Bumblebee redeems and revives the Transformers live-action film franchise with heartfelt fun after years of cinematic trash. THIS is the Transformers film we’ve all been waiting for, a brilliant tribute to both the toys and their era.
In the film’s chaotic opening sequence, the pineapple-yellow robot B-127 (later dubbed Bumblebee) has his voice box ripped out. However, this flashy spectacle is the only real parallel between this origin story and the five previous Transformers films, all directed by Michael Bay. Despite being a live-action film, it is directed by Travis Knight, the Laika Studios animator who made his feature film debut in 2016 with Kubo and the Two Strings. The film has an old-school feel thanks to Knight’s touch; the machines appear more tactile than their sleekly designed descendants, which is enhanced by the 1987 setting.
Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) is a teenage outcast who works shifts at a nearby garage to save up for her first car. It is here that she meets Bumblebee, who is disguised as a Volkswagen Beetle, and hiding from the Decepticons (voiced by Justin Theroux and Angela Bassett), who have followed him to Earth. The film transforms into a buddy comedy as the two communicate through 80s pop songs blasting from the car’s cassette player (Bumblebee spits out a tape of the Smiths’ Girlfriend in a Coma in protest).
Steven Spielberg’s DNA feels baked into Bumblebee, which is particularly in a magical moment, with emotional beats straight out of 1982’s ET, where Steinfeld tenderly cradles the face of the robot in her small human hands whilst asking him, ‘What are you? ‘Where did you come from?’
The special effects are stunning, and don’t get us wrong, the special effects in the Transformers films have never been bad, but the sheer chaos and mayhem in every other film in this series made it difficult to leave the theatre without a fantastic headache.
As far as the acting goes, Hailee Steinfeld creates excellent chemistry with a CGI robot that can only communicate via radio, showing her talent as an actress. Pamela Adlon, John Cena, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. are all great here as well. Finally, there’s some awesome retro character design harkening back to the original ‘Transformers’ animated series, with Optimus Prime in his traditional Freightliner flat-cab look, Bumblebee as the classic 1960s Volkswagen Beetle, and Soundwave as a tape player complete with Ravage, his musicassette wolf dog thing.
While the majority of the film’s goofy one-liners are delivered by John Cena, Travis Knight and Christina Hodson have created a story in which we care about the characters and their relationships. There aren’t a trillion mindless subplots full of action, pissing robots, and robotic bollocks, so we can follow along and become invested in their journeys.
It only took a little more than a decade for a good Transformers movie to come along, and all it took was Michael Bay finally handing over the reins to someone else, et voilà, instant hit.
If you haven’t already seen it, you should definitely give Bumblebee a watch. If you’re a fan of the original Transformers at ALL, you won’t be disappointed.
