Optimus Prime's vehicle mode is a truck, as it's almost always been, and it looks absolutely FANTASTIC. It's amazing how solid this truck is all around-- there's no robot extras whatsoever, and everything fits together pretty much perfectly (there's a few minor visible gaps in the back, but they're really not a big deal). The proportions are spot-on accurate when compared with the truck in the movie, and the paint apps are astounding-- all the flames look really great, especially the blue flames against the gold-to-red fade near the front of this mode. Needless to say, the colors are wholly Prime's, and look especially nice with the aforementioned touch of gold. The mold detailing is also very good, with "bolted panels" detailing all over the figure. And hey, the tires are rubber-- certainly something unexpected on a mainline toy. There's transparent bits where appropriate-- namely, the windows and headlights-- though due to the electronics, unfortunately the truck doors cannot open and you can see a drivers' seat or anything inside the windows. As for Prime's electronics, if you press a button on his roof, his windows will light up yellow and truck horn noises will sound. Simple, but cool and nonintrusive.
    Optimus Prime's transformation engineering is quite a sight to behold, being extremely complicated but also not overly frustrating or confusing. Honestly, in terms of getting a toy this accurate to the Prime on the big screen and getting it to transform into that solid of a truck mode is amazing no matter how you slice it. Anyways, Prime's robot mode isn't quite as impressive as his vehicle mode in terms of looks, but that doesn't mean it isn't pretty darned awesome. His proportions are pretty good (though his legs could be just a touch longer), and his articulation is great, for starters-- he can move at the head, shoulders (at two points), elbows (at three points), his fingers and thumbs can each move individually of each other, and he can also move at the hips (at two points), ankles, and knees (at two points). His leg articulation is pretty restricted due to the wheels on the backs of his upper legs, however-- they can be disconnected to allow for freer movement, but then they just flop around rather annoying, making this Leader Prime's biggest flaw (not to mention that they make the legs look bulkier than they should). Some of his truck kibble is stored behind his back and doesn't really look like anything or complement the mode at all, but it doesn't get in the way of articulation at all and stays put, so I don't mind it. His arms and main body look great all around, with no real kibble that doesn't stay out of the way and a solid yet unique look to it. I don't like that there aren't any pegs connecting the shoulders to the main body, though-- they tend to flop around a tad without anything to hold them in place in this mode. The detailing on Prime's head and chest is exquisite, and about as accurate as you can reasonably expect on a transformable toy version of him. I especially like Prime's electronic feature in this mode-- for the final step of the transformation, you push a lever on Prime's chest upwards, making his head pop up while his windows and optics flash yellow and a "powering up" noise is emitted. Very cool! Prime's other, lesser gimmick in this mode is that his engine-gun mounted on the side of his right arm can be swung over his fist for a "gun-arm" like in the movie, while another small gun pops out from under his hand. The gun itself is your standard spring-loaded missile launcher. As for Prime's "automorph" feature, it's in his feet-- if you rotate his heel, pretty much everything else slides into place on his feet, which is pretty darned cool.
    Leader Optimus Prime has an amazing truck mode, easily the best out of any of the movie Primes', and his level of engineering is nearly unprecented in a TF toy. His robot mode has some minor movement and kibble problems, but some dynamite gimmicks, and he's definitely the most movie-accurate out of all the transformable toys made of him for the movie line. Still, in terms of sheer looks, I'd have to recommend the Voyager/Robovision version of Movie Prime SLIGHTLY over this one, if you're only going to get one version of Movie Prime.

Review by Beastbot

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