Bumblebee
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)
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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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This was really good, and if Transformers continues in this form, I'll be happy to go see it. Travis Knight has handled the move from animation to live-action CGI spectacle flawlessly, and he's absolutely confident in the action scenes – which are considerably clearer than in any of the Transformers sequels. They're also usually significantly smaller, of course, but again, in one-on-one fights, you get to enjoy the robot MMA considerably more, and when it comes to epic battles of armies, there's plenty to watch too, and it's never a mess. In fact, after the opening scene, I was thinking that I wouldn't mind at all if Knight actually ended up directing the third Guardians of the Galaxy. But what's especially nice is the fact that the film isn't afraid to slow down and tackle the characters, both the human and transformer ones. Bumblebee relies on a nice 80s atmosphere, a fun soundtrack and the feel of adventure films like the ones Steven Spielberg made in that decade. Besides, Hailee Steinfeld does a fine job as both a selfless teenager and a determined heroine, and John Cena doesn't get in the way either. It looks good, it's good to watch, and it's just long enough, though it could have been paced a little more briskly in the middle section. The phrase "less is sometimes more" applies 100% here, and this is by far the best film in the Transformers franchise after the first. As it stands, Transformers still has a lot to offer, so hopefully people will go see it. Although I understand that after The Last Knight, what I write here is probably hard to believe. But give it a chance, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
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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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Given how disappointed I was with the second instalment of Transformers, the four stars I’m giving to this flick are quite an improvement. The authors went back to basics and delivered an incredibly simple story, whose script however contains everything I need to grow fond of Bee and enjoy some plot twists. While watching this movie, I realized that today’s blockbusters usually lack a certain charm that would make them stand out from the average and arouse some emotions in me. This film succeeded in doing so, even though I didn’t expect it to. Of course the 1980s feel, so popular in these days, played a huge part in that. Plus I must say that John Cena was a great casting choice. I hope to see him in more movies.
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Photo © Paramount Pictures
