Bumblebee (2018) AKA: A Live Action Transformers Film Done Right · 3:38pm Apr 8th, 2019
So, Transformers. Another Hasbro franchise that has done pretty well over the years.
Sadly the movies rarely reflect that.
Don't give me wrong, I consider the first Transformers film a guilty pleasure. Michael Bay's tropes and annoyances aren't too bad in in (not that I would know as this was actually the first Michael Bay film I ever watched.) I liked the action, the effects, and I definitely like Bumblebee and Optimus Prime.
But then Revenge of the Fallen came out, with Michael Bay-isms on full display. It sucked.
And then Dark of the Moon. It was slightly better but you could just skip to the last action-packed hour and you wouldn't miss much.
And then Age of Extinction. Again, slightly better than Revenge of the Fallen but what they did to the Dinobots was borderline unforgivable.
And finally, mercifully, it ended at The Last Knight, which is the last one that Bay directed. And it was arguably the worst one ever.
With Michael Bay being pushed back into the role of producer the directing role has gone to Travis Knight, who also directed Kubo and the Two Strings. This is his debut for Live Action Films, and in my honest opinion, he nailed it. The comedy is good, the human characters are well acted and well done (even John Cena surprisingly.) and the action scenes are a lot of fun. And after five movies of seeing Optimus Prime be the MVP, it's nice to see some scenes that show just how strong our little yellow bot can be.
Shame that he lost his voice in that. It was only for the opening but Dylan O'Brien did a good job as Bumblebee's voice.
I love that scene.
And then there was the final fight sequence, but I'm not gonna spoil that for you guys.
Now looking on Wikipedia I found out that this was originally supposed to be a spinoff/prequel, but instead it was chosen to be a soft reboot of the franchise. Honestly, I'm glad they're going this route. Michael Bay may be good when it comes to action scenes and spectacles (for the most part) but his storytelling is absolute shit.
Also, just gonna say it, I love that they went with the G1 designs for the Autobots and Decepticons. Not only is it nostalgic but it definitely helps to show that it is as far removed from the Bayformers as it could possibly be. This also shows in... most of the human characters. While there's one or two I wish a Decepticon would turn into a puddle of goo, I will say that our mains are very strong and the emotional scenes are very well done.
If you haven't seen this movie yet, you need to see this. It's awesome.
Well, that's all for now. Equestrian Defender, out!
Unlike many people, I loved every single Transformers film before this one. All 5 were entertaining and I felt like each one was better than the last. My only real complaint was that Age of Extinction and The Last Knight were a bit long and thus hard to take in with one sitting.
However, even I think that Bumblebee is the best Transformers film yet! Great characters, great pacing and storytelling, and the action scenes were still awesome! I also heard how it has become a soft-reboot instead of a prequel like it was originally advertised as. I am fine with this for the most part, the only thing that disappointing me with is the Unicron plot-line that The Last Knight ended on a cliffhanger with. But if future Transformers films ave this level of quality to them then I am not complaining.
I love Bumblebee. Just so many good things about it. Like Shatter might be the most intelligent Decepticon ever. "Hey, let's pretend to be the good guys! the humans don't know any better!" Also, massive props to Burns for saying, "They're called Decepticons!" That might be the first time in the franchise someone's pointed that out. :D
Also, Dropkick and Shatter 1. have personalities and 2. by being bright colors, we can fucking tell what's going on in the fight scenes!
And Charlie, good god I could gush about Charlie all day. A fully-realized character, with her own personality and motivations and whatnot. She's not a fighter, but manages to positively contribute to the movie and the climax. And she and Bumblebeem good Primus I loved those two.
And yes, Bumblebee was great. Just... I'm gonna stop now before I go on for a few hours.
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All of those are good points I forgot to mention.
That being said, in the future I hope when they introduce Megatron they have him as a tank or something. I never understood why he just turned into a gun.