What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

**Spoilers**



I thought it was a good film. Not the greatest film of all time. But a really decent ride. Certainly the best Transformer Film ever made. It felt like a really well done episode of the 80s cartoon. Which was really amazing. I felt the magic of the 80s cartoon in this one. I think that's what I like most about it... It had a lot of nostalgia. I thought they used music really effectively. There were some really great moments and I actually cried at some of Charlie's scenes. She acted them really well.



Unfortunately, I was really hoping for a "Pixar" level tightness to the story and there were some logical gaps that made it fall into "Normal movie" territory. My non-transformer fan friends found errors in the movie logic that ruined the suspense for them.



I'm willing to forgive a little movie logic for a well acted, fun, relatively sane plot. I loved that there were actual robot characters. That's a first for Live Action Transformer Films.



Overall I'm happy and we FINALLY got to see a real Optimus Prime transport truck on screen! It was so rad. I loved that.:primelaugh:


Overall I give the film 8 energon goodies out of 10.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

^^ Well said, I very much agree with your review. It was a great film, I hope to see it again.

I also hope lots of us fans go to see it, along with family and friends...I am hopeful it is profitable to the point where they will do another one, because I really like where they are going with it...

So don't hesitate everyone...go see it...you won't be disappointed.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Couldn't agree more with the first 2 posts. A great flick, the cybertron scenes, while short lived, were great. Really liked all the characters. Interested to see where they take this...i.e. kind of hoping it diverges from the original a bit to go into its own realm.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I liked it and have to say it was the best live action Transformers movie of them all! I especially like the easter eggs that were scattered throughout then movie. A young Agent Simmons Ect...

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I was hyped beyond reason at the beginning and through the intro Cybertron scenes.
I get why you can't have a whole movie like that due to cost and such, but holy hell all the cameos, and you could recognize everyone straight up.

Absolute tingles seeing Cliffjumper, Brawn, Wheeljack, etc.
Felt a bit like a videogame intro, but super high quality.

By the scene where Bee is fumbling around in the house, breaking things, I was out of the movie entirely. I didn't get the pace, I was bored, and didn't have enough of a grasp of the overall story/point to be enthusiastic.

By the end I was alright. The final fight was good, and a suitable weight for the scope of the film (important, but not galaxy-ending stakes). Rebooting is the way to go for sure, and it was readily apparent that the goal of the movie (sequel to reboot) changed mid way through production. Imo for the better.

It was one cohesive story, which is a good changeup from the AOE/TLK pattern of having 2-3 movies jammed together, but I think I still liked DOTM the best; plot holes notwithstanding.

I am looking forward to the next one though. Haven't said that, uh, ever.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I thought Bumblebee was a lot of fun. I like how it bridges some gaps between G1 and the Bay films while attempting(and I think succeeding) to please both audiences.

Our title character carried the film well. Much of it is slightly reimagined angles to the character from the 2007 Bay film, but making Bee a bit more empathetic and less cocky was a good move.

Cybertron scenes were alright, bordering on good. The unresolved(at the time) Prime cliffhanger on Cybertron was kinda pointless. It needed one more flashback scene to make it cohesive.

Kinda gotta stretch a bit on the Shatter/Dropkick arc of the film logic wise. But I think I can do the stretch.

I really enjoyed all the little references. The big Judd Nelson influence. A certain Sector 7 agent cameo. All the bot cameos on Cybertron and beyond.

I liked Charlie, her character arc was well thought out. Everything she was or did made sense in the confines of the story being told. Clearly these were little Travis Knight nuances that Michael Bay isn’t good at. I liked John Cena as well, he fit in great.

I still love the 2007 Transformers film the best of the live action entries, but this fits all in well in a really fun way. Hopefully this film is successful and it leads to bigger and better things.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Man, Why is this such a TROPE of the Bay movies (which this still has the DNA of)? Oh, those silly, naive, clumsy alien robots! CHORTLES

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Loved It! The opening sequence on cybertron blew my freakin mind :clapping:... and the Voices :D !

