Directed by:
Travis KnightScreenplay:
Christina HodsonCinematography:
Enrique ChediakComposer:
Dario MarianelliCast:
Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Ortiz, Pamela Adlon, Jason Drucker, Dylan O'Brien, Justin Theroux, Angela Bassett, Stephen Schneider (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug. (Paramount Pictures UK)
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After the very first film, where the direct influence of Steven Spielberg was clearly evident, and out of the whole foursome, this third installment is for me the most enjoyable contribution to the whole metallized saga. What I like most about Bumblebee, which only references Spielberg here and there, is that it has real soul. The protagonist is not only pleasing to look at this time, but she's also natural and believable, and well, the rather big news for me was that I believed that a friendship really did develop between her and the revived yellow Volkswagen. It was more important to me than the otherwise pretty ridiculous storyline about people falling for the bad guys (although Agent Burns, played by John Cena, very commendably trashed it whenever he could). The gimmicky scenes were kept down to earth this time, and it was a good thing (remembering the last time Michael Bay literally drowned me with them still makes me a little sick).The only disappointment was Dario Marianelli's score – I thought his involvement was a rather odd choice, and whatever I think of Steve Jablonski, I like hearing his main theme.
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Bumblebee is something like E.T., but with a transformer instead of an extraterrestrial: an outsider without a father or friends finds a kindred “spirit” in a visitor from outer space. The whole film is set in the American suburbs in the 1980s, which, in addition to numerous hit songs of that decade, also involves watching Alf on television and a reference to The Breakfast Club. Like the early films from Amblin, it works flawlessly, without slowing down and without a scene that would sooner or later fail to find its justification in the overall structure of the narrative. Though Travis Knight does not offer such uncluttered and spectacular 3D action scenes as Bay, he dedicates much more time and space to the characters, whose actions have comprehensible motivations and are easy to connect with on an emotional level (yes, that includes Bumblebee). The film very skillfully avoids having the protagonist resolve all of her problems (low self-confidence, no friends, longing for her father) by means of getting a car. Thanks to the adventure experienced, she finds the necessary resources within herself. In the “blockbuster for the whole family” category, there is not much to complain about in this film. A very pleasant surprise. 80%
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“Don't you forget about me.” “U WISH” or it is paradoxical that, similarly as Bumblebee himself mixes his comments from radio broadcasts, the film makes it possible to string together quotes to form a review, which unfortunately is not in any way ecstatic. That, however, is a pity and a shame, as the director’s name, or rather his preceding filmography, offered high hopes, and that’s not even to mention the brilliant first trailer, which, as it turns out, offers a more intense spectacle and thus greater promise than the film itself. Whether Travis Knight gave in to pressure from the producers, who wanted a polished product, or is simply a solid director in the sense of an organiser who is only as good as the sum of his collaborators, the sad truth remains that he did not live up to the expectation that he would pull the transformers out of the gluttonous irrationality of Bayhem – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2THVvshvq0Q – and give them heart and emotion. On the contrary, in light of the insipid and mediocre result that merely checks off all of the safe and necessary attributes of a family blockbuster, it shows that, whether you like it or not, Michael Bay is simply unique in his style of spectacular excess and bloated consumerism and, thanks to his overblown ego, he remains such a strong personality that he is able to add a certain distinctiveness to cock-and-bull stories about cars concealing their faces. Though his films are overwhelming for viewers, they remain unforgettable in their own way, which unfortunately is not true of Bumblebee’s solo outing. While we’re on the topic of memory and forgetting, those comprise the central motif of the film. It is essential that this plot diversion is framed by the autobot’s loss of memory, thanks to which it can, well, transform from a cool fighting machine into a cute and cuddly pet for a while, which, incidentally, contributes to one of the really outstanding elements of the film, which is the flawless animation of the titular protagonist. Even though this standard series script element did not give rise to any sort of exceptional contribution in the context of the franchise’s transformers, it still would have been nice if the creators of other franchises adopted it, because it could, for example, bring a breath of refreshing exaggeration to excessively serious comic-book films. In fact, this may also comprise one of the reasons that Bumblebee does not bring forth the longed-for refresh, because the franchise itself or, better said, its dominant form established by Bay cannot be taken seriously. ___ PS: If only the producers and distributors would finally dump the nonsensical 3D in films that are not designed to be 3D movies. With its few characters, Bumblebee is just such a small film that prefers half-details over grand scenes (and grand scenes come across as hopelessly empty in it), so it doesn’t have anything to show in 3D. With a few distinct exceptions, the attraction of 3D has always been merely as a way to justify higher ticket prices and artificially inflate a film’s box-office revenues, but the producer of Bumblebee didn’t even try to justify it with at least one scene or shot where there would be some sort of rationale for the 3D effect.
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I didn't expect to be able to sell Trasformers as a fairy tale to my daughter, but I did! Dumb Bumblebee with no memory won her over by being scared, dancing and spitting tapes of crappy music. Travis Knight returned the brand to its roots and instead of Bayhem, he offers a nice story about a young girl's relationship with her VW Beetle. Hailee Steinfeld is very good, so is John Cena, and the others don't really need to be mentioned, except for my friend Paul, who almost destroyed the planet with his trust in bad aliens. Great action, nice music, bring in the sequel.
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It really tries to go back to a series of emotions and at the same time follow the current trend of back to 80s. It really wants to be "cute" and have soul, so much so that it falls into a mindless schematic. All of the things are so ostentatiously assembled according to a manual that they have trouble communicating with each other. Moreover, if someone laughed at Bay that his female heroines seem artificial, this is a different type of art - Charlie is constructed as an essential outsider with emotions so consistently that her alternation of teenage angst and sadness seems purely robotic. As well as the constant incorporation of 80s realities and references into the story. I get that naivety is a trademark of films for teens, but even these can be done so that they do not act like the result of a focus group session. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Bumblebee comes off as. Props for the cameo Optimus and the unintentionally funny John Cena. I hereby disconnect from the series and I will be happy to remember Bay's total sociopathy of the last episodes. In some ways, it was more stimulating than this colorful nostalgic junkyard.
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Gallery (64)
Photo © Paramount Pictures
![Bumblebee - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/163/143/163143167_cea53a.jpg)
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