Sean’s movie thoughts

It holds up. Hailee Steinfeild is really good in this movie. Her character Charlie finds Bumblebee (and names him) after he flees Cyberton. She is having a tough time adjusting after the death of her father. There is a boy who is interested in her, even if she doesn’t know it yet. Bumblebee is suffering a form of amnesia. Meanwhile the Decepticons are looking for Bumblebee and enlisting the help of the military. John Cena plays a military man named agent Burns, who naturally doesn’t trust them. (John Cena is a better actor than he was in the Marine.) I liked this one. Bumblebee is very likable in this film. The action sequences are good. You can tell what is happening. (I’ve heard that in some of the other Transformers movies the action is not clear and the sound effects are really loud.) The soundtrack is good. I think it is getting a sequel. Hopefully Hailee Steinfeild has a new project lined up.

Where does the Transformers series go now? Bumblebee was not a huge hit but it was profitable and I think it is going to sell well on home video. (I bought it digitally and might buy a physical copy for a friend.) There is going to be a sequel. However one of the series producers wants to make a sequel to Transformers the Last Knight. That movie is reported to be really bad. I haven’t seen it to be fair but nothing I have heard or read about it makes me think skipping the film was a bad idea. Also wasn’t Bumblebee made on a smaller scale and budget because The Last Knight made a lot less than the previous entry in the franchise? (I think it was at least a 35% drop domestically.) I am not sure that going back to the Last Knight’s scale and budget is the right move.

I wish more people had gone to see Bumblebee. It didn’t open well. It is really good. I can understand why more people did not go to see it though. If you did not enjoy the last few films in this series, I can see not being excited about this one. Maybe people were more excited by Aquaman. If this is the last Transformers movie, that is a bit of a shame. At least they made a good movie. Hailee Seinfeld will be fine. I don’t think this film will hurt her career. I am not sure if this will hurt director Travis Knight’s career. I hope not. Maybe this was not a great weekend for the film to open. There was a lot of competition and there are new movies opening Tuesday. Maybe earlier in the month would have been a better day. Maybe opening on a different day wouldn’t have helped the movie. (It is impossible to know.) Bumblebee is a good film. Hopefully it will make enough money internationally to get a sequel.

I don’t really care if this movie reboots the Transformers series. If it does and future movies in the series are this good, that would be okay. If it does not, okay. Bumblebee is set in 1987 and a 18 year old girl named Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) is adjusting to the death of her father. Her mother has a new husband. Charlie finds the transformer Bumblebee who is disguised as a Volkswagen Beetle. There are Decepticons hunting him and the military is helping thhem. Seinfeld carries the movie. She is very likable and the scenes where she talks about her dad are touching. (Her dad appears on videotape briefly.) Dylan O’Brien voices Bumblebee in the early action and John Cena is on as a military officer. The action is well staged but not great. However it is clear. The soundtrack is fun. I was not expecting to hear Sammy Hagar. It might be slightly under 2 hours and moves at a good pace. This is really good. It might seem like a remake of the original Transformers movie but it is bet...