Michael Bay's Transformers series may have been a big money box office draw but for many longtime fans of the Robots in Disguise the movies were missing a bit of the magic. There was always a low-fi charm to watching the adventures of Optimus Prime and his gang of Autobots, which made them endearing. And their heroic personalities shone through to make them figures to aspire to. While both of those elements were diminished in Bay's CGI-fest flicks, they're at the core of Bumblebee.
Taking place before the events of the previous movies, Bumblebee follows the loveable Autobot as he lands on Earth for the first time. Instructed by Optimus Prime to protect the planet from the Decepticons until they arrive, Bumblebee quickly finds a friend in Charlie, a young teenage girl that is struggling to find her place in the world. As kindred spirits, the two form a bond, but with the government and the Decepticons hot on their heels the friendship is really put to the test.
We've seen Bumblebee and have put together a spoiler-filled chat that digs into every aspect of the movie. To make things interesting for you, we've peppered the discussion with 80s movie titles to reference the era the movie takes place in. As you watch, see if you can pick up on them and at the end of the video there's a supercut of every instance. Let us know how many you got in the comments.
Our written Bumblebee review said the movie hits the "perfect tone with a great mix of action, humor, and heart. The soundtrack strikes all the right chords, the action is mostly clear and easy to follow even when two massive robots are rapidly grappling and transforming into various forms, and the characters are instantly relatable, without screenwriter Christina Hodson relying too much on cliches.
"Bumblebee was only Travis Knight's second turn in the director's chair, his first being the also excellent Kubo and the Two Strings; clearly he's a director to watch going forward, and if Bumblebee is the new bar for Transformers movies, then the series is in for a bright future as well."