Bay was named as a producer in the credits, not sure if anyone else noticed that...

It was not flawless, but it was very well done. Very entertaining.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I watched the movie with my family, and I'm very glad taking my whole family with me, everyone enjoyed it, that's pretty rare for a transformers live movie. :D

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

What logical gaps exactly?

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

While I did enjoy Bumblebee I still think the 2007 movie was the best. Say what you will about Shia, at least it felt like he connected with Bee and all the CGI around him. Haliee was alright but moments where she is crying she has no tears and it just looks odd and fake to me. Shia wasnt afraid to cry to show he cared for Bee. Hell, just watch DOTM when Soundwave is offing Autobots and Bee is next in line.

That side...I enjoyed it. So...yeah. Would love to see a Fall of Cybertron animated live action only film (theoretically in the works)

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I don’t know about Johnnydark, but here were my minor issues.

I didn’t like that Dropkick and Shatter did not have the means to communicate with Cybertron without using human technology. Maybe not a logic gap, but a plot convience for certain.

Coupled with Optimus being able to send a message to the stars in 2007, it gets more iffy for me. But it did make for a nice looking finale to the film.

My other main critique is Prime ending up surrounded by Decepticons on Cybertron in Bee’s last flashback. Then we see Optimus on Earth at the end of the film, no explanation as to how he escaped what appeared to be certain doom.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I'll just paste what I said in the movie's box-office thread:

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

This is what Transformers should have been from the start. Look forward to taking my daughter to a sequel in a couple years.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Good points,

Also bothersome is that at no point anywhere is Blitzwing, Shatter or Dropkick given names. As Starscream Fiancee pointed out, though it was great to see Decepticons as well rounded characters, something gets lost for the average fan in needing to say the "blue dude" or the "crazy red missy". A small gripe but I could see it causing a disconnect for the average moviegoer.

Everything with Memo was awkward, clunky and generally unnecessary, as was Bee stumbling around the house. He just came from a war zone and has no better sense than to be delicate?

Charlie getting on the secret military base...really? That's all it takes? I know high schools with better security lol.

The fight with Dropkick was awesome. I'm still not sure how Bee survived and Shatter...I dunno...got crushed? Vanished?

Finally, if this is in the Bayverse, as Travis Knight has said himself, then why was Earth depicted by Optimus as a new discovery? Was not Bee and Hot Rod there in 1944 or thereabouts? Also, since Megs was found in, what was It, 1897 and on ice since the 30's then why, exactly, did Shatter and Dropkick not break him out?

I loved it and the average moviegoer will never ever nitpick all these things because the good credit the film builds and what it does right it does so amazingly well. You tend to let these things pass. Was it the best one ever? Nope, but it is taking leaps and bounds on the right direction after the last couple went off the rails a bit, in fact, it does so much right that I think most of us agree we want to see more of where this is going. I just hope it is not too little too late for the average moviegoer.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

The inability to suspend your disbelief does not make it a logical hole. None of these are lacking in logic.

Megatron was chasing the Allspark. He wound up on Earth by accident. No one knew he was there. That's why dropkick and Shatter didn't go find him.

I hear you on the lack of names for the cons, but that doesn't detract from the logic of the movie.

It is made VERY CLEAR that it was not bumblebee and hotrod in WWII. If you recall, Bumblebee was repeatedly called B127. It is made crystal clear that there are several robots that look alike, they are model numbers.

OP does not present Earth as a new discovery, simply as a quiet world hidden away. Earth is clearly known by Transformers, just not many of them.

It stands to reason that the communication range of the bots is limited, as clearly mentioned by Dropkick and Shatter to the humans. Bee managed to communicate because there was an outpost on Saturn's moon, logically, I don't think they had a range beyond the solar system.

