James Reviews: 'Bumblebee'

The first thought that comes to mind when hearing of a Transformers spin-off is how they could damage the franchise even further. After the dismal fifth entry from Michael Bay, which became the lowest grossing film of the series, it seemed that the best option would be to shut down the franchise. A change of director has done some good, as Bumblebee is a fun, charming adventure with a strong lead in Hailee Steinfeld.

It starts back on Cybertron with the Autobots retreating and the Decepticons attempting to kill them before they can escape. The 'bots scatter across the universe looking for a place to call home, and Bumblebee, voiced briefly by Dylan O'Brien, crashes on Earth. The 'Cons track him down and he puts up a good fight, but ultimately loses his ability to speak and the memory of Optimus Prime and the war. The opening action sequences succeeds where the other movies failed; rather than blowing things up every half-second and using weird angles, it lets the camera follow the action in a natural flow, only blowing something up if it's absolutely necessary. As Travis Knight demonstrated in Kubo and the Two Strings, there's a correct way to get a proper scope of a battle, letting the camera open up and ensuring there's no obstruction of field of vision.

Another aspect that Knight understands is the importance of character, the relationship that the protagonist and their "guardian" share. In Kubo, our hero finds two companions who assist, but mostly defend him on his journey through Japan. Not too dissimilar from Bumblebee and Charlie, one protects the other from adversaries, while the other helps the one remember their past. As the Autobot learns to blend in, there are some moments of humanity found within the robot, including a charmingly funny scene at a deserted beach. Bumblebee also helps Charlie with her past, encouraging her to take on a diving challenge, having given up on it after the death of her father. Although she initially succumbs to her doubt, there's a moment in the film's climax where she overcomes the struggle, finally letting go of the fear that held her back.

The side story with John Cena's character and Sector Seven is another example of how this movie succeeds where all the previous installments failed. Usually the military exploits of Josh Duhamel and the tale of the average Joe—be it Shia LaBeouf or Mark Wahlberg—often segue in and out of each other, thrusting the everyman into a scenario no ordinary citizen would get into. Yet the movies constantly found a way to include them in the action through some ridiculous means, whether it's Shia running away from explosions in slow motion, or Wahlberg magically knowing how to operate and wield alien weapons with ease. In Steinfeld's case, it rings more in tune with how Shia gets involved, but rather than being dragged to some corner of the world to watch the robots duke it out, the trouble come to her in San Francisco. Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick have teamed up with Sector Seven to hunt down any Autobot fugitives, and the scenes involving this secret agency consists of meetings in the desert or a base, with full convoys of armed personnel, and military making sound decisions. There's even a brief cameo of Agent Seymour Simmons—John Turturro's character from the Michael Bay movies.

The movie's faults come mainly from the template the story takes its form, replicating those of E.T. and The Iron Giant; kid finding an alien, befriending it, and the government trying to track it down to either kill or imprison it. Not to mention the world-building gets rather confusing. Say what you will, but Bay did manage to set up an interesting history between Earth and the Transformers. It's meant to be a soft reboot and completely change the timeline, yet it recognizes some of the history of the other films—including Agent Simmons—as canon. I suppose if Travis Knight wants us to forget about the core series in favour of this restart, I can accept the selective acknowledgement.

Bumblebee is a fun, charming, small-scale adventure that promises a bright future for the Transformers franchise. Gone are the days of unnecessary explosions and nonsensical storytelling, a new dawn of 1980s nostalgia awaits. Here's to this being a fresh start and now a one-off lucky shot.

Rating: 7/10—Good