Bumblebee (2018)
Calling Bumblebee the best of the live-action Transformers movies is faint praise. Even if you consider the 2007 film's action sequences and special effects/character designs, the bar wasn’t high. It's a shame. This is what a movie translation of the series should’ve been from the beginning. It focuses on just a few characters (including a charismatic lead) and builds their relationship using methods that have worked before but are no less effective.
On the robotic planet Cybertron, the Autobot rebels are on the verge of defeat at the hands of the cruel Decepticons. Young Autobot scout B-127 lands on Earth to establish a new base, only to be ambushed and critically injured. Disguising himself as a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle, the amnesiac "Bumblebee" is discovered and repaired by Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), an 18-year-old music lover and car enthusiast.
The obvious comparison is to both E.T. the Extra-terrestrial and The Iron Giant. A lonely child befriends an alien who must be kept hidden from the authorities. Shenanigans ensue when it’s left unsupervised because it acts more like a child than a member of an advanced species. There are a few times when entire scenes in Bumblebee feel like they’ve been copied and pasted from those other stories with only the names swapped out. This means the best it can get is a bronze medal while Spielberg and Brad Byrd’s movies duke it out for a combined gold. That’s ok. This movie is miles ahead of the next contestant and the Autobots/Decepticons bring some new ingredients to the mix.
It’s a prequel, which means the plot’s set in the ‘80s. Rather than feeling like a cheap bid to exploit nostalgia, it really works here. The Transformers is an ‘80s franchise and setting things in the past allows us to get back to its roots in multiple ways. Aside from Bumblebee and the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen), all the characters are new. We’re not trying to tie up the innumerable loose ends created by the "previous" movies. We’re just telling one effective story centered around friendship and personal growth. The big threats are Bumblebee being discovered by U.S. Army Colonel Jack Burns (John Cena, a great choice for this role) and a pair of villainous Decepticons (voiced by Angela Bassett and Justin Theroux). Charlie’s summer job at the carnival - though crappy - also makes you recall simpler times. Gone are the bathroom jokes, the dubious roles for women and visual minorities and the cacophony of shredded metal while entire cities are laid to ruin.
Then there’s the music. Throughout, we hear great tunes - and not simply the usual “best ofs”. This soundtrack feels like it belongs to Charlie. They help flesh out her character and her relationship with the alien robot. It helps that Hailee Steinfeld is a gem. You just want to walk up to her and give her a big hug, particularly when she’s lamenting the death of her father (a subplot that’s nicely handled by the director and the actress alike).
The action scenes we do get are clearly shot and remain tense because we care about the characters. You want Charlie to survive. You also want her to overcome her grief, make friends, maybe even fall in love with her shy neighbor, Memo (Jorge Lendeborg). You like Bumblebee because the amnesic robot is funny and because he's kind of cuddly in a "child-like giant metal man that can inexplicably understand English" sort of way. Yes, the bulk of the times we saw the yellow 'bot he was in some bad stories but you still have a bond with him, one not unlike Charlie’s.
Upon initial release, Bumblebee was merely billed as a prequel to the franchise. I say ditch those other stories and keep going with this route. While it may be slightly derivative of other projects and the mechanical villains could’ve been developed further, this is solid ground on which you could start a franchise… for real this time. (On Blu-ray, September 18, 2020)
