After the first Transformers movie, it was all downhill from there in terms of quality. Sure, financially each one was a blockbuster for Michael Bay. But, let’s be real here—the first one starring Shia LaBeouf was pretty fun. The rest… not so much. So, it is with great surprise that the prequel Bumblebee arrives on screens this Christmas and serves as the ultimate present to Transformers fans everywhere—it is an utter delight!
The flick takes us back to the beginning, i.e. the 80s. Cybertron is the home planet for the Autobots and they are under attack from Decepticons. As the planet appears to be on the verge of utter destruction, Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) sends a few of his choice lieutenants to escape pods to jet off to corners of the galaxy where the Autobots will regroup to fight another day. Bumblebee rockets off to a little planet called Earth, where he is to hide out and see if the landscape is friendly to serve as a central locale for them to mount a counteroffensive.
Bumblebee lands in America and it catches the eye (and ears) of Agent Burns (John Cena) and his crew who make it their mission to destroy what they perceive to be alien invaders. Little does he know that Bumblebee and his Autobot pals will become our allies in an epic fight to the death. But, first thing’s first. Bumblebee has to assimilate and find a way to hide, yet simultaneously get himself ready for his leader’s arrival sometime in the near future.
This prequel does some extraordinary things, but right off the bat I have to salute the fact that Bumblebee has a voice (he didn’t always communicate by FM radio!). Dylan O’Brien provides the vocal presence for the beloved character. But, as we know all too well from Transformers history, that doesn’t last long. The Decepticons rip his vocal power cords out and he is left, literally, speechless.
Hailee Steinfeld is Charlie Watson. It’s Charlie’s birthday and she’s not counting on much from her family. Her father has passed away and her mother (Pamela Aldon) has moved on and is living with her new man and their son, who Charlie doesn’t seem to connect with on any level.
When she heads to the local junkyard, where she’s a regular due to her passion in rebuilding a car she and her late father were working on when he perished, she discovers a yellow VW Beetle that just seems to be calling her. She asks the owner how much, and he gives it to her for her birthday. Elated and beside herself, she takes her new car—which miraculously starts—home and when going under to check out the undercarriage, she discovers a couple of eyes… and so much more.
Bumblebee reveals himself and the two form an immediate bond that is touching, compelling and strangely beautiful. Charlie is exactly the human that Bumblebee needed to run into on Earth as he is scared, alone and doesn’t know who to trust. The relationship between Charlie and Bumblebee is the heart and soul of Bumblebee. Steinfeld does an outstanding job working off a scene partner that is obviously not really there. She captures the spirit of a girl of her cinematic age and the awkwardness that accompanies it. Together, this is a pair of souls who needed each other—all without ever realizing there was that need. If this onscreen chemistry doesn’t work, then Bumblebee fails. Steinfeld has always impressed us as an actress and she is the right thespian at the right time to elevate a Transformers movie to heights it could never have dreamed of prior.
Bumblebee has thrills, yes, but it is boiling over with its moving heart-warming moments and pitch perfect humor. For those who are passionate about the Transformers universe, then the latest film in that world will send you into a stratosphere of blissful joy. For those who are new to the series, or gave up on it a long time ago, Bumblebeeis like a breath of fresh air that—believe it or not—you will not be able to get enough of. Yes, I did just write that about a Transformers movie!
As much as Steinfeld is a revelation in the role, so too is Cena as someone who could have been an antagonist. Over time, his military man learns about Autobots and Decepticons and he is largely the reason why the government establishes contact with the Autobots and commences a fruitful relationship that we all know works over the years to come. But, in those early moments Cena embodies the militaristic angle on this intergalactic relationship. At first, of course there would be fear, apprehension and the desire to point one’s weapon at these aliens and fire. See, Angela Bassett (brilliant choice) voices the Decepticon Shatter, who dupes Cena and his team into believing that Bumblebee is a fugitive from their planet and he must be eradicated. Over the course of the film, Agent Burns learns a few things and the actor behind the character is given one of the bigger and imperative to the storyline arcs of any character he’s played prior. The wrestler is slowly, but surely, building quite an acting resume and his work in Bumblebee should continue Hollywood’s giving him that chance to prove himself outside the ring.
Besides Steinfeld and the cast, heaps of credit must be launched upon director Travis Knight and screenwriter Christina Hodson. The former has made his name with the LAIKA animation house, whose stop-motion animated films are the stuff of legend. Knight helmed their last effort, Kubo and the Two Strings, and brings just the right touch to Bumblebee and a franchise in dire need of new creative blood. Just one example of why Knight has done something revolutionary with the latest Transformers film. Going back to the beginning of the Michael Bay-directed series, these Transformers are enormous and when several of them are battling each other, it was a frustrating endeavor for the viewer. Who was fighting whom was a visible problem. They seemed to meld together, and it was a visual mess. In Bumblebee, Knight has somehow made each Transformer approachable and the battle sequences have never been crisper and easier to cheer for the good guys.
Knight also comes from a production company that stresses story above all else. That was something that was notably absent from 90-percent of the Transformers experience. Providing that rich narrative is Hodson. She delivered a script that is out of this world, literally and figuratively. Hodson has crafted a layered lead female character that is as rich as this series has ever seen. The periphery players (such as her family and even the government officials that come and go throughout) aren’t just two-dimensional cut-outs or stereotypes. They leap off the screen and add something pertinent to the overall arc of the Bumblebee experience. Seriously, it’s stunning and a lesson in big-time moviemaking of the highest order.
Can’t believe I am writing this, but one final thought—Bumblebee is brilliant.
Grade: A-