Set in what I assume is the late 1980s, The War On Cybertron reaches its boiling point as Optimus Prime and the Autobots are forced from their homes and must retreat to Earth due to their civil war against the Decepticons. The first Autobot to arrive on the planet is B-127 also known as Bumblebee. Bee is forced into hiding until a young girl named Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) finds him in a junkyard. Together they must protect Bee from not only the Military led by a vengeful John Cena but the Decepticon soldiers who seek the termination of the remaining Autobots.

Let’s just get right into it, Bumblebee is by far the best Transformers movie to date and it’s not even close. Most of that has to do with the fact that watching a Transformers movie in the last few years has become a battle of attrition rather than a fun moviegoing experience. The bar is set so low for this franchise you might just trip over it on the way into the theater. But why is this movie so much better than the others? Simple, Hailee Steinfeld.

When was the last Transformers movie you watched with a likable protagonist?

Hailee Steinfeld provides to this film a heartwarming, likable hero that this series hasn’t had…ever. It has basically been Shia LaBeouf…

and Mark Walberg…

So how can you go wrong with a face like this?

Steinfield is amazing and the origin story is retold as a humbling buddy comedy/coming to age story. The film works because it isn’t as robotic as the Michael Bay movies and speaking of robots, the deceptions finally have a personality and you can tell them apart by looking at them. There are only TWO complaints I have with this film.

1. I wish the music of choice for Hailee’s character was more Motorhead centered rather than The Smiths.
2. Why the hell was Memo even in this movie?

There is a pseudo-love interest shoved into the film named Memo and he serves NO purpose to the film what so ever. The guy is too beta to be a legitimate love interest and the film go out of their way to show it but even in the grand scheme of the plot, he contributes nothing. He is the cinematic version of Kwame Brown, he’s on your bench but you don’t even know how he made the roster.

Outside of that, Bumblebee is a more than welcome change to the Transformers universe, even better, it is less than 2 hours long.

3.5/5

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