BUMBLEBEE Review — 10-Year-Old Twins Betty and Winston Give You the Buzz
|December 15, 2018|
Bumblebee Review — We know these Transformer movies have been getting worse and worse, but not this one — it’s actually fun!
In this prequel to the popular Transformers series (about a race of robots that turn into different vehicles), fan-favorite Bumblebee’s origin story is revealed.In the 1980s, when a girl (Hailee Steinfeld), still mourning the death of her father, fixes up an old car, she discovers that it’s actually a damaged, memory-wiped, yellow-and-black robot. Together they form a very strong bond, and have to fend off the evil vehicle-robots, the Decepticons.
Win: The movie is the best one in the series because it’s the first one directed by Travis Knight, who made the excellent Kubo and the Two Strings. That’s why the visuals are so much better than the other movies. The others spent a lot of time showing how detailed the robots were.
This one has the visuals, but they’re not as complicated and they flow with the story so you have an even balance. The way the robots moved is so realistic, I thought at one time that they had used actual robots that made the sounds.
Betty: Even though the Transformers are supposed to be made out of metal, the other movies felt put upon, fake—kind of like plastic. This movie though, feels like it has a heart, that it’s real.
I really feel like Knight knew what the Transformers needed. Bumblebee and the girl, Charlie, have a believable bond, which doesn’t happen in the other movies. You see the friendship that develops between them. Steinfeld did a really good job in this role. She really becomes Charlie.
Another thing I liked about Charlie is that she’s not helpless. She knows what she has to do to get this car running, disable locks, things like that. She’s not waiting around for anyone to save her; she knows she’s got to save herself. She and Bumblebee, who is very protective and cute, are characters you can actually root for.
Win: And it has some ’80s pop-culture jokes that Dad liked. It surpassed all of my expectations. Bumblebeelooked bad, yet it turned out to be good.
With a Bumblebee review like that, how can you resist taking your kids to see it? Get times and tickets at Fandango.com.
Rated PG-13
1 Hour 53 Minutes
Bumblebee Review — We know these Transformer movies have been getting worse and worse, but not this one — it’s actually fun!
