Transformers has a bit of a rocky relationship with it's audience. Myself included. I wanted so badly to hate the first film in 2007. Michael Bay made Bumblebee a camaro and I was convinced he ruined my childhood. That was not the case. The first movie had some heart, a decent story, and big robots that leaped off of the screen. The follow up (Revenge of The Fallen) lacked in almost every way, but I loved Dark Of The Moon. I like Mark Wahlberg, but the the last two installments were awful. The Last Knight being the worst of the franchise.
The story became convoluted. Characters that we loved were ruined or done completely wrong. I think Michael Bay did it on purpose. He love to give the finger to just about anyone who has a problem with his movies. I actually like him as a director, but he had run this franchise into the ground. The robot designs were always messy. The overall narrative, beyond the first and third, lacked heart. After the financial and critical failure of The Last Knight, Bay said goodbye.
Travis Knight takes over and is tasked with saving or relaunching the franchise. We get a different looking Bumblebee, new characters, and a fresh take. Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena lead the cast with a story set 30 years before the 2007 film.
When Bumblebee opens we get to visit Cybertron. We got a version in the Bay films, but this time we literally get the 80's cartoon version brought to life. We see some faces that will be familiar to anyone who watched those original cartoons. The beginning alone did a great job to set the tone. As usual, the autobots are losing the war and Optimus Prime ( Peter Cullen) sends B-127(Bumblebee) to earth to establish a safe house for the dying autobots.
Bee (Dylan O'brien ) arrives and accidentally causes conflict with Agent Burns (John Cena). He is tracked by another Decepticon and is damaged to the point he can no longer speak. A point from the previous films that is finally explained. Bee goes into hiding until he is found by Charlie (Hailee Seinfeld). After being tracked by two decepticons, he finds himself captured by the government. Now Bee and his friends must escape and stop his decepticon pursuers from calling an evil army to earth.
So much of this movie works. I could go into great detail, but I am not here to spoil. The best thing about the movie is the relationship between Bee and Charlie. Watching them bond is fun. We get the idea of who both of these people are and see them grow. They are both essentially lost for different reasons. The two of them give this franchise something it has been lacking. Heart. They are the heart of the story and there is a great chemistry between them. CGI robot or not, it works.
The rest of the cast fits too. Charlie's family is entertaining, but not annoying. John Cena works well too. He is not asked to win an academy award. He is asked to play a soldier with an ax to grind. He is the villain, but at his core a good guy. The star of the show is Bumblebee. It is his story and he shines.
We get glimpses of other transformers, but not overbearing. We don't get Megatron, but we shouldn't. This movie is all about letting secondary characters from the myths shine. Optimus has a presence, but he isn't really missed.
The film is filled with little Easter eggs and throwbacks to other Transformers media. The soundtrack is the best! It is filled with great 80's songs and each one works. While the overall threat looms, the movie never takes itself too seriously. That is why it all worked so well. Transformers is supposed to be fun.
The design is much better. The story either works as a stand alone, launching in a new direction, or setting up what we saw in 2007. Bumblebee has a lot to over come. Transformers fatigue has set in. The last few films have done more harm to the franchise than good. It's biggest problem though will come from it's competition. Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse is going strong and competes for the same audience. Mary Poppins is, well unfortunate. Aquaman is equally fantastic and also pulls the same audience. My prediction is that Bumblebee will fall short and get lost. That is really a shame.
It is a little Iron Giant, a lot of fun, and exactly what this franchise needed.
