With each entry, they've become more cynical and mean-spirited, losing the lightness that the toys, as well as the TV shows inspired in their wake, had always brought out in those who played with them. And following Bay's exit from the franchise, we now have a prequel entry - and soft reboot - that attempts to return the series to its roots, by exploring one of its most enduring characters, Bumblebee. And while it may have its own little stumbles along the way, I... actually didn't hate this movie. Bumblebee is such a pleasant surprise, and a richly needed rebirth for this series.
The planet of Cybertron has fallen, and the Autobots have fled following the uprising of the Decepticon army. Their next meeting place is Earth, with B-127 (aka. Bumblebee) having arrived first, and taken damage, including the loss of his voice. Meanwhile, social misfit Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) struggles to adjust to life after the tragic death of her father, recently receiving a beat up VW for her birthday, which turns out to be Bee in disguise. As the two bond and become friends, Bee's presence leads him on a path of conflict with Sector 7 agent Burns (John Cena), and Decepticon scouts Shatter and Dropkick, in a series of events that will decide the fate of the Autobots and mankind.
The first big difference in style can be found in its lead artist. With Bay no longer in the director's chair (hanging back as a producer), that allows the reins to be handed to Travis Knight, best known as the CEO of Laika and director of Kubo and the Two Strings. Knight is a self-admitted fan of Transformers, having played with its toys and grown up with the cartoon in its 80's heyday, and you can tell that this is a film made with the passion of a true fan, which fuels a lot of what's good about this film.
As early on as the first ten to fifteen minutes, this movie practically had me eating out of its palm. And if anything, that section specifically feels like an answer to some of Transformers' most common complaints; That the robots are supporting players in their own films, how similar they all appear, and the incoherent camera work. Every one of those issues are corrected early on, beginning with the assault on Cybertron, where the film comes running out the gate placing the bots front and center, that then leads to the following consequences in the story. And while the rest of the film may not quite live up to that promise, its decisions carry through right to the end of it.
Hailing from an animation background, it's no surprise that Knight's approach to Bumblebee feels very meticulous in its detail. You can especially see this in the designs of the Transformers, that place less emphasis on hyper-detailed machinery in favor of more plating to go with its 80's aesthetic, and deliberately stripping away inconsequential touches to supply them greater emotional heft. Bumblebee's eyes in particular become a great character feature, showcasing a wide range of emotional resonance, becoming an excellent showcase in silent character work and at times brilliant comedic touches, aided further by the sound work accentuating his moods. He now feels more alive than ever, but perhaps he wouldn't feel quite as much if not for his human co-lead.
Hailee Steinfeld is fantastic in this movie, and really no surprise given the pedigree of someone like her. While Bee may be the main character, Charlie helps to serve as the film's emotional anchor. She's become something of a loner since the death of her father, especially so with the way her family seem to have moved on seemingly so quickly, particularly her mother (Pamela Adlon) with her new boyfriend Ron (Stephen Schneider). And while there some shades of Steinfeld shared here with her performance in The Edge of Seventeen (albeit more sympathetic), she still plays that heartbreak so well, but also bringing this tremendous enthusiasm and charisma to the film.
And as a result, that friendship between the two fuels the heart of this film. That's not to say that Bumblebee is always so original, in its attempts at telling a more accessible story for kids, falling into familiar traps and outside influences. Several times I remember thinking "Here's that bit that feels like E.T.," and "that feels reminiscent of The Iron Giant." But the key here is in Knight's execution, which feels incredibly sincere in its approach, especially with the well-chosen bonding scenes between the two leads, and the outstanding chemistry they share with each other, as well as with Jorge Lundeberg Jr.'s Memo, an awkward friend of Charlie's who becomes a major, and endearing figure. They've managed to recapture that spirit that made its influences so compelling, as well as having given it a genuinely good sense of humor. I'm not kidding when I say there are some real howlers in this film, mainly from Bumblebee's almost Chaplin-esque physicality, as well as some of the human players (there's one notable gross-out gag, and even that is hilarious). While there may be some sections where the film's momentum is held up, and my attention was starting to wonder (especially several overlong scenes of Charlie's home life), the good intentions have definitely carried through, and that emotional weight hasn't been lost.
And we also have decent conflict in the film, if completely unspectacular. In one corner, we have John Cena as agent Burns of Sector 7, who meets Bee as early on as the first ten minutes, and who quickly becomes suspicious of the Transformers. There's not too much for Cena to really work with, given what a familiar archetype of tough-but-not-heartless heavyweight he plays, but he is reliably solid in the role, managing to lend some intimidation whenever he appears. But not as strong are Shatter and Dropkick, voiced by Angela Bassett and Justin Theroux respectively. They are the classic example of stock villains, fulfilling their function of supplying the most basic threat level that's required of them (and they do get some brutal moments), but are completely empty as actual characters, merely there to be the big foils for the heroes to battle, and it's honestly a sad waste of Angela Bassett's talent in particular, to be saddled with a performance that any voice over actor could have given.
But that conflict leads us into the action of the film, another area where Knight's background in animation aids him. Bumblebee makes a lot of conscious efforts to stay away from shaky cam, and rely on more extended takes to let the audience absorb the scale of the fights. Nothing feels accidental in Knight's approach, as everything is so meticulously planned out. You feel the weight and the impact of the hits traded between the bots thanks to those prolonged takes between edits, and it lends the epic brawls a much needed sense of clarity and geography, feeling almost Spielbergian in its camera movements, with even something as simple as the 1.85:1 ratio providing greater scope to take in the imagery. And better yet, while the film does make good use out of escalating to bigger set-pieces, they've finally pulled back and stopped trying to one-up themselves, delivering on the satisfying beat-em-ups we all came to see, but not to the degree of sensory overload or overwhelming cacophony. As a result, and with the added benefit of the emotional weight before, when the film finally made its way to the climactic showdown, I was thoroughly into it.
The key lesson to be learned with Bumblebee is that sometimes, less is more. By finally pulling back with something comparatively modest (the film looks great for its supposed $100 million dollar price tag), they've finally managed to reclaim the lost spirit and heart of the Transformers namesake, and this easily puts the Transformers sequels (and arguably the original film) to shame in how to approach it. Though not perfect, and in an attempt to break from series tropes meant copying others, no one can say Knight's heart wasn't fully in this project, and in the meantime he's managed to course correct and reinvigorate this franchise in a way it desperately needed. Cliché as it is, there really is more than meets the eye with this movie. A pleasant surprise that is.
***1/2 / *****
How were you able to see Bumblebee early? I thought it releases on the 21st.
ReplyDeleteSelect theaters were doing an early access screening. My AMC was one of them.
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