152. The Death of Optimus Prime

I knew what would happen, but I didn't know why. And so with few expectations, I sat down to watch the movie of the decade, and quickly learned why children all over were crying...

Optimus Prime died.

Yes, I finally watched it--two decades after it first rocked the world, stunning every boy of the eighties--I finally saw Transformers: The Movie. I was told that I *had* to see it before the new Transformers movie came out. I *had* to understand the critical histories and complexities of these robot-cars. And to tell you the truth, I thought it was a pretty decent movie.

I didn't have the same affection for the Autobots as some of the boys in the room did, of course. As the movie started and a fight was ensuing on the TV screen, they told me about how devastated they were when they first watched all of this. "In that 15 seconds, they killed off about 2 years of my life", one guy said, watching all the main characters die. [NOTE: The producer's cut version later explained that they chose to eliminate those characters... so they could introduce the next series of toys for the following season. Smart marketing!]

Of course, the crushing moment came a few minutes later when the most powerful of them all, the hero of the show, Optimus Prime fell in action. This moment was what created the legacy of Transformers: The Movie, and probably the reason why I'd even be watching such a movie now.

Poor boys. I'm sorry they took away your favourite childhood superhero. Well, I hear he's back now, in this new version of Transformers! (Unfortunately, he's hella ugly...)