Bumblebee

There tends to be a relief of fresh air when a movie series regarding a famous property has a chance to find new footing to forget about its past horribleness. The focus of this can be seen towards the Transformers live action films, which debuted in 2007 and had a total of 5 entries that were all directed by Michael Bay. The problems that arose out of those sequels were the exaggerations of the directors trademarks: excessive explosions, incoherent stories, focus on humans rather than the robots, disrespecting/exploiting the lead female characters, unlikable human heroes, numerous product placements, and recycled plots that become less and less inspired. It seemed like audiences had enough as well when the last film underperformed at the box office: a much needed change must happen. This brings us to Bumblebee, a prequel directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings and is best known as an animator for the studio Laika) and written by Christen Hodson (Shut in, Unforgettable). The marketing campaign displayed a sample of a family adventure it was aiming for and the film earned positive reviews upon its release. I entered the auditorium ready to see if it could deliver a worthy entry to the franchise name and left it glad to say that it succeeded.

Plot: Set in the 1987, the story follows Autobot Bumblebee who loses his memory upon his arrival on Earth after escaping his home planet Cybertron and befriends a teenager to help him recover. If this kind of premise sounds familiar, then imagine the Iron Giant (1999) as the template for this, which isn't necessarily a bad things since what matters most is how the narrative is executed. The primary focus on the bond between the human-robot pair in question is a return to basics that lets both characters develop through their respective conflicts. By taking things back to a cheesy tone that can harken back to the franchises past, the goofier moments can feel more genuine and lighthearted, which is much needed compared to the messy mashup of sexy adult related propaganda of the previous films. One thing that should be noted is the since the film has a smaller budget, the action scenes are more spread out to help them feel more warranted with great quality rather than just throwing as many explosions and blasts on the scene.

For all of the good that's been established by this films success, there are noticeable drawbacks in its approach that are worth noting. Because it's aiming for that fun cheesy violent family adventure aspect, some cliches such as the gruff military antagonists that don't quite land as well as it does. It does take too much time before the memory problem is resolved as some of the antics by the somewhat childish Bumblebee can get tiresome after a while.

Characters: The lead protagonists to focus on are Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) and Bumblebee. Charlie is a moody traumatized teen whose life gets more turbulent after discovering the amnesiac titular Autobot. Hailee gives not only the best performance of the film but also another great highlight for her career as she portrays basically her previous role from The Edge of Seventeen (including having a dead father). The way she interacts between the scenes she has with the family, quirky teenagers, and the rambunctious dangers that hollow her robot friend show that the actress does take this for granted. Bumblebee is an Autobot who escapes Cybertron and forgets about his mission after an encounter on Earth. The attitude displayed by him helps add to both the entertainment value and heartfelt moments by silent visual movements (since his voice component is damaged in battle).

Honorable mentions go to Memo (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.), Sally (Pamela Wadlon), and Shatter (Angela Bassett) for the former two providing solid chemistry with Hailee in their respective scenes together while the latter has a great vocal performance as the main antagonist. A mixed honorable mention goes to Jack Burns (John Cena) for having a few funny lines but is kinda hit or miss with the delivery of the script he's given (though overall serviceable with what's asked of him).

Action: For a franchise known for its warfare scenes, this prequel is dealing with a lower budget, which forces the filmmakers to focus on quality over quantity in that department. The fight scenes are definitely fewer this time around but the amount of work put into keeping them simple but creative is on display. Some of it might be typical standard group of soldiers versus robot but the highlights of its best are in the beginning and the end of the movie. The usage of the environment and choreography between Bumblebee and the despicable Decepticons are bolstered by Travis Knights animation background that helps bring more attention to proper battles. Not only can you actually see what's happening but the level of violence in the bigger match ups is kinda brutal (in the best ways).

Overall Consensus: Bumblebee helps bring hope for a fallen movie series by the strengths of a lighthearted charm, great lead performance, solid action, and a good balance of a cheesy tone and heartfelt moments. ⭑⭑⭑1/2🎟 Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You want to see a competent Transformers film. You don't mind 1980s nostalgia and a little product placement (only 1 item as far as I can remember). You enjoy a heartfelt charming family feature with violence involved. You don't mind cheesy teenage antics.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You hate Transformers in general. You are annoyed with 1980s nostalgia and a little product placement (only 1 item as far as I can remember). You dislike cheesy teenage antics.