A Buzzing Success!

Somewhere South Of Cybertron

I really had my doubts about the Transformers franchise whenever I heard that a Bumblebee movie was in the works at Paramount. Although I enjoyed the first Transformers film way back in 2007, each and every film that followed seemed to get more sophomoric with the humor, more outlandish with the action, and ultimately just a series of really loud and boring films. I haven’t even watched all of the sequels in their entirety with the exception of Revenge of the Fallen. I have tried to watch them all, but I always turn them off or give my attention to other important things like playing a game on my phone or cleaning the house. The films just didn’t interest me.

However, after watching the trailer for the film and hearing some pretty good opinions of it, I decided to give Bumblebee a chance. I’m glad that I did. It made all of the nonsense from the prior films disappear with a snap like Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and finally gave Transformers fans a film that had heart, humor, and decent action.

Spoiler Free Review Ahead!

Hailee Steinfeld, in quite possibly her biggest starring role so far, carried most of the human load of the film as Charlie Watson, a young lady who is still coping with the loss of her father who happens to find and fall in love with a beat up Volkswagen Beetle. After being given the car as a gift for her birthday by the owner of the garage, Charlie discovers that the car is actually the Autobot named B-127. She unwittingly triggers his homing beacon that alerts two Decepticons of his presence on Earth.

Bumblebee’s memory has been wiped and his voicebox is destroyed (I won’t spoil how that happened), but as Charlie begins to repair him, a few of his memories start to slowly come back. He learns what his true mission is and must deal with the Decepticons that are after him. Along the way, he and Charlie become strong friends as they help one another cope with their respective problems.

The film has a surprisingly strong cast that is led by Steinfeld’s relatable performance. Along for the ride is Jorge Lendeborg, Jr. as Memo, Charlie’s awkward neighbor that bumbles his way through the picture. John Cena portrays Agent Jack Burns, a rather formulaic character made a little bit better by Cena’s performance. He’s still getting used to the acting gig, but he did a fine job in the film.

John Ortiz plays Dr. Powell, a member of Sector 7 with Agent Banks who agrees to assist the Decepticons as they hunt down Bumblebee. His role is somewhat small but essential to the film. Charlie’s family is portrayed by Pamela Adlon (Sally, Charlie’s mom), Stephen Schneider (Roy, Charlie’s stepdad), and Jason Drucker as Otis, Charlie’s annoying (but very funny) little brother.

Dylan O’Brien briefly voices Bumblebee in the film. Peter Cullen reprises his role as Optimus Prime. Angela Bassett and Justin Theroux portray Shatter and Dropkick, the Decepticons in pursuit of Bumblebee throughout the bulk of the film. Other Transformers appear in the film, but I won’t spoil them for anyone that hasn’t seen the film yet.

The film is heavy on nostalgia. Charlie’s home immediately reminded me of just about every home featured in an 80’s action or sci-fi yarn, especially E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and The Goonies. Music and one specific film from the 80’s were also featured in the film and were just as important to the story as the actors and the script.

The film stayed relatively clear of the potty and sophomoric humor of the prior films and added a whole lot more heart and nostalgia. There were a couple of moments in the film that almost made me cry and both for different reasons. There were some great character developing moments as well. Something that was desperately needed in the other films.

Bumblebee is a relatively safe family film. There are a few violent deaths (human and Transformer) that younger children might not be able to handle and a couple of bad words here and there, but ultimately this is the most family friendly film in the Transformers franchise.

Hopefully Paramount and Hasbro realize that films like Bumblebee are what the fans really want and not some explosion-laden nonsense. Give us a good story with a little action and a lot of heart and fans will return to the franchise.

As always, thanks for reading. I’ve got a few Universal Monsters posts in mind, so don’t be surprised if you see one in the near future. Also, I’ll be posting a link to my first-ever unboxing video in the next few days as well.