In 2007, Michael Bay showed the world that today's technology could bring the famed Transformers to life on the big screen. Sadly, he has the finesse of a brick to the face as his subsequent films for the most part are rusted pieces of scrap due to his crude style of filmmaking, lack of focus, and narrow demographic, leaving fans with only the 80s animated movie as the true "good one", that is until now.
Plot: Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld), a teen girl struggling to move on after her father's untimely death, encounters the fugitive Autobot Bumblebee and the two form a heartfelt bond, which will be tested as they are hunted by both the secretive Sector 7 and a couple of Decepticons.
Knight knows what makes a film truly stick with people and that is in the story and how one tells it, something he excels at. He gives his films heart, thus the relationship between Charlie and Bumblebee feels natural. The central focus is this friendship with many scenes that are charming, funny, and hit hard in the feels. Unlike the stuttering and super uptight Sam Witwicky, Charlie has a lot of spunk and pathos. While having a predictable character arc, John Cena did a nice job with his role. I love that this film is not only set in the 80s (when the show came out), but lives and breathes pop cultural references and classic songs from that era (including a great callback to Stan Bush). While Bay's action focuses on huge zany explosion-fests that push believability and heavily involve the human military, here the action is smaller and much more personal, strictly Autobot vs Decepticon as it should be since it was what the franchise was built on. In fact, the portrayal of the Decepticons has improved; not only can I tell them apart this time thanks to their varied designs and color schemes, but they're given more personality and actually live up to their name.
The only thing that has me puzzled is the continuity as there's confusion over whether or not this is a reboot or a prequel given some conflicting elements. That being said, this is, in many ways, the Transformers movie I've been itching to see for a long time. I'd like to see more directors present their takes on the franchise and go to places both familiar and new as long as Bay stays out of the directing chair. To sum it up, Bumblebee's got the Touch.
