Review of Bumblebee (2018) by Player2-Water — 24 Dec 2018

E-Value: 9.

Acting: 9.

Plot: 8.

Unlike the previous Transformers movies, this movie features fan favourite character, Bumblebee, as the main lead character in his very own solo movie. In addition, this movie also serves as a spin-off and prequel to 2007’s Transformers.

In the planet Cybertron, two factions consist of Decepticons and Autobots are fighting in the Great Cybertronian War. With the Decepticons gaining the upper hand in the war, Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, tells the other Autobots including Bumblebee to evacuate the planet. Bumblebee is sent to Earth where he must set up a base of operations where the Autobots can regroup while Optimus stays behind and will meet up with him soon.

Reaching Earth, Bumblebee crash-lands in California where Sector 7 lieutenant, Jack Burns (Cena), and his team attack him due to presume him as hostile invader. A Decepticons, Blitzwing, ambush Bumblebee and destroys his voicebox and memory core in the process. Despite this, he manage to destroy Blitzwing but due to being wounds he suffers from the fight, he scans a nearby 1967 Volkswagen Beetle before entering stasis.

Sometime later, a trouble teenager named Charlie Watson (Steinfeld) finds a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle from a workshop and takes it back to her house where she discovers the car’s true identity. Soon, she starts to bond with him and even teach Bumblebee to talk through using radio. Meanwhile, two Decepticons, Shatter (Bassett) and Dropkick, arrive on Earth and made contact with Sector 7 under the guise of peacekeeper to ask for their help to track down Bumblebee.

Having watched all of the previous Transformers movies, I felt this is so much better than the other instalments except the first one. This movie sticks much closer to original design of the Transformers cartoon from the 1980s. It is also very nostalgic for those who are big fan of the cartoon because the movie is set in 1987. Even the transforming sound effects from the cartoon are used which makes it even more nostalgic.

The performance of the casts is good this movie especially John Cena. From wrestler to actor, his acting skills have been improved. His performance in this movie is simply amazing and it is much better than his previous live-action movies while he was still a wrestler. Unlike the previous instalments, the main female lead character in this movie is not over-sexualised for the sake of fanservice. The movie is quite fun and have many funny moments which is very well utilised better than how it was in the previous instalments.

Despite being billed as a prequel, I have noticed that there are many inconsistencies in the continuity throughout the movie. If you have watched all the previous movies, you would have spotted those errors easily. It made me wonder if this movie is supposed to be a prequel or reboot and at this point, it is really unclear. Only the next movie will tell whether or not it is a reboot after all. Whatever the plan for this franchise, I am hoping the next movie will do better like this one.