Bumblebee Review

By: Michael Demyan

Bumblebee, a Transformers prequel directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings) and written by Christina Hodson (Shut In), is set in the year 1987. Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) has shut herself off from the world after the loss of her father, but finds a friend in Bumblebee, an alien from the planet Cybertron who happens to be transformed into her VW Beetle. On the run from the evil Decepticons and a government group led by Agent Burns (John Cena), Bumblebee and Charlie must work together to save the world.

The sixth live action Transformers film is vastly different from its Michael Bay directed predecessors, focusing more on characters, heart and emotion than constant explosions and action. Hailee Steinfeld gives the best performance from a lead actor in a Transformers film, that just so happens to be filled to the brim with classic songs from the 80s. It is definitely the most well-crafted and well-paced film in the franchise.

The Good: The interactions between Charlie and Bumblebee will warm your heart, while being intertwined with a few breathtaking action sequences. The comedy is also surprisingly good. It’s a film perfect for the whole family.

The Bad: Obvious script rewrites don’t always coincide with some of the untouched original ideas, giving this film a bit of an identity crisis between prequel and reboot. The plot also borrows from numerous classic films, such as “E.T.” and “The Iron Giant.”

The Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