Optimus on the other hand, is trying to set up base. It stands to reason that he came equipped with tech to send his message to the stars... or even used equipement from S7. We are never shown him actually sending this message beyond a voiceover as they look at the sunset.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Interesting justifications.

I dunno, I still think a lot of what you say is obvious are HUGE jumps to fill in logic. Perhaps several of the justifications make sense but "obvious" that ww2 wasn't Bee is absolutely not obvious at all. Being able to detect Bee but not Megs is ludicrus. Finally a teenager getting on a secret military base by cutting a hole in a fence was laughable but a convenient story element. Also, why would Cena blow up a door on a base when he could just open It?

Bah! In the end, who really cares? The average movie fan won't notice and the hard core fans will fill in blanks however suits us best. In the end, let's just be happy a tf film is getting positive attention and let's hope more follows in the same positive light.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I’m simply willing to write that off as soft reboot stuff.

The idea that there is a bunch of Bumblebee’s running around, like hundreds of them, would be absolutely silly.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

The one logical gap that really annoyed my non-transformer fan friends was that bumblee bee could send a message to saturn from a junk yard yet fully healthy decepticons needed to build a tower to send a signal to cybertron. Not to mention how did Haliee get on the army base. And why were the two decepticons almost completely alone with bumblebee? Wasn't the army going to destroy them? I dunno... I was really hoping for a Pixar level of story tightness... And if it weren't for like, three or four plot devices it would have been superb.



I'm not sure this film is good enough to win back the general public to Transformers. :(

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I think it is more that it isn’t epic enough to draw in huge audiences. But it isn’t intended to be.

With the exception of TLK(which might have been too epic), Bay’s films were all incredibly epic and all attracted the general public in big numbers.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Just saw the movie tonight. Very disappointed. I expected this to be an improvement over the Bay directed movies, but it hardly was.

Eliminating the Bay gutter humour and adding the G1 design Transformers on Cybertron was awesome.
But that alone does not make a good movie or story.

Instead, they made Bumblebee an idiotic buffoon for half the film, and focused most of the movie on humans. The story was basic at best.

At the end, this seemed like a non-Transformers film, with Transformers in buffoonery cameos, with little plot or character development.

Despite the director change, this is a Typical Bay movie, yet again.:(

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Even if you could have the whole movie like that, awesome eye candy visuals and action scenes don't make a story alone.

That killed it. A lot of the movie was boring after that.

Unfortunately, this is not just on Michael Bay's shoulders. 1 of the movie execs from Hasbro was interviewed about the 2007 film, and he said the clumsy scene outside Sam's house represented the essence of Transformers.

Different writers and director, but they still think this is what Transformers is about.

I found this 1 of the worst aspects of the Bayformers films, and unfortunately this movie had it in spades.

I also found Haliee did a decent job, but with Bumblebee the only Transformer around plus not able to talk, she couldn't carry the movie on her own.
Shia at lest had Optimus Prime around, so he could have an intelligent conversation with a Transformer. Also, Sam's journey in ROTF was epic.

Neither Hailee nor Bumblebee had any epic vibe.

Very agree.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Very agree. While it didn't ruin the movie, the viewing experience would have been better if we could identify the Decepticons to give them more value.

Honestly, I got home and read Wikipedia and thought, "That seeker jet was supposed to be Blitzwing???" :confused:

I liked Memo, in a Bob Ross sort of way :D
But
Bumblebee's brainless clumsiness helped ruin the film for me.

No Transformer knew Megatron or the Allspark cube were on Earth at this time. At least I think.

I would have completely forgiven the lack of continuity if this film had distanced itself from the Bay movies. But since it was very much a Bay style film, I must criticize the continuity errors.

- Bumblebee was in WW II, as you stated
- incorrect. Edited out : [he was a VW Beetle at the start of 2007, yet in this he already becomes a camaro.]
- Prime comes to Earth here in 1987? While in 2007 he landed for the 1st time in his Rock Lord meteor form.

