Buoyed by Hailee Steinfeld’s performance and a retro 80’s music score, the engaging “Bumblebee” revives the moribund “Transformers” movie series. As much a coming-of-age film as it is an action movie, this entertaining entry in the series is long overdue.
The picture begins in 1987 on Cybertron. The Decepticons are battling the Autobots and appear to be gaining the upper hand. Optimus Prime dispatches B-127 to Earth, with the order to protect the planet before the other Autobots arrive to seek refuge.

Landing on Earth, B-127 disrupts a military training exercise. The humans pursue and corner him. However, a Decepticon also has landed and disables B-127’s voice box. The Decepticon is killed and an injured B-127 transforms into a yellow VW bug.

The story now shifts as we see Charlie (Steinfeld) wake up. She is about to turn eighteen and is working at a Hot Dog on a Stick store at the local amusement park in Brighton Falls, a California beach town. Depressed since her dad died suddenly of a heart attack, her relationship with her family is not the best.

One day while visiting her uncle at his auto-repair shop/junkyard, Charlie discovers the VW bug in a state of disrepair. Desperate for a vehicle, she begs her uncle to let her have it. Since Charlie helped her dad restore vehicles, she begins the job with B-127 in the family garage.

When B-127 transforms to his original form, Charlie realizes that she has more than she bargained for with the car that she now renames “Bumblebee.” What follows is a touching relationship story between the two.

The story gets more complicated when the neighbor, Memo (Jorge Lendeborg, Jr.), who has a crush on Charlie, enters abruptly and discovers Bumblebee is an Autobot. Together, the two of them explore what it means to own a car that can transform.

Two more Decepticons have made it to Earth in search of B-127. They convince the alien-friendly Dr. Powell (John Ortiz) and the more skeptical Agent Burns (John Cena) to let them use Earth’s technology to hunt down the “traitor” Autobot. Of course their real plan is to use these devices to guide the other Decepticons to Earth. There are several amusing references, such as when the military note that their alien “friends” use the name “Decepticons” while still being clueless about their intent. “Alf” is a recurring alien reference.

When the government and the Decepticons find out where Bumblebee is, the chase is on.
Hailee Steinfeld as Charlie reminds me of a younger Mackenzie Phillips. Her performance is beautifully nuanced as she struggles with finding a new identity and purpose after the death of her father. She is convincing and likeable. Her tone does not waver throughout the picture, which lends it strength as she anchors the production.

A highlight of the film is her relationship with Bumblebee. Since he cannot speak, he is the perfect foil to let her bounce her feelings off of and process her emotions. Charlie does not have any friends so this takes her out of herself and lets her begin to grow as an individual. Sometimes the relationship reminded me of the trope of the child and the trusty dog to which the lonely child could tell her problems.

Another positive is the matter-of-fact way in which Charlie reacts to the discovery that the VW bug is an alien entity. While she is surprised, the film does not milk this scene for every ounce of potential fear or comedy that it could. Instead, Charlie deals with the situation and comes to terms with it in a forthright manner.

Charlie’s interaction with Memo as her potential love interest is handled brilliantly. The movie skillfully blends flirtation with boundaries. Their end scene is fabulous.
Being set in the 1980’s frees the film from reliance on high-tech gear being used by its characters. There are no personal computers or cell phones shown. The VCR is still a staple as are music cassettes. The lack of instant communication allows the story to unfold without every other character instantly being aware of what is going on. Since characters cannot just Google information, we are freed from this device being used to introduce plot points into the movie. In some ways, the simplicity and low-tech of “Bumblebee” reminded me of the thoughtful 1980’s film “War Games.”

The soundtrack of 80’s hits is superb and well-integrated into the picture. There is a running gag about the Smiths. While Charlie cannot repair Bumblebee’s voice synthesizer, she is able to install a radio that allows him to begin to communicate through music on the radio.

The battle scenes between the Decepticons and Autobots are excellent. Unlike with human fights where I sometimes wonder if any person’s body could take the kind of punishment exhibited, this is not a problem when watching the Transformers go at it. I did have a problem with Charlie’s family in that her mother, stepdad and brother exist as types rather than people. This does lend itself to broad comedy but does not match Steinfeld’s performance.

Travis Knight previously directed the marvelous animated film “Kubo and the Two Strings.” By emphasizing the relationship between Charlie and Bumblebee rather than the visual effects, he frees this franchise from its past baggage. Whereas the previous pictures lumbered, relying more on excessive visual effects than story, and not advancing the franchise meaningfully, this is a breath of fresh air. While a sequel could be produced, it also could not be and the film could stand on its own.

If you are older, you will appreciate the 80’s references. But even younger audiences can relate to Charlie’s story and the action sequences. There are some scary scenes when Transformers are killed, but otherwise the film is not too intense or gory.

This is an entertaining view for the holidays.

Three and a half out of 5 stars

On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), 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.

STARRING: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Ortiz, Jason Drucker, Pamela Adlon, Stephen Schneider
DIRECTED BY: Travis Knight
WRITTEN BY: Christina Hodson