10's Movie Review - Bumblebee

Director: Travis Knight
Genre: Action
Runtime: 114 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendenborg Jr., Pamela Adlon, John Ortiz, Angela Bassett, Peter Cullen, Justin Theroux

Description: On the run in the year of 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.

Review: It was 2007 when the first Transformers film came out in theaters. The film was a success, but for the real fans a disappointment. Many sequels followed, but somehow it looked spectacular but there was no depth or any layers. One of the stars from the franchise, Bumblee, gets his own film. And it’s a more authentic Transformers film. The best of them all actually.
We meet Bumblebee, probably one of the most recognizable Transformers aside from Optimus Prime. This story is a prequel, that is set before the first movie. It’s the year 1987 and the movie opens with a battle on Cybertron: Autobots versus the Decepticons. The massive CGI spectacle is limited, luckily. From this moment on, there is an actual story and it does have depth.
The Autobots lose and flee from Cubertron. Bumblebee gets one task from Optimus Prime: hide on planet Earth and wait for back-up. Here we meet Charlie. After her father’s death, she never found her way back and can’t move on. She loves working on cars, because that’s something she did with her dad. When Charlie finds an old yellow Beetle, she tries to hide in her garage. And then she meets Bumblebee.
The story is not spectacular, but there at least is one. It’s mostly focused on Charlie’s connection with Bumblebee. Hailee Steinfeld, who playd Charlie, really does a fantastic job. All the Transformers spectacle is taken back a notch and it gets more personal. It even makes you care about the Transformer.
It’s not a very surprising movie, but that’s not really what a Transformer movie needs. The power is in the little, more human moments of the film. Charlie is a strong leading character and her bond with Bumblebee will really touch you.
“Bumblebee” is the best film in the Transformer universe and I really enjoyed this film. It’s still popcorn entertainment, but with a little bit more depth to it.

Rating: 3,5/ 5