So this is what a good Transformers film looks like! I hope we get more, given that Bumblebee was kind of intended as a last gasp to see if there was anything left in the franchise. Isn't that the way sometimes, that the one the producers don't care about ends up being the best one? I mean, I'll still defend the first live-action Transformers as a guilty pleasure, but the rest of the series has been mostly terrible. Stripping everything down to just a handful of Transformers, Bumblebee focuses on the relationship between the titular Autobot and Charlie (Hailee Stienfeld), a young woman with mechanical skill and desperate need of a father figure. The film is a by-the-numbers, coming of age, alien friend film, but it works and this isn't a franchise that really needs to reinvent the wheel or anything. The big story of the day, of course, is a return to more traditional (G1) Transformers designs for the Cybertron sequences and battles on Earth, and look, I'm not a huge Transformers fan at the end of the day, but seeing Ravage jump out of Soundwave's chest was pretty awesome.
When I get asked by friends how I would adapt a given franchise, my usual response is "start with a good cast and script", which is something Bumblebee does long before G1 Optimus Prime appears. Sure, there is nothing overly deep about the film, or any of the characters, but this is Transformers, not Citizen Kane, the basics are enough. We hit a lot of John Hughes style '80s movie tropes and notes on the journey, but rather than a dance or a skateboarding contest, the film ends with a giant robot fight, which, honestly, probably would have improved Sixteen Candles. What I probably enjoyed best about Bumblebee was that it didn't "feel" embarrassed to be a Transformers film, embracing the silliness and childish joy of the franchise, be it in the form of getting to hear Stan Bush's "The Touch" play in one scene or having John Cena point out that the bad guys are called "Decepticons", and doesn't that sound just a little sus? In many ways, watching Bumblebee feels like watching SHAZAM! after sitting through all the drab and serious DCEU films that came out before it.
So where to from here? Well, personally, as much as I enjoyed Bumblebee, I think it needs a rest before we get a spate of new films, I know I'm a little sick of them, and the box office returns on this one would indicate that the feeling is common. With a few years grace, a new Transformers series, separated from the old one, could be a big hit if it sticks closer to Bumblebee in execution, by which I mean have a good cast and solid script more so than using G1 designs, but there's nothing wrong with both. I mean, it's not like there aren't several nostalgic animated Transformers series around to tide fans over in lieu of a major motion picture, and you can always play some Bot War. I'm not sure how I feel about the proposed "Hasbro Cinematic Universe", as there will likely be some good ideas in there, but I really don't want to have to cover a My Little Pony film here just so my eventual review of the Revolution film. Also I kind of want Rom to be in the MCU instead, just as a fanboy thing.
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