Bumblebee (2018) Movie Review

The latest film in the Transformers franchise, Bumblebee, officially hits theaters this upcoming Thursday, December 20, 2018. I had the opportunity to utilize A-List for an early screening Saturday December 8, and I have thought about the film quite a lot since then. As for the previous films, I have very faint memories of the 1980s animated movie and as a 90s baby, I didn't grow up watching the original cartoon. I did however watch Transformers: Armada on Cartoon Network in the early 2000s, and I had some of the action figures, which I always thought were very cool. I still really like the first Michael Bay Transformers film, but I hated Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. After that, I refused to give my money to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th in the series. However, upon seeing that Bay was relegated to a producer role (likely in name only) for Bumblebee, and after loving the trailers, I was actually very much looking forward to this film. I am thrilled to say that I not only loved Bumblebee, but I have loved it more and more upon reflecting about it.

I must commend director Travis Knight. Unfortunately, I have still not watched Knight's critically lauded Kubo and the Two Strings (I certainly will make it a priority now), but he does a superb job with this movie. The action sequences, particularly a thrilling opening sequence on Cybertron (the Autobot/Decepticon planet) are spectacular. The action is easy to follow and creative, and they are well-choreographed. Most importantly, they serve the story. There are great car chases later in the movie as well, and the visual effects are wonderful and believable. I mention action first, however, because while it is great, it is not what ultimately makes Bumblebee a great movie. What makes this movie great is it's focus on crafting a compelling story with endearing characters, something I feel is truly a first for perhaps any Transformers movie (yes, I haven't seen 3, 4, and 5, but I have heard enough about them. I did decide to rent the 3rd, though).

Firstly, I must start by saying that with the Bay Transformers films I've seen, I had an issue with the focus on the human characters. Or so...I thought I did. After Bumblebee, I realized that, while I liked Sam Witwicky and Megan Fox (yes, I'm saying Megan Fox because she was essentially herself, and I was 14 in 2007), I didn't like the parents, and the other human characters were...not characters, but gags. Bumblebee immediately gets the viewer invested in Charlie Watson, played by the monstrously talented Hailee Steinfeld. Oscar-nominated at age 13 for her performance in 2010's True Grit remake, and showcasing both comedic and dramatic range in the coming-of-age film Edge of Seventeen (2016), Steinfeld's performance in Bumblebee is equally as fantastic. Right away, the filmmakers do an excellent job introducing us to Charlie through visual storytelling.We see her getting out of bed, head to the sink, turn on some music, and start head-bobbing as she brushes her teeth. Written here, that sounds uncompelling, but somehow this character introduction immediately tells us something about Charlie. This, plus her interaction with a group of popular kids from her school shortly thereafter let us know that she is a loner, as well as her interactions with her family.  The human supporting cast, from Charlie's family to her neighbor who has a crush on her, are all great as well, but Charlie Watson is the clear star aside from the titular character.

That leads to Bumblebee himself. Simply put, where Knight succeeds above ANY other Transformers film is that he makes Bumblebee, as well as the other Autobots and the villanous Deceptions, true characters and not just cool, fighting robots. Credit to that, as well as credit for making compelling human characters, goes massively to screenwriter Christina Hodson. The amazing Angela Bassett voices the film's mainly villanous Decepticon, Shatter, and she is honestly my favorite villain of the franchise thus far. Some critics may detract from the film for it's notable similarities to classics like E.T. The Extraterrestrial and The Iron Giant, but to me that was the perfect formula for this film to follow, and it is so great in its execution of that story that I love that about it. What also really enhanced Bumblebee for me is that, epic though it is, it is decidedly small-scale in relation to the other Transformers films, and does not rely on tropes of the series or other fan-favorite characters to deliver great moments. This film also manages to capture a sense of hope, magic, and wonder, which none of the previous Transformers movies did, if you ask me.

The musical score by composer Dario Marianelli is fantastic. It had a wide range of themes from fun, to suspenseful, to action/adventure, to heartwarming. The soundtrack utilizes some classic and infamous 1980s hits as well. That's another great thing about this movie, how it captures the 1980s aesthetic. Bumblebee joins Stranger Things and It (2017) in convincingly taking us back to the 1980s (even though I wasn't alive in the 1980s). But in terms of clothing, dialogue (to a lesser degree), music, filmic style, everything, it does this extremely well.

As someone who couldn't care less about most of the Michael Bay Transformers movies and who actually refused to pay to see any past the 2nd, I LOVED Bumblebee. If you are burned by the franchise, give this one a chance. It should function as an effective reboot (I don't care what anyone says, this is a REBOOT, not a prequel) for a great new set of movies. Bring Steinfeld and the other human actors back.Bumblebee a shot because it truly is the best of them by a long shot. It is another favorite of 2018 for me. After my intially viewing, I would have given it an 8.5 or B+, but after thinking on it, I give it a 9/10, which equates to an A- on my scale. See this movie!