Film Review: Bumblebee Flies Straight For Your heart

I know that people, usually, skim through movie reviews  to know if a film was good or not. So here are my top 3 reasons of why I loved Bumblebee, and then you can continue skimming.

1. Female Lead– having a young, female be the lead of this franchise was incredibly refreshing. Hailee Steinfeld makes Charlie smart, affable, daring, and strong. She saves Bumblebee a few times more than he, actually, saves her, which makes this character tear down “damsel” notions. I can simply imagine litter girls admiring this young woman that saves the day, and sets boundaries that her love interest respects. WHHHHHAAAATTTTT!!!!
2. A Male Latinx Love Interest– Action movies are based on the idea that the superhero needs their “weaker,” more human love interest to make sure that the looming dangers have even more emotional turmoil. Dominicano Jorge Lendeborg Jr. makes Memo feel complete, kind, and honorable, especially as he falls in love with Charlie  but gives her space. He showed that a male playing “second” to a female, action lead is not a downgrade, as some would take it, and that you look cool when you let a woman decide how and if she wants you.
3. Heart – Of all the Transformer films, Bumblebee was my favorite because it was grounded in heart. You truly cared for Bumblebee and his growing friendship with Charlie. You loved their little moments together like, watching films, listening to music, and driving around; the stuff you do with your “regular” human friends.

Going into Bumblebee, admittedly, I was nervous. There were doubts as to whether it would be a good film because the franchise has gotten big and too focused on visually magnetizing, action sequences. Yet, you have to care for a person/ Transformer, to feel the “danger” of an action scene, of which Bumblebee makes you love him. People clapped as he fought Decepticons and appreciated human culture.

The reason Bumblebee will succeed with kids is that he truly comes off as their “dream buddy.” What 8 year old kid would not want their best friend to be an alien robot that loves to play hide and seek on beaches. Bumblebee’s ability to bring together the cosmic with the heartfelt makes him universally appealing. I saw adults cheering for him and feeling scared that he might not survive. Yet, this film is, literally, being marketed as a prequel. Thus, writer Christina Hodson and Director Trevor Knight have injected an approachability, lightness, and humility to this film that turns it into a family one, and makes you forget it is apart of the franchise. Bumblebee stands alone.

Warning: If you take your kid to see Bumblebee, they will want merchandise. He is simply so cute, and the film does well to steer away from too many action sequences. Instead, they are splashed in-between scenes of two entities trying to figure out who they are after loss. Steinfeld balances her heartache with a firm resilience that, again, makes me so happy in terms of little girls watching this film. She is both vulnerable and unafraid to defend the ones she loves, even if against an alien race. Meanwhile, Bumblebee has no idea why, who, what, and where his mission is on earth. After the loss of Cybertron and with no idea of Optimus’ Prime’s (Peter Cullen) location, he has no sense of identity. Similar to Charlie, his only source tp reviving hope within himself is his friendship with her. Thus, in this scenario, the alien needs the human for guidance and protection, which is very E.T. of the film.

There are some modern, E.T. vibes to Bumblebee that make it such a success. We all wonder what an alien encounter would be like, and what we would learn from such a strange bond. Of course, not all alien encounters would be kind and wonderful. Shatter (Angela Bassett) and Dropkick (Justin Theroux) are alarmingly vicious. Their kills of both human beings and Transformers felt rough to watch. Luckily, John Cena’s Agent Burns is their with muscle and wit to consistently raise his suspicions. He is not often in the film, but he gets some very funny lines. Both he, Charlie’s family, and Memo maneuver through the film to show Earth is filled with good people trying to be better to others and themselves.

Bumblebee is pretty close to perfection. At nearly two hours, it runs smoothly and is visually crisp and stunning. Knight and Modson brilliantly create so many tender moments between these characters, particularly Charlie and Bumblee, that you could have stayed watching their interactions. There was so much love in-between fight scenes that Bumblebee reminds viewers, and its own franchise, that you fight for love. You defend and protect what you care about, and, by the end of the movie, you really care about Bumblebee, which is out in theaters December 21.