This makes sense to. The problems with the Transformers
sequels are obvious. They got too big and Michael Bay got too disinterested.
The first movie was a great balance of humor and action. The story was small
enough that the poor dramatic storytelling wasn't much of a problem. Revenge
of the Fallen increased the size of
the action, because that's what sequels do. They tried to balance that out by
going for bigger laughs. The story telling wasn't any better though, so there
was big action and big laughs in service of nothing. They then dropped the
laughs back down, kept the action up, and maintained the same poor
storytelling, which has slowly spiraled even more out of control.
Bumblebee
fixes most of those problems by going back to the basics. It's a prequel, set
in 1987. Once you get past a few strained attempts to tie it into the larger Transformers
mythology, it's more of less the same story as Transformers (2007). A
kid (Hailee Steinfeld in this case, playing Charlie) stumbles onto a great deal
for a car that turns out to be the Transformer Bumblebee, who can't talk.
There's a potential love interest for Charlie (played by Jorge Lendeborg Jr.)
and a Decepticon (evil Transformers) threat for Bumblebee. A humanizing
military office (John Cena, this time). Sector Seven. A shiny doohicky at the
top of a tower. You know the drill. Bumblebee works because it's small.
It's at a human scale; as much Charlie's story as Bumblebee's. There's nothing
revolutionary here. Just a manageable story.
Hailee Steinfeld is a better lead than Shia LaBeouf
(no offense to Shia). She's already been an Oscar nominee, and she has yet to
make a misstep in her film career that I've seen. Between this, The Edge of Seventeen, and
True Grit,
I think Steinfeld should begin every movie with a dead father. It's been a
winning formula so far. Steinfeld can land an emotional beat well, and does
great work selling some undercooked dialogue. I always forget how good she is
at comedy too. She's fun to watch. Her best human friend in this, Jorge
Lendeborg Jr.'s Memo, is your boilerplate sidekick. He's there to give Charlie
someone to talk to and occasionally pump her spirits back up. Otherwise, he
stays out of the way. It feels like a missed opportunity not giving John Cena
more of a chance to cut loose. He can be really funny when used properly. He
gets a little of that here, but he's mainly in the movie for his ability to
look like he can take a punch from a Transformer and survive it. I would've
liked more Pamela Adlon as Charlie's mom, although I get that this isn't the
kind of film to expect her to have much to do.
This is the first Transformers not directed
by Michael Bay. Travis Knight, director of Kubo and the Two Strings led
this one. I'm not a Michael Bay hater. People have gotten pretty lazy in their
criticism of Bay in my opinion, but I think after five movies, the franchise
badly needed a new voice. Knight is better at hitting the heartstrings more and
gives this an emotional heft that Bay simply never cared about. The nuts and
bolts of the story are just as questionable as ever. I could pick at the logic
of just about every scene but the movie is earnestly enough made that I don't
care to do so. Knight and his effects team didn't blow me away with any of the
action sequences. They are competent though. A good competent.
The challenge of Bumblebee was reinvigorating
my interest in a franchise that, in three of the last four movies, had burned
all goodwill I ever had for it. This certainly reminded me that Transformers
movies don't have to be bad, however most of the positive feelings I had coming
out of the movie were for Hailee Steinfeld. She's well on her way to having one
of those Emma Stone or Anna Kendrick careers where I'll see anything with her
just because I know that she'll be good in it.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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