'Bumblebee' : 'Transformers' movie we've been wanting forever

What Michael Bay turned Transformers: The Last Knight into was hardly a movie. It's more honest to define it as an expensive pyrotechnic show and two-hour commercial for Industrial Light & Magic. Plot snippets, explosions, indistinct characters, more explosions, ridiculous dialogues, plus explosions interspersed with explosions.

To bring back viewers and investors, and The Last Knight turned out to be both the most expensive and least profitable film in the series, something simple and straightforward was needed. That was Bumblebee, both a spin-off and a prequel to the series, the story of the first appearance on Earth of the cutest of the Autobots.

Alas, the battle for Cybertron is lost. Optimus Prime evacuates his fighters and, as a scout, sends B-127s to Earth, which the Autobot leader has chosen as the future base of the Resistance. Of course, a couple of Decepticons are tied behind the Autobot, moreover, during the landing of the B-127, it manages to annoy the US Army. Optimus Prime's envoy loses his voice, memory and transforms into a rusty yellow Volkswagen Beetle Type 1.

Even by the standards of 1987, and in the yard it is the end of the 80s, it is almost an antique car. An old "Beetle" is received as a birthday present by 18-year-old Charlie Watson, a girl mechanic who is grieving over the death of her father. Naturally, these two will become friends very quickly and help each other gain strength and self-confidence. And, of course, on the way, a couple will surely save our planet from destruction. Yes,

Bumblebee is a very simple and very old fashioned movie. No camera shake, no flashbacks or non-linear editing. Recreating the atmosphere of the 80s, the film at the same time copies the style of the narrative and some plot moves of the classic science fiction films of that period. All events follow one after another and logically follow from what has already been shown. No secrets, no secret organizations, no unexpected prophecies, no pianos in the bushes. The newcomer gets to know people, hides from government organizations, not realizing his inappropriateness and size, accidentally smokes in the apartment of the earthling who sheltered him, at the decisive moment rises to protect a human friend and all of humanity. The alien is funny, awkward, strange, but incredibly cute. And it is he who teaches the main character to appreciate the people around him, trust his neighbors and again believe in his strength.

This secondary and quotation, of course, is striking, but they are not at all annoying. The younger generation, most likely, does not know the films from which the Bumblebee writers borrowed plots, while the older generation, on the contrary, will gladly plunge into the atmosphere of the films on which they grew up. Both in form and in content, Bumblebee is a typical light summer blockbuster, which for some unknown reason skidded during the Christmas holidays.

If in the review of Transformers: The Last Knight we complained about the chaos of fights and the surprisingly small number of transformations of heroes in the film, which is still dedicated to Transformers, then in Bumblebee everything is in order with both the first and the second. The battle scenes have become a little less, but they are well read and they are simply pleasant to watch. It is always clear who is beating whom and how, no flickering and abrupt changes of angles. Well, the special effects are more than level. As for transformations, only Bumblebee is thrown from a car into a robot almost a hundred times, other Transformers keep up with him, managing to change shape several times even during one attack.

Yes, apart from the neatly recreated 80s style, the filmmakers endowed with retro designs and robots. No superfluous michaelbey, the classic design of the first Transformers series. Bumblebee in the form of Willys MB, Volkswagen Beetle Type 1 and 1976 Chevrolet Camaro in the final scene of the film. Optimus Prime as a 1977 Freightliner Cabover-engine Class 8 Shutter as a Plymouth Satellite and a Harrier fighter, Dropkick as an AMC Javelin and a Bell AH-1 SuperCobra helicopter. And that's just fine.

Unlike Mark Wahlberg's perfectly cardboard Cade Yeager in the latest Transformers, Hayley Steinfeld has managed to bring her Charlie Watson to life, making her very spontaneous and incredibly cute. You believe in this character. However, we did not expect anything else from a girl who was nominated for an Oscar at the age of 14 (a supporting role in True Grit). And yes, this is exactly what Isabela Moner failed in Transformers: The Last Knight. The duet of Charlie Watson and Bumblebee turned out even better than the pair of Sam Whitwicky and Bumblebee in the very first film.

Well, Travis Knight proved that he knows how to shoot not only puppet cartoons (the first directorial work of the head of studio Laika was the cartoon Kubo and the Two Strings ) and takes his place not under the patronage of his dad. And Hasbro / Paramount Pictures should think about forgetting everything shown in the latest Transformers and relaunching the series, relying on Bumblebee. The main thing is that in a couple of parts the series does not slip back into Michaelbay again, forgetting that Transformers is, first of all, a modern fairy tale, light fiction for teenagers who grew up on legendary toys.

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