The RFC crew reviews Transformers: The Last Knight, and most of them come away pleasantly surprised. Brian calls it the same movie made four times before, perfected. Another host ranks it with the 2007 film as the only good ones. Before the spoilers, opening estimates fall to about $70 million, and Michael Bay says for the fourth time that this is his last. Leaked photos show Titans Return Overlord, and Masterpiece Nightstalker hides a Steeljaw under a silhouette. Plus the SDCC Primitive Skateboarding Optimus Prime and a chrome God Ginrai set.
News
Box Office Low Predicted for The Last Knight
Estimates for The Last Knight’s five-day debut sit around $70 million, short of even Brian’s sub-$100 million guess. The last movie barely topped $100 million, so the crew calls $70 million a big disappointment. One host saw a Tuesday night preview figure of about $15 million, which is decent for a Tuesday. [Source: TFormers]
Michael Bay Confirms The Last Knight Is His Last, Again
For the fourth time, Michael Bay says this is his last Transformers movie, and that he wants to end on a high note. The crew hopes he means it. [Source: TFormers]
The Last Knight Is Mark Wahlberg’s Last Transformers Movie
Mark Wahlberg says this is his last Transformers film too. Chris says he is ready for total cast turnover and a fresh direction. [Source: TFormers]
Wonderfest Exclusive MB-EX Laserbeak From the Bumblebee Mold
A Wonderfest exclusive recolors Dark of the Moon Bumblebee as Laserbeak, matching the scene where Laserbeak disguises himself as Bumblebee. It costs 4,300 yen, but will likely need a middleman. One host needs it in his life, and the crew wonders whether quantity limits will make it as hard to get as Black Convoy. [Source: TFormers]
ThreeA Premium Scale Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Sqweeks
ThreeA’s 19-inch Optimus Prime costs $450 with 99 points of articulation. Bumblebee is 15 inches and $390, and the 8-inch Sqweeks is about $200 with 26 points. The crew questions how much of that count is in the fingers and agrees statues are not their thing. [Source: TFormers]
Masterpiece Cassettebot vs. Cassettron MP-15/16-E Set Revealed
The TakaraTomy Mall set bundles Wingthing, Enemy, Stripes and Nightstalker. The crew thinks it is an Asian-market release offered to Japanese buyers as a bundle. [Source: TFormers]
First Look at Masterpiece Nightstalker and Steeljaw
Chris found that adjusting the levels on Nightstalker’s silhouette reveals the actual figure, a black Steeljaw. No other silhouette worked that way, as if someone wanted it found. That means a Masterpiece Steeljaw is coming, and the crew expects Blaster. One host recalls that Masterpiece Soundwave’s cassettes sold in pricey two-packs, so buying these is a gamble. [Source: TFormers]
First Official Photos of Titans Return Overlord Leaked
Weibo photos found by Necrotic Doctor show Overlord, apparently sold as Decepticon Overlord. The crew says it looks far more like Overlord than expected, and one host is ready to buy the mold again. The helmet looks like Sixshot’s but probably is not. The crew wonders how TakaraTomy will handle the Powermaster gimmick, since the chest sockets seem to replace it. [Source: TFormers]
SDCC 2017 Primitive Skateboarding Optimus Prime Official Details
The SDCC exclusive is a black and gold Powermaster Optimus Prime with skate ramps and a Titan Master hoverboard for $50. Don jokes that Hasbro must troll him once a year with something that hints at a Headmaster Arcee. Several hosts plan to buy it, calling it Halfpipe Quest Super Convoy. [Source: TFormers]
Mission to Cybertron Stock Photos on Singapore Toys R Us
Stock photos show Infernocus and the Optimus Prime and Grimlock set. Infernocus’s core body seems to have no alt mode, but he makes a proportional combiner. His tiny blue Quintessa figure is the best look yet, and Skullitron retools Steelbane. [Source: TFormers]
Bumblebee Movie Details From Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Chris wrote up the interview, in which the producer calls the film a departure and compares the story to The Iron Giant. [Source: TFormers]
Beast Wars Logo on the Siege on Cybertron Box
General Techno spotted a Beast Wars logo on the Siege on Cybertron box set for no clear reason. The crew blames trademark maintenance and jokes it is all Hasbro did for Beast Wars’ 20th anniversary. [Source: TFormers]
MPM-3 Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee Out in Singapore
MPM-3 is out in Singapore, and Don says a YouTube review there showed impressive engineering. He might sell other Bumblebees to get one. [Source: TFormers]
LG-EX God Ginrai With Minerva and Cab Official Photos
Official photos show a chrome God Ginrai with Minerva and Cab. Don is angry that it was announced while Godbomber is still shipping to stores, calling it a middle finger to fans. Another host likes the chrome and now wants it. [Source: TFormers]
The Last Knight Review
The crew’s spoiler review starts with what works. Brian likes that the crude humor and gratuitous content are mostly gone, and he never groaned. He gave it two stars, calling it the same movie seen four times, perfected. Another host says only two live-action films are good, the first and this one. This time the plot knows where it is going. Diecast really liked it, though the tiny dinosaurs go unexplained.
