It's been a while since I did anything regarding the Masterpiece Movie line. I own the dynamic duo in the form of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, and while I did wait to own the other characters (apart from the HFTD repaints and Beetlebee), I couldn't decide if I wanted to or not because of the prices. Like I got MPM Prime for 15 dollars from trading in some stuff and I got Bumblebee for $45 when I made a deal with another person on buying Combiner Wars Megatron for a total of $90. Characters like Barricade and Ironhide would be hard to obtain, Megatron and Jazz are online exclusive, and both Ratchet and Starscream are far too expensive than they have any right to be; why would I pay slightly over $110 for a Ratchet that's shorter than Optimus Prime? Anyways, I've got Megatron from paying $70 on him, and it's a great deal if you ask me because Hasbro Pulse has him for $159.99. Not a perfect deal like with the Ross deals where he is around $35.99, but still better.
Here is Megatron in his vehicle mode, looking absolutely accurate at the best of its physical ability since this design was pretty much an alien jet that's got the classic Movie influence of it not really looking that convincing of an altmode. Granted, it's better than the G1 guys having to turn into vehicles that look nothing like their robot designs in the cartoon (or Optimus's weird cannon from issue 1 of the Marvel Comics), but it still looks kind of funny. I do appreciate the wings, the nosecone, the tailfin, etc, it feels a lot more complete, but it's one of those things that Cybertronians really wouldn't pull off as smoothly. Megatron's altmode in The Last Knight was a proper jet mode in the form of resembling Cyclonus somewhat, but this is still iconic to me. And the surprising thing is that it's not only massive but also heavy thanks to the die-cast materials added here and there. Also appreciate the metallic silver paint added in some spots, and even the parts not painted silver look good.
While the fusion cannon is stored nicely between the feet, the chain for the mace can only be stored on the sides, which it does so in an okay matter.
For a size comparison, who else but his enemy Optimus Prime? These two were great ways to contrast one another for their roles in the movie, with Optimus Prime being the friendly Autobot leader with his Earth form and a deco that shows his motivation towards burning the Decepticon tyranny down; Megatron, on the other hand, looks absolutely massive and eclipses over Optimus with his alien alt mode.
Transformation is very complex but not as much as I anticipated. I remember someone saying that the undercarriage of Megatron looked too similar to the first Voyager, but while that influence is there, this figure feels much more involved and intelligent than any of the old toys. I still think the Studio Series version had a more creative transformation what with the way the legs become part of the back as well as the wings, and its ability to hide the head compared to any other Megatron, but I have to commend HasTak for making this guy feel refreshing. Some little touches like the fin folding away behind his head and the panels on his arms bulking the forearms are nice touches. Be sure that the backpack and the joints for the legs are securely locked in place. As for the robot mode, I'd say it's the most accurate of the MV1 Megatrons, as his proportions are correct compared to the massive backpacks of the old toys and the big legs of the Studio Series version. Some bronze is added in parts of the robot mode as well as a bit of red for the torso, but it's actually not as bad as I originally anticipated. The proportions look great for this guy, right down to the long fingers and the feet. The chest is correct to the CGI model compared to the Studio Series version reusing the ROTF version. His backpack is a bit too bulky but it's better than the prior versions of a little too far out. Either way, the silhouette from the front is uncompromised.
Head sculpt is insanely good, with the silver, gray, and bronze balancing each other in a nice layout and combination, and while the eyes have the piece in-between them, they pop nicely with the nicely added LIGHT-PIPING. One thing worth noting is that the teeth were originally white. I didn't like that so I instead painted them gold to make them feel less like a pastel mistake and more like a proper color of teeth that he would have. His articulation is very impressive, with a head swivel to look left and right as well as a hinge to look up and down. Like Barricade, his jaw can articulate to add more variety to the way he's posed. Shoulders move front and back on one set of ratchets as well as in and out on another set of ratchets, the biceps swivel, the elbows bend on ratchets, and the wrists swivel while the fingers can articulate at 1 or 2 points. The waist swivels, hips move front and back on heavy ratchets while they move in and out on less-heavy ratchets. The legs swivel above the knee, the knees bend, and the feet can both hinge as well as pivot, but the pivots can be hard to work with because of the indents.
His weapon options include one of two forms of attack: melee and range. The melee weapon is his mace, formed from the rubber chain and by removing one of his hands. The chain is flexible enough to allow you to pose him as he's attacking others decently The other weapon is his fusion cannon, which also replaces one of his hands and can give him a brief form of weaponry used likely when he escaped the dam and when he shot Jazz.
Is the Fusion Cannon too small for you? You can reveal this long barrel and tell Prime to join the humans in extinction! Alternatively, you can have the Allspark shoved onto his chest as it blasts the remnants of his chest after removing the chest panel!
For a comparison to how the Allspark looks next to something else that can be stored in a robot's chest, here it is next to the Matrix of Leadership, courtesy of MPM-4 Optimus Prime. While the Matrix was definitely made out of die-cast, I don't know if the cube is as well.
For a comparison between these two in robot mode, you can definitely see that Megatron is taller than Prime, as it should be. Megatron was definitely the more monstrous of the two, and this action figure perfectly adds to that comparison if you ask me. Also shows that Optimus is the more traditional of the two, with his design looking more Earthy and Transformery compared to Megatron's alien design. But overall, Megatron is a cool addition to the Masterpiece Movie line thanks to his engineering, size, articulation, and overall quality. Sure, the jet mode's still the same in terms of it having that alien look to it, but I'm happy to say that this guy is the best version of the MV1 design of Megatron, and with me thinking that title was initially taken from the Studio Series version, it's even better when the more expensive figure gets it right.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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