Bumblebee ★★★½
THE sixth film in the Transformers series benefits greatly from a refresh.
Unlike all the previous entries, Bumblebee (2018) wasn’t directed by Michael Bay which means it isn’t too focused on robot battles, has a sub two hour running time and doesn’t have a trace of misogyny.
This nicely-balanced prequel to the original 2007 film was made by Travis Knight off the back of his highly-regarded 2016 animated film Kubo and the Two Strings.
Knight was also lead animator on The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman and Coraline, all family films primarily directed at children but exploring adult themes with frightening moments.
He brings a similar careful approach to Bumblebee which doesn’t shirk depictions of emotion and danger but avoids overt violence in the action sequences.
Bumblebee’s main attraction is in the chemistry created between the lead character, a female this time, and the almost child-like Autobot.
There is a terrific sequence, worth the price of admission alone, where Bumblee has been confined to the garage at home but decides to go exploring the rest of the house and ends up causing unintentional destruction.
It’s remeniscent of ET’s antics at the fridge and watching television or, more recently, the movements captured so well for the fast-developing teenage robot in the under-rated Chappie.
The story of Bumblebee is very basic, again in contrast to the increasingly complex films helmed by Bay.
It starts in space amid the ongoing war between the Autobots and Decepticons for control of Cybertron. This particular battle is being won by the evil Decepticons and Autobot leader Optimus Prime sends Bumblebee to Earth to create an alliance that will aid the Autobots’ eventual return.
Bumblebee is damaged during an initial encounter with a military unit and winds up as a clapped-out Volkswagen retrieved from the bottom of a canyon and secreted away in a junk yard.
Fast-forward to 1987 and, similar to the original 2007 film, Bumblebee’s socially-isolated lead character, 18-year-old Charlie Hunter, happens upon the wreck and adopts it as her first dream car.
After Bumblebee reveals his true self as a transformer, Charlie grows even fonder of the playful robot but then finds herself in danger helping him evade capture by two Decepticons that have tracked him to Earth and the military whom the Decepticons have tricked into helping them.
It’s hard to believe that lead actress Hailee Steinfeld is still only in her mid-20s. She first came to wide notice in the 2010 remake of True Grit and was Oscar nominated for her performance opposite Jeff Bridges.
She was good again in 2014’s The Homesman before notching up more acting accolades in The Edge of Seventeen opposite Woody Harrelson in 2016.
She effortlessly brings the right balance of wonder and attitude combined with quiet determination and resourcefulness to the role.
Of the supporting cast John Cena as Agent Burns, Jorge Lendeberg Jnr as Charlie’s shy suitor Memo and Angela Bassett as the voice of Decepticon Shatter also register.
The film really comes alive during the interactions between girl and robot, particularly when Bumblebee helps her egg a car, tries to follow instructions for hiding or selects songs for his playlist from her record collection.
A nice, big-screen family movie.