Cogman is the standout, especially his organ and singing during the history lesson. The crew is disappointed he never actually headmasters onto a body. Don praises easier-to-follow action, John Goodman’s Hound, a plot that moves logically, and Isabela Moner’s Izabella. Megatron negotiating a prisoner exchange, with Decepticons who have personalities, is a highlight. Frank Welker’s Megatron is easier to understand.
Complaints follow. One host wants an explanation for Galvatron becoming Megatron and more weight to Optimus Prime’s turn as Nemesis Prime. Quintessa gets no backstory, Unicron is only horns, and the ending arrives abruptly. Another host argues the female leads are still written mainly around Cade, though others defend Izabella’s first half. Grimlock is reduced to a pet, and Hot Rod, Drift and Crosshairs add little. One host thinks Cade is the most developed character of the series.
In the end, most of the crew lands in the same place: a better Michael Bay Transformers movie. One host objects to grading it on that curve and calls it simply a good Transformers movie. Another says it gives him more hope for the Bumblebee movie with a new director.
What’s on TFormers
Review: The Last Knight, A Bit More Than Meets the Trailers
Rob points to Bacon’s spoiler review of The Last Knight. [Source: TFormers]
SDCC 2017 Han Cholo Transformers Jewelry
Photos show Han Cholo’s G1 Optimus Prime, Megatron and Soundwave jewelry for SDCC. [Source: TFormers]
Number-Crunching the Transformers Movies
A reader’s analysis tallies property damage, kill counts and robot screen time through Age of Extinction. More on-screen deaths track with worse reviews. The crew notes the Decepticons caused the most damage, while the Autobots killed the most people. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
In 2004, BotCon 2004 opened in Pasadena. Don explains it was meant as the Hartmans’ final BotCon, a closing show after 10 years. Attendees got a surprise exclusive: 104 Action Master Breakdowns recast from the European Action Master Sideswipe, with handmade heads, in G2-style boxes. That matched the number available at BotCon 1994.
What We Got This Week
Rob got Titans Return Twinferno as a birthday gift from Paladin. It has some technical flaws, but it can talk to its own hands like a sock puppet, which is all he wanted.
Don is saving his big pickup for There Goes My Money.
John said he did not get anything this week.
Radio Free Cybertron is the world's first and oldest toy and action figure podcast — broadcasting from the heart of the Transformers fan community since October 1999. What started as a scrappy fan show has grown into an institution, with nearly 1,000 episodes and over 25 years of coverage. Every week, host Brian Kilby and the RFC crew dig into the latest Transformers news, toy reveals, collecting, and everything hitting shelves from Hasbro, Takara, and beyond. No fluff, no hype — just informed, passionate collectors who have been doing this longer than anyone else on the planet. The original. The longest running. Till all are one.
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Radio Free Cybertron – 04/05/2012
Radio Free Cybertron 547 – When Thanos has all the Jems, he’ll be truly truly truly outrageous