Bumblebee

The first "Transformers" film is a classic summer blockbuster and very stereotypical of director Michael Bay. The next two films in the franchise did not live up to the original and after "Age of Extinction" also let me down, I skipped seeing "The Last Knight". I find it funny that it took this long for the franchise to attempt a reboot by making a prequel/spinoff. I was willing to give "Bumblebee" a chance because the reviews were promising and I had a free movie ticket. I think it is better than all the sequels but not as good as the first film. The performance of Hailee Steinfeld was the best aspect of this movie but whereas previous films went overboard on the action, "Bumblebee" went overboard on the nostalgia. I also felt the story was cliché.

This movie sees an alien-being come to earth and end up in a very vulnerable state. He comes in contact with a troubled youth who harbors him. The youth is currently struggling because of a broken family situation. The youth teaches the alien about earth during their time together. At one point, the alien explores the house and makes a mess. Eventually, the government tracks down the alien (so as not to spoil things, I will stop my summary here). Gee, what other movie does that sound like? To say that "Bumblebee" took inspiration from "E.T." is like saying "West Side Story" took inspiration from Shakespeare. Duh. Even though "E.T." director Steven Spielberg was an executive producer on "Bumblebee", it is the obvious connection between the two stories that bothers me. "Transformers" was a lot less like "E.T." on the other hand because Sam doesn't come from a broken family, he doesn't know at first that he possess an alien and the alien is not helpless. These differences gave us the required originality. The relationship between Charlie & Bumblebee and the story they share did not feel fresh enough to fully entertain me. Another flaw that interfered with my ability to enjoy this prequel were the constant reminders of the setting of the 1980's, particularly the use of songs in the first half of the show. Don't get me wrong because I was born in the early 80's and I look back on that decade with some fondness. I also like 80's music but too much of a good thing can become too much to bear. I felt the filmmakers were trying to squeeze as many 80's hits into "Bumblebee" as they possibly could. If they had acted sparingly, using songs that only furthered the story, I think that I would have enjoyed that aspect of the show. "Guardians of the Galaxy" on the other hand used enough retro songs to make only one album and we heard them throughout the whole movie. "Bumblebee" had three albums worth of music in only the first half of the film. The only song that made me smile upon hearing it was the "Cheers" theme. The fact that "E.T." was made in the 80's doesn't help with the originality of the narrative. The special effects were pretty good for the most part except for the shot of the two teens jumping into the car after the prank they pull.

Being that this is a way to reboot the franchise, the filmmakers finally gave fans what they wanted: a Beetle. Many die-hard fans were very upset when that vehicle and a cab over semi truck were not used in "Transformers". I do find humor in the fact that a 1977 Chevy Camero is portrayed as a cool at the end of "Bumblebee" whereas in the first film, it is viewed as the opposite. Another moment of the climax I took note of is the symbolic use of the side view mirror and the phrase "Objects in a mirror...". I have seen that warning used before in films to create comedy, terror and now drama. What saved this movie from being just as below par as the sequels to "Transformers" was Hailee Steinfeld's performance. I hope she wins an Oscar someday. She even sings in the soundtrack. Angela Bassett by the way was a good choice for the voice of Shatter. You have a few familiar names as producers for this prequel such as Michael Bay and Lorenzo di Bonaventura. This is the first live-action Transformers film not directed by Bay. Instead, Travis Knight makes his live-action debut. His last film, "Kubo and the Two Strings", was his directorial debut and I enjoyed that animated movie.

Not only have the Transformers themselves lost a lot of their originality but the story in this spinoff/prequel wasn't original either. At least the show was better than all the sequels in the franchise. Hailee Steinfeld gets a shoutout but if you ask me, the best movies that take place in the 80's were made in the 80's.

3.5 Stars out of 5