There were several hit franchises that dominated 80’s pop culture, with most of them defined by their merchandising and popular animated TV show adaptations. One of these franchises was Transformers, which followed the adventures of the titular autonomous robotic organisms who were embroiled in a war between two rival factions known as the Autobots and Decepticons. The toy line was developed by Hasbro and Takara Tomy and served as a rebranding of the latter’s Diaclone toy line, and in turn, it was the inspiration for the popular animated series The Transformers, which ran from 1984 to 1987. The franchise would then continue over the years with new themes, shows, and even a feature film adaptation in 1986. And in 2007, the series made its live-action debut via director Michael Bay’s Transformers, which was a major commercial hit upon its release amidst decent but overall polarizing reviews. This reception quickly changed, however, once the film starting to get sequels. While they continued to be hits at the box office, critical reception only got worse with each new film, with most critics deeming them as some of the worst films of their respective years of release. But now, for the first time since the live-action series started more than a decade ago, there’s a new Transformers film hitting theaters that wasn’t directed by Michael Bay (who’s still involved as a producer). Instead, directorial duties go to Travis Knight, CEO of the stop-motion animation company Laika who recently made his directorial debut in 2016 with the critically-acclaimed Kubo and the Two Strings. And for his Transformers film, Knight goes back to basics with a prequel/spin-off centered on arguably the most popular Transformer of the series after Autobot leader Optimus Prime, the adorable yellow scout Bumblebee. What follows is a film that could very well win back those who were extremely unsatisfied by the previous Transformers films as Knight’s take on this long-running franchise is quite arguably far more respectable to its source material.
The year is 1986 and teenager Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) has just turned 18. Frustrated with her current predicament of not having a car, she ends up coming across a yellow Volkswagen beetle at a garage owned by her friend Hank (Len Cariou), who lets her have it on account of it being her birthday. However, as Charlie soon discovers, this is not just an ordinary car. Instead, it is an Autobot scout, B-127, who she ends up naming Bumblebee (initially voiced by Dylan O’Brien before reverting to the character’s film series trademark of communicating via the radio). As the two begin to bond, Bumblebee struggles to cope with a damaged memory core that was sustained following his arrival on Earth, and soon enough, Charlie ends up being roped into the mission that had brought Bumblebee to the planet in the first place. Specifically, a pair of Decepticons named Shatter (voiced by Angela Bassett) and Dropkick (voiced by Justin Theroux) arrive on Earth looking for Bumblebee, who supposedly has information about the current plans of his superior, Autobot leader Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen). Having speculated that the Autobots plan on establishing a new base of operations on Earth, the two form an ‘alliance’ with the government group known as Sector 7 to track down their target, claiming that the Autobots are the ones who will pose a threat to humanity. Thus, Charlie and Bumblebee now find themselves pursued by both the government and the Decepticons as the latter works to follow Optimus’ orders and protect Earth from this new alien threat.
One of the most common criticisms about the Transformers films has been their writing, usually due to instances where they try to over-complicate their plots. That isn’t the case with Bumblebee, though, as it opts for a far more simplified plot that pays clear homage to films like E.T. and The Iron Giant. There aren’t any ancient transformers or crazy government conspiracies to be found in this film; instead, it’s just a story about a girl who comes across an alien robot and the situations that they get into, several of which involve the government. Now with all this said, it should be noted that there are instances where this film is perhaps a bit ‘too’ simple. Its plot is as basic as you can get for a film like this and it’s also rather light on action sequences, with the biggest action set-pieces reserved for the climax. At the end of the day, though, the ‘back to basics’ approach that Travis Knight takes here is one that’s truly worth appreciating. For all intent and purposes, his style of direction arguably serves as a course correction for almost all the major issues that audiences have had with the Michael Bay-directed Transformers films. This film’s action sequences are a lot easier to comprehend and it isn’t overstuffed with Transformer characters. There are only a few in this film and the ones that are there aren’t just giant, grey-colored robots that all look the same. Plus, given that this is set in the ’80s, the character designs are primarily based on those from the era that Transformers fans refer to as ‘Generation 1’ AKA the earliest and perhaps most beloved incarnations of these characters. As such, for those who grew up with the original Transformers toys and their subsequent animated TV series adaptation, you’ll be pleased to know that these classic designs are well-executed in live-action form.
But while the film, in general, does dial back on almost all the extremes of Bay’s Transformers films, it’s still very limited in terms of character development. Simply put, the only two major characters in this film that get any attention are Charlie and Bumblebee. But for what it’s worth, the relationship that these two form over the course of the film is arguably its greatest strength. And while this may seem outlandish to some people given the previous films, it does, in fact, result in a Transformers film with actual heart that’s not just a case of ‘style over substance’. A lot of this is thanks to Hailee Steinfeld, who’s quite excellent as easily the best human lead to come from this series. Not only does she work well off the CG-created Bumblebee, but despite what was said earlier about the film being rather lacking in character development, she does get to work with the majority of what’s there. Most specifically, it’s established that following the recent passing of her father, she’s become quite emotionally distant from the rest of her family, especially after her mother Sally (Pamela Adlon) quickly remarried. And it is through her relationship with Bumblebee that Charlie manages to rebound from her recent loss, an arc that Steinfeld handles very well. As for the rest of the cast, they’re good in their respective roles despite not having as much to work with compared to Steinfeld. Perhaps the most prominent example of this is John Cena as Sector 7 agent John Burns. While Cena’s certainly proven himself as a solid actor in recent years, Burns only serves as an obstacle for Charlie and Bumblebee who had some previous experience with the latter as seen in the opening.
As I’ve noted numerous times in the past, I’m an unabashed fan of the live-action Transformers films. I still have highly positive feelings towards the original 2007 film and I’ve never ‘disliked’ any of the sequels even though I’m fully aware that I’m in the minority on that one. And with all this in mind, while it’s not necessarily my favorite entry in the series, I will agree that Bumblebee is undoubtedly the most well-made of the bunch. Under the confident direction of Travis Knight, almost all the major issues that fans have had with Michael Bay’s Transformers films are practically non-existent here. The action sequences are far more coherent from a filmmaking perspective and the plot isn’t overstuffed with overly complicated plot-lines, disposable characters, and awkward bits of humor (e.g. there are no pot-consuming mothers who wonder if their kids were masturbating in their bedrooms). And while the plot itself is easily the series’ most simplified to date… given the reception of the previous films, it’s safe to say that most audiences will not mind in the slightest. In other words, Bumblebee is a Transformers film made for Transformers fans by a Transformers fan. Not only does it base itself around the most popular era of the franchise, Generation 1, but thanks to a strong lead performance from Hailee Steinfeld, this film does boast the heartfelt narrative that many felt was severely lacking in the previous Transformers films. And while it’s currently unclear right now as to where the film series will be heading next following the underperformance of The Last Knight, if future films are anything like this one, then it’s safe to say that Transformers fans will be in for a real treat.
Rating: 4/5
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