In some respects, Bumblebee feels like the Transformers movie that the franchise has been trying and failing to produce for over a decade.
Bumblebee has its share of problems. Some of those are inherited from a franchise working from a template established by Michael Bay, which means that the style of action direction carries over in certain cases. Some of those are inherited from the fact that the film is “based upon the toys produced by Hasbro Entertainment”, which means that the film occasionally feels obliged to cram in various characters and elements for reasons more toyetic than narrative.
“You really don’t get this ‘robots in disguise’ thing, do you?”
That said, Bumblebee largely works due to a combination of factors. Hailee Steinfeld is the most likable protagonist in the series to date, if not the most likable character in general. The direction from Travis Knight largely steers clear of the cluttered excesses that define the other films in the franchise. The script from Christina Hodson cleverly pushes the film down both in scale and spectacle, meaning that Bumblebee is the first Transformers film not to loose sight of its humanity (let alone its human characters) in its storytelling.
Bumblebee is perhaps not the best film that it could be, but is very easily the best Transformers film to date.
A girl and her robot.
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bumblebee, eighties, film, Hailee Steinfeld, john cena, Movie, non-review review, review, robots in disguise, transformers | 5 Comments »
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