While not necessary, Epic helps.
While the previous Bayformers were also poor movies, I enjoyed the epicness of movies #2,3, &5, and the clever ways they achieved it.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I dont understand prime being on earth already when the meteors fell.
Prime was part of the meteors that fell in the first movie of live action.
Big gaps that dont make sense.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

At least to those who actually follow the time lines of the movies.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Is it on Netflix yet?

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

[QUOTE=JLvatron;779005]Very agree. While it didn't ruin the movie, the viewing experience would have been better if we could identify the Decepticons to give them more value.

Honestly, I got home and read Wikipedia and thought, "That seeker jet was supposed to be Blitzwing???" :confused:


I liked Memo, in a Bob Ross sort of way :D
But
Bumblebee's brainless clumsiness helped ruin the film for me.


No Transformer knew Megatron or the Allspark cube were on Earth at this time. At least I think.

I have to chime in on this one at this point.. Made myself sit through Bays' first Transformers movie very recently and it was made EXCEPTIONALLY clear in the film that 1. No transformer knew Megatron was on Earth, he had crashed there and subsequently froze solid in ice, essentially deactivated. 2. He was moved to Hoover dam ON PURPOSE to hide him and the cube from the other transformers. (plot device missing here is HOW THE HELL did they keep him frozen to move him there in the first place, but we're not picking on Bay here on this one)

As far as the Bumblebee movie goes. I loved it. I was really annoyed by the trashing of the house scene, but it was ultimately forgivable in the scope of the rest of the film. I liked how Bee had forgotten who he was, it was neat seeing him realise that not only was he capable of fighting back, he was actually GOOD at it. Hailee has said recently that she would like to do another film and honestly, I'd love to see that. Oh and another thing, it's not really a plot hole to see him and Prime together at the end, Prime DID say he was coming and no, he did not say how or when. I thought it was REALLY cool to see Bee roll up on Prime and take point off into the sunset. Can't wait to pick up this bluray.. I don't own any of Bay's and don't plan on it.

And yes, I am a huge Transformer fan and collector.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Charlie’s story arc was very well thought out and defined compared to Sam’s in film one. Now, her story is not Transformers related which is likely your critcism, but her journey in the film was perfectly executed.

Every dot connected in her plot, from the issues of having lost her father to the desire to get freedom from her mother and step father over those issues. The reasons why she got interested in fixing cars, due to lasting memories from doing things with her father.

Sam was a rich kid from the suburbs that wanted to get laid. There was nothing else there. And I loved Shia, he was extremely fun - just shallow.

I also think you are selling the Transformers content of the film slightly short. Where Charlie and Bee had their story unfolding we got a ton of scenes with Shatter and Dropkick.

These Decepticons got significant screen time and specific personaity traits. Even Blitzwing’s brief role gave him an interesting personality, that of a military tracker and enforcer of a sort of actual Cybertronian government.

I think the critcism of the Decepticons not getting named is accurate though.

Lastly, I think criticisms of the continuity issues are extremely valid as well. As I say it didn’t bother me as I view this as a soft reboot and am expecting changes for that reason. I think anyone who knows the Bay films know this was meant as a slight reboot reguardless of the out of universe statements from the producers and Hasbro.

But if you critcize the continuity issues in the film heavily, while cheering the Cybertron scenes(which are as big if not a bigger hole in the continuity of the Bayverse) - lets just say I find that to be a bit of hypocritical cherry picking :p

I’m honestly surprised you found so many things to like the the Bay films, but seemed to find almost nothing you enjoyed in this one.

This movie is The Girl Who Loves Powerglide compared to Transformers the Movie 1986.........relatively speaking. I think one can make arguements both were bad on individual merit, but I don’t feel one should take Girl Who Loves Powerglide and imply it is bad because it isn’t the 1986 film.

