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After Michael Bay direct fiveTransformersmovies with seemingly no interest in the source stuff other than its opportunities to brag up cars , Travis Knight deliveredBumblebee , a spin - off set in the ‘ 80s sharpen on the titular Autobot . Critics were stunned when they were post to review aTransformersmovie andfound that it did n’t completely go down on .
Compared to the previous fiveTransformersmovies ( possibly barringDark of the Moon , which had a funny chess opening act with Sam trying to get a chore and some jolly exciting moment in the final battle),Bumblebeewas a unquestionable cinematic chef-d’oeuvre . But taken on its own , it ’s not perfect .
Right: The Opening Scene
The opening scene ofBumblebeetakes station on Cybertron , in the midst ofa civic warfare between the Autobots and the Decepticonsthat the Autobots are dispiritedly losing . The effects are striking , it makes for a riveting way to start the movie , and most importantly , the characters last look right .
This fit was exactly whatTransformersfans wanted to see from a live - action movie adaptation , and it only fill six picture show to get there .
Wrong: Heavy Reliance On Nostalgia
The ‘ fourscore setting ofBumblebeewas a neat idea that precede to some colorful visuals , but the film in the end rely far too much onthe current multiplication ’s nostalgia for that epoch .
UnlikeIt , which showed the horrifying side of the ‘ eighty , Bumblebeefetishizes the decade to an idiotic extent , cramming inall the clichés from its teen moviesas a wink to the audience .
Right: Focus On Character
Michael Bay ’s filmmaking manner , dubbed “ Bayhem , ” has no interest in boring things like storey and role and or else concenter on fulfill the screen with as much explosive action as potential . None of the characters in Bay’sTransformersmovies , human or robot , have any tangible characterization or development .
By line , Bumblebee ’s focus on reference felt like a breath of overbold air . The characters motor the action , and consultation allow the movie with an actual idea of who Charlie and Bumblebee are .
Wrong: Predictable Story Structure
In addition to borrowing heavy fromE.T.andThe Iron Giant , Bumblebeefollows the same predictable three - turn bodily structure that almost every Hollywood megahit does .
Hollywood studios have calculate out a history formula that will more or less satisfy the average motion-picture fan and they ’ve beat it to death . Bumblebeeis yet another shining example that tender nothing new in terms of patch social organization .
Right: Hailee Steinfeld’s Lead Performance
Probably the best thing aboutBumblebeeisHailee Steinfeld ’s performance in the lead part . She manages to steal the spotlight from her gargantuan machinelike companion with likeable good luck charm and delicious funny witticism .
WithTrue GritandThe Edge of Seventeen , Steinfeld had already evidence she could express a film , butBumblebeeproved those skills were transferable to big - budget blockbusters .
Wrong: John Cena’s Government Bureaucrat Character
Every timeBumblebeecuts from its main storyline postulate Charlie’sIron Giant - esque friendship with the eponymic robot - in - camouflage to its “ Meanwhile , back on the cattle ranch … ” subplot involving John Cena ’s government administrative official graphic symbol Jack Burns , it stops the film dead .
Unlike fellow wrestler - turned - actors like Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista , Cena does n’t have a natural screen presence and his movie performances often strike flat ( not that anyone should ever say that to his face ) , as it does here .
Right: Plenty Of Heart And Humor
Ever since motion picture comedy devolved intoan interminable slew of mind - numbingly terrible movies likeHolmes & WatsonandDirty Grandpa , audiences have been try humor elsewhere , in smash hit . These large - budget stories about hero fighting villains also need a peck of heart .
The key to any great modern blockbuster is a good equipoise between marrow and mood . guardian of the Galaxyis the golden standard . With its substance about the power of friendship and its surplus of whacky laugh , Bumblebeenails this Libra the Scales better than most .
Wrong: Overlong Runtime
In a world of two - and - a - half - time of day - plus blockbusters likeAvengers : Infinity WarandStar Wars : The Rise of Skywalker , Bumblebee ’s 114 - second runtime objectively depend pretty thin . But the moving picture still feel like it ’s half an hour too long .
Its lightweight tone andIron gargantuan - adjacent premise called for a pie-eyed 90 - moment - ish runtime . The distraught B - plot drag out it out too much .
Right: Real Stakes
There are seldom any stakes in today ’s blockbusters . Sequels are planned so far in progress and the fib being told are so painfully predictable that the characters never find like they ’re in any genuine danger . What ’s refreshful aboutBumblebeeis that there are real stakes .
Charlie does n’t just go through the movement from set composition to set piece ; she constantly faces obstruction and struggles to subdue them .
Wrong: Falling Into The Trappings Of Prequels
Although it ’s easily the bestTransformersmovie , Bumblebeedoes fall into some ofthe common trappings of prequels . It create all kinds of repugnance in the timeline , like Bumblebee coming to Earth tenner too early and leave Charlie to wait for the Autobots ’ arrival long time before they were going to show up .
This could allow it to act as a reboot of the dealership rather of a prequel , but that was n’t clear when the motion picture came out , so the problem still stands .
NEXT : Jurassic World : 5 Things It Got correct ( & 5 It Got faulty )
