I reviewed the made for TV animated film, Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising which tied up a few loose ends from the conclusion of Season 3 of the show. But before you should dive into that movie you need to take a break, recharge that Energon (get some sleep for us humans) and then roll out to your nearest retailer to pick up a copy of Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Season 3 on Blu-Ray this week. This 13-episode season gives viewers and fans the finale stretch to an amazing Emmy Award winning show where “One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall” in a battle that just might take either side home.
Unlike the previous two seasons this last season release gains the subtitle “Beast Hunters” as Team Prime is at first scattered to the wind and facing a very deadly opponent brought back from before the time of the Autobots and Decepticons. I’ve been watching each season from the very beginning and it’s definitely the most bleak especially in the opening episodes where Optimus is critically injured and the others have no way to contact each other. All seems lost for the good guys but with the aid of the human side of Team Prime, the team reunites without Optimus with the help of the ultra serious Autobot, Ultra Magnus right as they are attacked by a ferocious metallic winged dragon that they later learn goes by the name of PredaKing, the only living Predacon thanks to the scientific meddling of Shockwave.
One of the favorite things about Transformers Prime Beast Hunters is that it draws some of its inspiration from past shows and whether it was intentional or a coincidence it works out well. As a long time watcher of the shows, I caught the little in-jokes and even tributes though some are blatantly apparent and impossible to miss. Characters like Airachnid and the Insecticons and even the Dinobots return or warrant a mention in comparison to the Predacons. You can even see the influence that the previous show Transformers: Animated had on character inclusion (such as Bulkhead) and design.
While I really enjoyed all 13 episodes of the final season there were definitely some gems that really stuck out for me. For starters the final episode “Deadlock” is easily the most emotionally charged episode as the Autobots and Decepticons square off for what seems like the last time as Megatron plans to rule two worlds with the help of a new Omega Lock. The episode known as “Evolution” makes my list of favorite episodes as it contains one of the coolest CGI animated fight scenes in the show where Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus team up to face off against and enraged PredaKing. The sheer back and forth beatdown is a technological beauty to behold as their completely different fight styles play off each other so well despite their disdain for each other. While I wish I could say all the episodes were favorites, “Plus One” is easily my most memorable one as it contains a heavy does of comedy compared to the other mainly due to Knock Out being the primary focus of this one. While the other Autobots are out gathering Predacon bone relics before the Decepticons, Jack’s mom and Fowler make a “milk run” to retrieve another bone relic. Only things don’t go quite as planned as they are kidnapped by Knock Out and it only gets better when Starscream accidently breaks the Communications Relay after kicking PredaKing’s tail. Knock Out, voiced by the awesomely witty Daran Norris, didn’t fail to get several chuckles out of me. He’s easily my favorite Decepticon in the show, plus he looks like a robotic vampire to an extent.
On of the things that I really enjoy about Transformers Prime Beast Hunters is that it is one of the few Transformers media that has used CGI outside of the live-action films and the fan favorite Beast Wars. Having seen Transformers Prime through all three season it still never fails to impress me on just how good it looks and to see some of my favorite characters from the old days brought back. As cool as Optimus and Bumblebee are, Arcee has always been one of by favorites and her new motorcycle mode (usually depicted as a car) makes her my favorite among the Autobots. She can even kick some major butt despite being the least opposing member of the team with her thin sleek design. On the other side of the coin I love all the little detail that went into PredaKing’s ancient yet imposing robotic design as he is even more terrifying than Megatron. It’s not just the Transformers that look good either, as both the humans and the environments they inhabit look really good in this 1080p Blu-Ray presentation.
Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Season 3 also continues to have a stellar voice cast, score and sound effects brought to you in English 5.1 Surround Sound. Brian Tyler, once again, does a stellar job on creating his unique take on the music of the Transformers Universe. It’s really the voice cast though that makes Transformers Prime Beast Hunters really enjoyable. There are a lot of big or recognizable names on the cast lending their voices to bring life to the show. Daran Norris is easily one of my favorite though Transformers just isn’t the same without Peter Cullen and Frank Welker behind the visages of Optimus Prime and Megatron.
The Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Blu-ray contains the final 13 episodes, and as sad as I was to finish watching them all(some more than once) there are a few bonus goodies in this two disc set. You can find Audio Commentaries on both discs, an extended scene from Deadlock as well as the Transformers Prime Panel footage taken at SDCC earlier this year. While there may not be a lot of extra goodies, fans of Transformers Prime will undoubtedly enjoy what is offered.
Transformers Prime Beast Hunters on Blu-Ray is a must buy to fans of the show and an excellent addition to the Transformers Universe as a whole. The score is awesome, the characters are memorable and the animation work is still just as amazing in the final moments as they were when I first laid eyes on the pilot. To quote a wise Autobot once again, “Roll Out” and pick up Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Season 3 today.