They were meant to be two very different stories set in roughly the same universe.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Saw it for the 2nd time last night, liked it even more. I particularly liked:

-Bee's alt mode
-the various incomplete transformations, including the compressed car mode!
-Bee's head design (especially his eyes, very expressive)
-Bee's battle mask (all kinds of awesome with the Bee vision)
-Shatter (my favorite villain in the franchise so far... she's vicious!)
-the numerous on-screen transformations (all clear and in your face)
-the humor
-Charlie
-The Touch

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I thought it was great, also thinking for a second viewing. My kids and I liked it

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Charlie had a better backstory, but Sam had a better Fore story. And he wasn't shallow, that's comic relief. And his connection with bumblebee was quite genuine.

And this movie was not The Girl Who Loved Powerglide.
Not at all.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Still the gaps are bothersome but....
It was a good story just not gap precise.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Yah, that contradicted 2 things: Prime not arriving with the other Rock Lords, and the fact that they were supposed to arrive in 2007 at night near Sam, not 20 years sooner in 1987.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

This too...lol

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Optimus Prime can come to earth in 1987 for a short trip and go back again, right? Then he officially settle down on earth in 2007

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

His comedy was gold, that is not what I mean by shallow. Sam’s connection with Bumblebee was fine as well, but I wouldn’t suggest at all that Charlie’s wasn’t.

It was easy to identify with Charlie’s motivations. She was a fully realized character that we got to know well as viewers, that we got to connect with emotionally. She wants to help Bumblebee because there are layers that make them similar despite their obvious differences.

Charlie lost her family and is broken. Bumblebee lost his family and is broken. The story was about both of them healing and reuniting with their families, while forming a their own friendship.

It presents a fully realized story arc for both characters, something very different from Michael Bay’s style of film making.

Now you can completely agree, as you did, with the poster here that called the film “generic Hollywood shit”, but for me there was something more there.

I think it boils down to something I enjoyed seeing on screen in a Transformers film, something we have not seen before, that you were not wanting to see.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Seriously, dude?
Splaining what somebody wants or not?

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I apologize. That is not what I was trying to do at all.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

Was able to see it last night and overall I thought it was more good then bad, but I certainly understand the critiques that people have.

The Good:

Hailee Steinfeld was pretty great in this role and gave some depth to a female character in a Transformers movie. Reminded me of a more grown up version of Izabella from the Last Knight.

I also liked the treatment of the Transformers in general: More screen time, a better sense of their motivation and certainly more G1-like. The first 15 minutes really felt like a love letter to everyone who wanted a more G1 feel to these movies and it actually worked for me.

The main story was cohesive and the lay person could easily follow the plot. Compare that to the other 5 Bay-verse movies and you can see why general audiences started to pull back from the franchise.

The Bad:

For whatever reason, I get hung up on continuity errors in moves and with this being a prequel and soft reboot, it somewhat confuses the whole timeline. Now if the movie was meant to be a prequel OR reboot I don't care; just pick one and go with it, but it can't be both.

While I think Charlie was consistent, I feel as though the human characters were a bit all over the place in as far as who they were and had some missed potential. For example her Mom was serious at the times when she should have been caring, aloof when she should have been serious and caring finally at the end. Same with John Cena's character- he had some really funny lines, but then was way to serious at others. Finally, I think they missed an opportunity with Ron.

As with most movies I think they could have cut 20 minutes out and it would have made for a tighter story. Remove things like: the lemonade mishap at the pier, the "give me your shirt" sequence and riding out the sunroof, the to scared to dive scene, the mean girls "you have a dead Dad scene" and the toilet paper revenge scene. (the eggs and car trashing was file, but she's 18, why is she toilet papering a house?? Also points for the most weird product placement for a movie) I understand that these are character building moments in the story, but at this point they are cliche and have little payoff.

The Ugly.

The dive at the end was silly, cliche and lazy to say the least.

Overall the movie was good and I'm actually happy with the direction that the franchise is heading in.

Re: What Did You Think Of Bumblebee?? **SPOILERS**
 

I agree! I didn't mind those scenes, but they were not necessary.