Simpler Bumblebee is compelling and funny

This year, the Transformers franchise brings us a film that focuses on one of the sweetest Autobots, Bumblebee.

The year is 1987 and, following the fall of Cybertron, Bumblebee is sent by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) to scout a base on Earth so that the Autobots can fight back against the Decepticons.

Following a costly battle, Bumblebee winds up crossing paths with Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), a human teenager with a passion for mechanics.

Helping repair Bumblebee, Charlie and the young Autobot soon form a deep friendship. Unfortunately, matters aren’t so easy when both the Decepticons and the human secret agency, Sector 7, are hunting Bumblebee.

This was by far one of the best Transformers films to date.

Unlike previously overly complicated instalments, Bumblebee has a much simpler story that manages to be compelling and even has better humour.

The action scenes were all really good, but they were never a detriment on the story and didn’t feel overblown (which is something of a miracle considering this film’s all about giant alien robots fighting each other).

The strongest part of the movie is Charlie and Bumblebee’s relationship, as the story spends much of its time focusing on the interactions between these two characters.

The other characters were pretty good too. Sector 7 agent, Jack Burns (John Cena), initially seems like an antagonist, but we soon see his actions merely come from misjudging Bumblebee.

Even the Decepticon villains were decent, as they were quite smart in the methods they took to achieve their goals.

Overall, I would highly recommend checking this film out in cinemas. After so many mediocre Transformers films, this feels like the movie fans deserve. And even if you’re not a Transformers fan, Bumblebee is still a charming and delightful movie you’re sure to have fun with.