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On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary yellow VW bug.
Critic Consensus
Critical reception for Bumblebee is moderately positive, with most reviewers agreeing it marks a meaningful improvement over its predecessors in the Transformers franchise. Director Travis Knight is frequently credited for bringing genuine emotional depth to the material, a quality notably absent from earlier entries. Hailee Steinfeld's performance receives mixed attention — some see her as a grounding presence, while at least one critic finds her character too inconsistent to be truly affecting. The main criticism centres on a sluggish, overlong narrative that fails to sustain tension outside of its climactic moments.
5 rated reviews · 4 positive · 1 mixed
AI-generated summary of 6 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyCritic Reviews (6)
Updated
“The film's centrepiece, an Autobot called Chris, makes you feel for every pummelling he takes from the Decepticons chasing him across planets.”Read full review ↗
“'Bumblebee' is certainly the best example of what this franchise is meant to be, and should it continue this path, the Transformers can become exciting and enjoyable all over again.”Read full review ↗
“Travis Knight saves the Transformers series from the scrapyard with a heartfelt new adventure, starring Hailee Steinfeld.”Read full review ↗
“Though the narrative blast lasts around 113 mins, it feels too lengthy and other than in its climactic moments, there's hardly any adrenaline rush to be had here. The formula happens to have lost its edge and the screenplay by Christina Hodson can do little to improve the nature of emotional distention here. Hailee Steinfeld does lend some empathy to her role but it's all too capricious to amount to anything heart-tugging!”Read full review ↗
“Bay may have anthropomorphised hunks of metal in five smash-bash Transformer films. But it's Knight who has injected heart and soul into that robot body.”Read full review ↗
Cast & Crew
Cast
- Dylan O'Brien · B-127 / Bumblebee (voice)
- Hailee Steinfeld · Charlie Watson
- John Cena · Jack Burns
- John Ortiz · Dr. Powell
- Len Cariou · Hank
- Angela Bassett · Shatter (voice)
- Justin Theroux · Dropkick (voice)
- Grey DeLisle · Arcee (voice)
- Rachel Crow · Celia
- Travis Knight
- Lorenzo di Bonaventura
- Tom DeSanto
- Don Murphy
- Michael Bay
- Christina Hodson
- Dario Marianelli
- Enrique Chediak
- Paul Rubell
- Jess Harnell · Barricade (voice)
- Kenneth Choi
Director
Writer
Music
Cinematography
Editing
Details
- Release Date
- 4 January 2019
- Runtime
- 1h 54m
- Language
- English
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