Bumblebee (2018)
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Bumblebee Movie Review
Bumblebee is a 2018 family action film directed by Travis Knight and starring Hailee Steinfeld. It’s one of the year’s and decade’s finest blockbusters.
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“The darkest nights produce the brightest stars“
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Yes, I knew this movie is directed by renowned animation filmmaker from Laika Travis Knight. Yes, I knew Michael Bay is not involved in the movie’s direction. And I knew this was a prequel and a more nostalgic and less action-heavy take on the franchise. I knew all of that and I had expected a good movie, but what I got is a terrific film by all means that entirely surprised me, leading to what just might be the most surprisingly excellent, stupendous film of 2018.
They basically made an 80s blockbuster flick here which has its problems and merits, but eventually was a genius move. Yes, the movie is overwhelmingly nostalgic to the point of becoming very aggressive in some scenes. However, it’s so heartfelt, so beautifully made across the board and obviously approached with a lot of care that those 80s references did not bother me too much and the movie eventually turned out better than even the bigger 80s classics. They wanted to emulate that period’s blockbusters, but eventually elevated it which surely was impressive to witness.
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First and foremost, the lack of giant action was a huge reason why I loved this movie. The movie actually has a solid amount of action in its first and especially third act, but all of those fights were so well executed and filmed clearly that I enjoyed most of them hugely. They were mostly very exciting and quite cool.
But as I’ve said already, the emphasis here isn’t on action, but on storytelling, humor and heart. The story serves very well as the prequel as the Transformers are coming to Earth only in the final scene, but the movie very refreshingly takes on just one character, the titular yellow guy and his girl friend. That way, it became pleasantly simpler and more charming. I absolutely adored that entire second act due to all of those John Hughes teenage touches as well as a wonderful boy and his dog/girl and her robot storyline.
John Cena is okay, but overly silly as this archaic 80s army man. Jorge Lendeborg Jr. of ‘Love, Simon’ fame is overly goofy, but still very likable as Memo. I liked her mom and step-dad quite a bit too and the kid brother is so funny. Of the Autobots, of course Bumblebee is awesome and one of the hearts of the movie. He’s so sweet, childlike and wonderful and the choice to make him act like a dog felt more cute than cloying. As for Shatter and Dropkick, both of these Deceptions, especially the latter one, proved to be highly competent and for once smartly manipulative villains whom I bought into quite a bit.
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But the heart and soul of this movie is Charlie Watson who just might be the protagonist of the movie instead of the titular character. She’s a highly likable, superbly written character and her relationship with Bumblebee is beautiful. I also really liked her backstory about her father as well as her skills in automobiles which led to a different, refreshing female character in a film.
The main reason why she works so well is Hailee Steinfeld. There is no other way to say it other than that she just might have given the greatest ever main acting performance in a blockbuster movie. She is always great and underappreciated, but here she fitted her role so well as she is beautiful and cool, but can express and convey emotions like very few of her peers. She is magnetic, moving and exceedingly likable in this great role and the driving force of the entire film.
Bumblebee is highly emotional at times, but never overly manipulative or cheesy. The film earned its emotion for me and I was genuinely moved by some scenes, especially the ending. But I also absolutely adored its humor as many of the situations and perils they got into are so funny and amusing. The movie mixes wonderfully dialogue humor and slapstick humor leading to what is a great film for both children and adults. It’s predictable, but so incredibly entertaining that I loved every single second of it. The direction and pacing are so great and the score, although overly nostalgic, is still so cool. The dialogue is terrific too as is the movie’s visual aesthetic with terrific special effects and cinematography.
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With a wonderful, less action-oriented approach and more emphasis on great storytelling, charming humor and simply a lot of heart, Bumblebee truly is a future blockbuster classic for the whole family and probably the year’s most surprising movie in terms of its sheer quality. It’s highly entertaining and very funny, but also genuinely moving at times and consistently heartwarming and sweet. This film is so great that it managed to make me a Transformers fan overnight. It’s a timeless boy and his dog/girl and her robot story that has a plethora of wonderful characters, of whom the protagonist Charlie is the heart and soul of the film with Hailee Steinfeld being so likable and terrific in the role. She here gave one of the best ever performances in a blockbuster movie.
