(3.5 / 5)
On the run in the year of 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.
It only took six tries but “Bumblebee” finally delivers on what a Transformers movie could live up to be. With five films already in the Michael Bay-led franchise, Transformers has managed to rake in only mixed to negative reviews from its fans and critics. With the previous installment, “Transformers: The Last Knight,” not even hitting half of its budget, it had become clear that there needed to be some big change-ups to reinstall faith in these blockbusters based off the Hasbro toys.
“Bumblebee” takes on this challenge by hitting the reset button and taking the audience back to the late 1980s to present an origin story of sorts under the direction of Travis Knight (“Kubo and the Two Strings”).
The film follows 18-year-old Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), who since her father’s passing, has been feeling more and more distant from her family as they’ve done what she can’t by moving on. She works on cars all day, hates her job, and listens to The Smiths. It’s on her birthday that she gets a small yellow Volkswagen Beetle that everything begins to change. Bumblebee, who has been sent down to Earth to establish a base for the Autobots, has lost his voice and most of his memory. Once he reveals his true form to Charlie, the two begin to work together to figure out who he is and where he came from. Now that he’s active, his signal goes out to another Autobot that gets intercepted by two enemy Decepticons. These two then head to earth where Charlie and Bumblebee, with a little help from John Cena, must defend their home and themselves.
Hailee Steinfeld in Bumblebee (2018).
The biggest asset that “Bumblebee” has going for it is the massive tonal shift. The film, despite what the storyline may indicate, has a lot less of a serious saving-the-world vibe and focuses more on the dynamics between Charlie and Bumblebee. It resembles a lot more the attitude and format many ’80s films have where a kid who sees himself as an outsider, befriends the supernatural/alien creature and goes on a big adventure. In these films, it’s a lot less about the end goal, or what was pulled off, but rather, about the friendships gained and the lessons the main character learns about themselves. “Bumblebee” focuses on this angle a lot more and makes it so that Charlie needs Bumblee to grow and become a better version on herself as opposed to the 2007 film where Shia LaBeouf needs Bumblebee to help win over girls.
Despite the movie’s constant need to remind the audience that it’s the ’80s, the film keeps things fun and plays into its tropes. Big crazy adventure movies have their beats and structure that audiences are more than familiar with. They’re the same in every giant robot movie and every superhero movie. What “Bumblebee” does well is it plays into these moments. Between director Travis Knight and the film’s writer Christina Hodson (“Shut In”), there is a clever spin on each of these beats that doesn’t come off as meta or ironic but genuine and fun.
Of course, with any major studio movie, there’s going to be a couple of questionable plot points or a few moments that seem corny, or even a line or two that don’t seem necessary. And of course, with any film based on something beloved by a big loyal fan base, there’s going to be this underlying want for something to complain about, but with “Bumblebee,” I encourage you to let yourself have fun. It’s not perfect but it’s a fun movie that will allow a viewer to go on the kind of big adventure they imagined when they were kids. This film is one where an audience member’s experience is exactly what they want to make of it. Go on the ride, be a part of the adventure, and let “Bumblebee” show you what “Transformers” has been missing.
In theaters Friday, December 21st
