Monday 10 December 2018

Film Review: Bumblebee


Travis Knight's Bumblebee spin-off flies into cinemas this Boxing Day – we caught an early preview to see what all the buzz is about. 

After five increasingly bombastic entries from Michael Bay, Paramount's weary Transformers series was in dire need of reinvention. Said change arrives this December, taking the form of a souped-up cute-as-a-button VW Beetle and actress, model and songstress Hailee Steinfeld. So long Shia and Marky Mark, but you will not be missed.

Set in 1987, 20 years prior to the first Transformers film, Bumbleebee sees the mute robot in disguise on the run and taking refuge in a remote junkyard. Charlie (Steinfeld), a lonely teen on the cusp of adulthood, is gifted a bright yellow bug as an 18th birthday present, unknowingly beginning a beautiful friendship and charming buddy film.

Bear with me here, but this film – yes, the one with the huge hulking robots that smash into one another and can turn into a Subaru or whatever – is one of the most heartfelt blockbusters of the year. At its core, Bumblebee is a coming-of-age tale; there are enemies to defeat and worlds to save, but what it boils down to is a girl, her car and the bond they grow to share.

The screenplay, penned by Christina Hodson (who will soon write DC's Birds of Prey and Batgirl movies), pushes all the hallmarks of a Transformers film to the periphery. Gone is the unbearable military jingoism, leery male gaze and explosions full of fireworks and Catherine wheels. The garish filter that drenched everything in oversaturated colours is gone, the Transformers themselves more closely resemble the original designs that fans will remember from the 80s and the action is more sporadic and less frenetic, with cleaner edits and less unintelligible CGI cluttering the screen.

That said, cynics might sneer at the soundtrack, which is jam-packed with 80s hits. This is a fair complaint, as Bumblebee definitely panders to the same nostalgia centres of our brain as, say, Stranger Things or Ready Player One, simultaneously catching kids who love Transformers now and adults who loved Transformers in the 80s in its web.

The Verdict: 7.5/10


So there you have it; 10 years after Michael Bay introduced the world to Megan Fox and splashed his bombastic brand of auteurism across a classic 80s cartoon and we finally have a half-decent Transformers flick. There have been moments of greatness, but Bumblebee is the first film in the series to possess both the 'warm and fuzzies' and the colourful explosions we've come to expect.

Bumblebee is in cinemas across Australia from December 20.

1 comment:

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...