(US Amazon Prime)
Short, half-assed review: the best thing about Bumblebee is that it's barely a
Transformers movie, in that, thanks to a plot-convenient memory loss, "B-187" doesn't even know it's an Autobot for most of the flick. Which is a good thing, because it's a loyal foot soldier to Optimus Prime, a psychopath who thinks it's a good idea to inflict his planet's horrific war on Earth for no discernible reason.
As for the flick itself, it's pretty okay. Hailee Steinfeld and the rest of the cast are solid, there are some charming and chuckle-inducing moments, and the '80s setting and frequent musical cues make everything better.
Grade:
B-. The thing is, as this video compellingly argues, the movie has appealing characters, but no real story: there's just a few random incidents before the bad robots show up, and there's a fight. It's a tolerable distraction, but, especially since B-187 inevitably regains its memories, I certainly wouldn't mind if it marked the end of this misbegotten franchise...
forever. Now is simply not the time to teach American kids to love gun violence and the planet-melting internal combustion engine more than they already do.