BUMBLEBEE REVIEW

On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary yellow VW bug.

Bumblebee stars Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr, John Ortiz, Jason Drucker, Pamela Adler with the voices of Peter Cullen, Dylan O’Brien, Angela Basset and Justin Theroux. Bumblebee is produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto and Michael Bay with the film written by Christina Hodson and directed by Travis Knight.

Bumblebee turns out to be a fresh start for the Transformers franchise which manages to fully shake off the sting that Michael Bay had left on the franchise, just half an hour into Bumblebee you realise that there is so much hope and optimism to be had for this franchise with great stories waiting to be told. Unlike previous instalments which are driven by bombastic, obnoxious hour-long action sequences, first time live action director (making the transition from Laika animation studios) proves that heart and character drive the narrative. However, the spectacle we have come to be associated with the franchise remains, in fact it is improved and much more enjoyable to watch rather than a drain on the film.

The film opens on an action sequence on Cybertron which has been seen before in the franchise but not like this. The world building done in the opening is wondrous to behold, and Knight understands how to craft these fantastical worlds. Cybertron is akin to planets in other fiction like Gallifrey. Scale and scope not seen in the franchise before, the opening sets the stage for the film to forward and thrive. It is worth mentioning directly about the action is that is done to drive the narrative forward, not so as to have some fun with magic of VFX. Throughout the film character, narrative and story coexist equally, and one does not take precedence over the other.

Bumblebee is led by Hailee Steinfeld in the role as Charlie, and much like the film she is a breath of fresh air. Looking back last year as to when she was cast it was clear she was a very talented actress, just look at The Edge of Seventeen if you needed any evidence, but Bumblebee shows she is one of the rising actresses working today. She manages to convey a good chemistry with the title character, one in which has zero speaking lines for over 90% of the film runtime. Steinfeld must carry the film on her shoulders for it to succeed, given she is not joined by a human co-lead until way deep into the 3^rd act and yet she manages to achieve this flawlessly.

                                              

                                                Bumblebee is a heart warming story about two people who 

                                                                                are lost on Earth

The director Travis Knight makes perhaps the best transition from animation into live action, the general direction is some of the best in an action-oriented blockbuster that we have seen this year. The framing of the action sequences is one of the most notable improvements, the worst aspect to be said about action films is when said action is incoherent on the screen but Bumblebee clears this bar with flying colours. As someone who considered themselves out on the Transformers franchise, Knight manages to pull be straight back in to the extent that I hope he directs more of these films going forward. Furthermore, I suspect that Travis Knight may soon become a sought-after name in Hollywood.

The script is not revolutionary, containing many plot points that the audience may have seen before, especially in certain fantasy films however it does not feel derivative but fresh. This is achieved in the narrative flow in large part due to the writing which crafts well thought out characters who make you both laugh and cry, something which I did not expect, and the film deserves all the credit on this front. The creative talent of the previous instalments in the franchise leave, with Bumblebee benefitting from the fresh set of eyes.

Recently in a post Stranger Things world the popular trend has been to go for an injection of nostalgia, with Bumblebee no exception however it does not bash itself over the head with nostalgia feeling authentic in creating the world of 1987. The soundtrack is on point managing to infuse both diegetic and nondiegetic music from the period not to mention a rather effective score which really comes into its own in the 3^rd act.

Bumblebee suffers with some of its secondary characters with a romantic interest introduced through the way of Jorge Lendeborg Jr who doesn’t bring the same level of characterisation that Steinfeld does, though he is not a cliched, derivative form of a character that we have previously seen in the franchise. John Cena does a solid job with his limited acting range; his character has some development over the course of the movie but rushes it in the 3^rd act giving no reason for choices he makes.

Bumblebee is a major return for the Transformers franchise with Steinfeld managing to use her full range to deliver a crowd pleasing, heartfelt film that has real character both human and robot giving us hope that Transformers can become a franchise to love again.