Movie Review - (TF6) Transformers Bumblebee

[M-bot]

I really liked it! I wasn’t expecting much from John Cena and was pleasantly surprised - he’s got some acting chops and his comedic timing in his intro scene was spot on. He wasn’t usitilised very much through the rest of the movie though, I would have liked to see more of the humour he brought elsewhere. And he was kind-of shoehorned into the climax - I understand why he needed to be there for the sake of his character arc (and Bee’s I guess), but it still felt odd, like “oh yeah, John Cena’s here too!”.

I enjoyed Dropkick and Shatter and it’s a bit perplexing why those 2 don’t have more of a presence in various class sizes on toy shelves RIGHT NOW, while the movie is showing and it’s, y’know, CHRISTMAS. Prime too, for that matter.

There were a few nitpicky things, but I’d let those slide. It was basically a remake of The Iron Giant, but that’s OK - it was the writer and directors’s take on the franchise, and a perfectly sensible choice. Hailee Steinfeld did a terrific job.

Easily the best live action film. They could totally either use it as part of the established franchise (Camaro Bee, Sector 7, Simmons) or use it as a soft reboot (plenty of non-Bayverse G1 bots!). I’d be happy with the latter, for sure.

[griffin]

Soooo... do people think it is really Optimus driving across the Golden Gate bridge at the end, or am I the only thinking it was just a visual easter egg for the fans... as Bumblebee just drove past him, and Optimus didn't appear to be on Earth until after that scene.

Actually... I think it would have been better to see the VW Bumblebee driving past that sort of truck just before he changed to a Camaro, to really be a really nice nod to Gen1.

Looks like Hasbro agrees with everyone else, in that it was Optimus driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, as it is specifically noted on the back of the box of SS-38.

[GoktimusPrime]

Eh, you can always head-canon it as just a regular truck if you prefer it. The film as it is leaves it open to interpretation which I think is cool.

When I first saw the truck driving across the bridge I just assumed it was a regular truck that happened to be coloured like G1 Optimus Prime as an Easter Egg. Then I saw the forest scene where Optimus Prime talking to Bumblebee, and that concluded for me that the truck was indeed Optimus Prime. But if people prefer to interpret it differently then I see nothing wrong with that. Many of us have head canon interpretations which may be different to official lore, but IMO as long as your head canon doesn't directly contradict official canon then why not?

P.S.: Transformers The Basics on Blitzwing just came out. McFeeley points out that Bumblebee Blitzwing is Blitzwing in name alone but is otherwise just another Seeker. Still... loads more character presence than most Bayformer 'Cons!

[griffin]

Saw it a second time today and picked up on a lot more things this time... but disappointed that both sessions (one at Hoyts one at Event) were quite empty with about 10 people at each.


How have the sessions been with other people here? Any packed cinemas like some of the earlier TFs movies?
I really hope this is just an oddity for my sessions, and doesn't mean that the movie will fail to make back enough to warrant more Movies (two disappointing efforts in a row would pretty much kill off the franchise).
I did see a number of really young kids at the session today, so the PG rating might be encouraging the family to see it as was intended (kids tickets are cheaper and is less money for the box office), instead of attracting the teens and young adults (which are full price tickets).

[BigTransformerTrev]

Took my son to watch it this avo. It was really special to be able to watch this movie together given the PG rating, it's how it should be. We were both in awe of the Cybertron scenes.

Yeah, I took my son (since he was turning 6) with his mates to see TF6 yesterday - he adored it! And the same - it was really special to be able to watch it together

Saw it a second time today and picked up on a lot more things this time... but disappointed that both sessions (one at Hoyts one at Event) were quite empty with about 10 people at each.

How have the sessions been with other people here? Any packed cinemas like some of the earlier TFs movies?

When we went yesterday morning there was hardly anyone in the cinema - but it was the 10.10am showing in Bathurst so prob would have been pretty dead no matter which movie it was.

Oh, and I loved the movie! My review is HERE for anyone interested

[CoRDS]

saw this yesterday with my 14yr old son and we both loved it.

i hated every one of those stupid bay movies, but this one was GREAT.

being able to tell who was who during a fight was awesome.
story was nice and simple as it should be for that kind of a movie, some very nice touches throughout the movie and i cant wait to see what they do next.

i really hope the do a whole cybertron based film as those parts were amazing.

[GoktimusPrime]

When we went yesterday morning there was hardly anyone in the cinema - but it was the 10.10am showing in Bathurst so prob would have been pretty dead no matter which movie it was.

Times like this I envy you country folk. The cinema I watched it in had several idiots talking (and making other disruptive noises) during the movie, and the guy sitting to my left was intermittently using his phone.

Seriously... if a person cannot sit quietly still for the duration of a film, then they're not old enough to go watch a movie in a cinema. We used to take our daughter to watch movies in the drive-in cinema (or just wait for the DVD release) until she was old enough to watch a movie without making a fuss (i.e. school age). The sad thing is that the people talking were school aged kids and adults (the adults were worse than the kids). Some people really need to stop treating movie theatres like their own private lounge rooms.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Times like this I envy you country folk. The cinema I watched it in had several idiots talking (and making other disruptive noises) during the movie, and the guy sitting to my left was intermittently using his phone.

You wouldn’t envy the fact you have to drive over 100km to get to the nearest cinema

But yeah, it’s always completely dead in there. I take the kids once or twice a year and there is never anybody, which is indeed nice. But means it’s never a real indication of how popular a flick is

[CoRDS]

i find that the best sessions to go to are the first one of the day, the idiots that ruin movies are either still asleep or not smart enough to know that the cinema is open.

[Kranix]

Only a handful of people viewing in the session I attended. Hopefully it picks up as it was a decent movie. Having said that, I wouldn't rate it as highly as some others have.

I very much enjoyed the initial scenes involving Cybertron, gave me a huge grin

I did however find a lot of the movie a bit slow and the story a bit laboured. Bits were good but probably too much focus on the humans still! The relationship between Bumblebee and Charlie was much better than in the original films with Sam (especially movies 2 & 3) but was a little too focussed on her life. If the budget was higher it would have improved the movie to see more of the back story with the Transformers and less of the girl and her car story but maybe that's just me.

I would love if this movie did lead into an 80s cartoon style Transformers movie free of the Bay legacy, the ending leaves this as more than possible but obviously without a certain lil red Autobot… (Was that scene a Bay addition!?). Something with a story and feel between this and the Bay Movies would be fantastic. It feels like they haven't quite hit that spot but the opportunity is there now.