Movie Review – Bumblebee

I can’t say this movie met my expectations. Unfortunately, my expectations were pretty high, based on early reviews by critics that this was the fresh new face of a new take on the Transformers.

There’s a lot of good stuff in the movie. Most notably: Hailee Steinfeld as the lead character, Charlie Watson. She was a great choice for a tomboyish character who has gone through a traumatizing experience. She got as much out of her character as we could expect from any young actress. The faults I have are with the story, not her performance.

What I liked the most about the story is that they kept it small. This isn’t the “grand epic, fate of the planet is at stake” sort of movie. It’s just one Autobot trying to survive against two Decepticons.

What I disliked about the story is how forced it felt. There were numerous scenes that seemed crammed in just to have a payoff later, or even worse, provided no real substance to the movie.

For instance, the mean girls subplot was a complete waste. It’s enough that Charlie recently lost her father. To add the minor subplot of the mean girls there to hurt her did nothing to build the story.

My 6 year old niece was excited to see the movie with me. She watched attentively but seemed to get bored near the end. You can tell when a movie really grabs her, and this one didn’t.

Grade: B-

About The Peetimes: I have 3 nicely spaced Peetimes for this movie. I would recommend the middle one, because it’s fairly long and you can go over a little without getting lost. Only use the last Peetime if you think you can get back in 3 minutes. There’s an important scene that happens just as the Peetime ends.

There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Bumblebee. (What we mean by Anything Extra.)

Is Bumblebee a prequel or a reboot?