Review of Bumblebee (2018) by Jack W — 06 Jan 2019

Haven't seen the fourth and fifth Transformers, but for me this one beats movies two and three and is rather better than the first Transformers.

Best part is that with Michael Bay no longer directing, Transformers gets the simple things fans have been asking for all this time: stronger story, understandable action scenes, and easier-to-make-out Transformer designs.

The movie takes place in the 80's and it really feels it was made during it too. The movie is just fun and heartfelt. Admittedly since it's about a person who's lost a parent and befriends a non-human being, there are a lot of tropes here. You can easily see where things are going. (Plus there are some annoyingly over-the-top, stereotypical, and super-vicious-for-no-reason mean girls.) Still, the movie works well enough that it didn't matter to me.

Really helps that Hailee Steinfeld is the lead. She's acting on a higher level than you'd expect for a film like this. She nails both the comedy and drama so well. She make scenes where it's just her for a long period of time talking to a giant robot that turns into a car just so natural. John Cena is also pretty funny as the human villain.

As for any downsides, the movie does inherit the Bay curse of weird plot decisions by having one scene where you're wondering "Why on Earth isn't the army supervising this!" You'll know it when you see it. Also, the resolution of Steinfeld's character's conflict with her family is a little unsubstantial.

Especially since this got overshadowed by Mary Poppins and Aquaman, I highly recommend you see this. It is just a good action adventures that's fine for the family. (Plus I want this to do well 'cuz I want a sequel or follow-up.).