Flight of the Bumblebee

The new Bumblebee movie steals your heart and the show. I didn’t exactly know what to expect as I walked into the theater. Everyone I talked to either said that the preview looked stupid or that the movie was amazing. I was just ready for it to be like any other Transformers movie, but it turned out be to be so much better.

This movie was noticeably different than the Transformers movies, even though it shows the beginning of the actual Transformer story. It shows how and why Bumblebee is the main reason the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons continues on Earth rather than on Cybertron. It also gives more clarity about the Autobot-Decepticon backstory.

Bumblebee is found by Charlie, who essentially plays the part of his mother figure, even though she is only 18 years old. Charlie takes care of Bee and tries to keep him protected from the people on earth who may want to hurt him. This is a little ironic, since Bumblebee also has to protect her. Bumblebee and Charlie have a perfect friendship, which plays into their separate responsibilities in the challenges they go through together.

Bumblebee is portrayed as more of a lovable and quirky character, whereas in the Transformers movies, he seems to be serious and protective. His attitude and cuteness in this movie makes him seem sort of like a pet. And since everyone loves pets, it makes him seem like a blessing rather than the one who led the Decepticons to earth. This provides the fun and silly part of the movie; without this aspect, the movie would not be as interesting to watch.

The movie itself has the perfect ratio of fighting compared to the building of characters and plot. The movie starts with the basic Transformer action, but spends most of the time showing the progressive relationship between Bumblebee and Charlie. The fighting is kept relatively short and intense. And, though the Decepticons seem a little cheesy and different than those of the Transformers movies, they still provide a adequate rival for the Autobots and still have an important role in the story line.

All in all, Bumblebee was a great movie that kept me intrigued the whole time. It captured the essence of Bumblebee himself, rather than the story of all the Autobots. Even though it’s much different than the Transformers movies, it still provides the beginning which is needed to make the Transformers series more clear to the viewers.