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Bumblebee proves it's possible to bring fun and a sense of wonder back to a bloated blockbuster franchise -- and sets up its own slate of sequels in the bargain.
SUPER REVIEWER
All Critics (226) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (209) | Rotten (17) | DVD (1)
Where the Bay "Transformers" movies alternated between ecstasy and dullness, "Bumblebee" is consistently middling. Dec 31, 2018 | Full Review…
Where the Bay "Transformers" movies alternated between ecstasy and dullness, "Bumblebee" is consistently middling.
Richard Brody
A frustrating joy ride. It'd be twice as good if it was half as long. Dec 26, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
A frustrating joy ride. It'd be twice as good if it was half as long.
Charlotte O'Sullivan
If only not being terrible was the same as being good; Bumblebee is still just reheated nostalgia. Dec 26, 2018 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…
If only not being terrible was the same as being good; Bumblebee is still just reheated nostalgia.
Jesse Hassenger
The movie works in large part because of the depth of Steinfeld's performance. We haven't seen such a well-realized character in any of the other Transformers movies. Dec 24, 2018 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
The movie works in large part because of the depth of Steinfeld's performance. We haven't seen such a well-realized character in any of the other Transformers movies.
James Berardinelli
Imagine if John Hughes made a Transformers movie. Or: Think E.T., but with auto parts. Dec 24, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
Imagine if John Hughes made a Transformers movie. Or: Think E.T., but with auto parts.
David Fear
"Bumblebee" does hold up as a fun, family-appropriate movie on its own terms, and redeems its beleaguered franchise in the process. Dec 21, 2018 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
"Bumblebee" does hold up as a fun, family-appropriate movie on its own terms, and redeems its beleaguered franchise in the process.
Matthew Rozsa
It's happened you guys - they finally made a good Transformers movie! May 1, 2019 | Full Review…
It's happened you guys - they finally made a good Transformers movie!
Peter Gray
It may have taken a while to get here, but finally - finally! - fans have the Transformers movie that they deserve... An utterly great popcorn picture. May 1, 2019 | Rating: 9/10 | Full Review…
It may have taken a while to get here, but finally - finally! - fans have the Transformers movie that they deserve... An utterly great popcorn picture.
Andrew Pollard
A throwback to classic family romps like Short Circuit, WarGames, Flight of the Navigator and ET. It's no coincidence Steven Spielberg is listed as a producer. Apr 16, 2019 | Full Review…
A throwback to classic family romps like Short Circuit, WarGames, Flight of the Navigator and ET. It's no coincidence Steven Spielberg is listed as a producer.
Richard Trenholm
It's what Transformers fans have wanted and needed for a long time. Apr 15, 2019 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
It's what Transformers fans have wanted and needed for a long time.
Wesley Lovell
It could have been a good movie if it wasn't so heavily and obviously inspired by better films. Apr 11, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…
It could have been a good movie if it wasn't so heavily and obviously inspired by better films.
Sameen Amer
We've become so inured to the idea of just being run over by a Transformers movie that it feels downright revelatory to see one that works as something other than overkill. Apr 8, 2019 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
We've become so inured to the idea of just being run over by a Transformers movie that it feels downright revelatory to see one that works as something other than overkill.
James Kendrick
The Transformers prequel does cash in on the current 1980s nostalgia, but at least it does so by delivering a highly enjoyable adventure. Going back to the formula "a boy and his first car", now with a girl, that worked great in the first film, was also a smart move. The film has its best moments when it is focusing on kids having an exciting adventure, like in the classics from that era. Each time we turn to the bad guys, we're in the usual Transformers territory. Still, thanks to great soundtrack, a likable young leading lady and good sense of humor (instead of embarrassing jokes like in the last three films), the enjoyment far outweighs the "been there, done that" moments.
Super Reviewer
Michael Bay should take notes from Travis Knight on how to make a Transformers movie that lets you see and understand what is happening before your eyes, and this is an exhilarating throwback to the '80s that looks and feels like something Steven Spielberg would have made in that decade.
A new direction for the toy action figures gone Hollywood: somebody figured out that even science fiction (like Frankenstein's monster) needs heart. And so, along with the action scenes of the big automatons duking it out, there's the story of an out-of-sorts teenager dealing with the death of her father. This is old school entertainment here, masterfully realized, with even the 80"s soundtrack designed to reel the audience into the plot. After the film was over, I thought that the next installment couldn't ask for a better introduction. A sci-fi offering not simply "for the kids".
Why haven't they been making these kind of Transformers movies from the beginning? Bumblebee is a scaled-down, character-driven family film where the bigger moments re about fitting in, finding your sense of self, and keeping your new alien robot friend hidden from your parents. Set in the late 80s, Hailee Steinfeld (Edge of Seventeen) plays a high school senior dreaming of a life beyond her neighborhood and family. The ticket out is a new car, which just happens to be an Autobot from another planet disguised as a VW beetle. Because Bumblbee had his memory wiped from a fight years earlier, he's very childlike and endearing, and the interaction between the big robot and Steinfeld will rekindle more than a few memories for The Iron Giant, E.T., and other classic "boy and his dog" tales. There's a real attention to the characters, big and small, that makes this the best Transformers movie. Not everything has to be about the next world-destroying cataclysm. There's plenty of formidable drama in watching a teen girl navigate the world with an unconventional new friend. Director Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings) graduates to the world of live-action with a terrific feel for the visual parameters and material. It helps that Knight gives his film a sense of scale without sacrificing coherency. The camera prefers wider shots and longer takes so the audience can follow the action. The movie also has a sly sense of humor it knows when it call upon, like a highly enjoyable John Cena who is baffled at his government's open door policy to evil robot aliens: "They have Decepticon in their name. Is that not a red flag to anyone else?" This is a well-paced, sweetly heartfelt movie with good humor, good characters, and good action. If this is what happens when you strip Michael Bay from the franchise, then lock him up. Nate's Grade B+
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