Bumblebee

Bumblebee – As the battle of Cybertron rages between the Autobots and Decepticons, Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, sends one of his soldiers, B-127, out into space to find another planet for them to meet and regroup. Landing on Earth, B-127 has been followed by a Decepticon and is viciously attacked, causing him to lose his memories. Later, teenager, Charlie, who is struggling to cope with the death of her father finds a strange yellow car which changes her life forever.

Bumblebee (2018) – Director: Travis Knight

By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59043406

Rating: PG

Running Length: 114 mins

Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Cena

Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Action

REVIEW: BUMBLEBEE

In Michael Bay’s first ‘Transformers’ movie, our favourite Autobots were already on Earth; ‘Bumblebee’ – named after the sweet little yellow one – is a prequel to the franchise and shows how and why the Transformers chose Earth as their home. Wisely taking on board the criticisms of the earlier films of misogyny and racism, ‘Bumblebee’ is clearly at pains to show exactly how progressive it is by having a strong female lead, Charlie, whose not interested in anything mainstream, and an ethnic minority sidekick, Memo, whose chaste attraction to her makes him immediately and unquestioningly loyal.

Charlie (played by the engaging Hailee Steinfeld) begins her journey already suffering from the loss of her father and frustrated with how easy it seems to have been for her mother to have moved on with another man. But she still manages to be likeable despite her (understandable) teenage angst. What is refreshing in ‘Bumblebee’ is that her family, including her mother’s new partner, may be secondary characters but they are well-rounded without too much time being devoted to them. They are all loving and supportive of each other and don’t hesitate to help Charlie out when she needs them. Equally, she appreciates and loves them without wishing to change them.

‘Bumblebee’ is an excellent stand alone movie that overshadows the rest of its franchise but with a lot of strong violence between the Autobots and Decepticons, including torture and killings, it may not be as family friendly as the trailers make out.

CONTENT: IS ‘BUMBLEBEE’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The movie opens in the middle of a huge battle on Cybertron. Both sides fight aggressively, delivering heavy blows and stabbing each other with huge blades. Because many of the robots look the same, it can be difficult to know which side is ‘good’ and which is ‘bad’ so each attack could be upsetting. At one point, B-127 (later to be renamed Bumblebee) knocks the head off a Decepticon and kicks it at another. This is a very intense scene which lasts several minutes and could quite shocking for younger kids.

When Bumblebee lands on Earth, he is soon attacked by a Decepticon who clearly wishes to kill him. He tells Bumblebee ‘Now you’ll die screaming’ and later sentences him to death (although he is unable to follow through with this threat). During this fight, the Decepticon holds Bumblebee aloft, produces a long blade from his ‘hand’ and, in close-up, stabs Bumblebee in the throat for around 5 seconds. Bumblebee is clearly pained and in distress and from this point on he is unable to speak.

Another Autobot is seen to have been captured by two Decepticons and has clearly suffered at their hands – they have had an arm (presumably) ripped off – however they refuse to talk. When the Decepticons find out some information, one produces a large blade and kills the Autobot by slicing it in half. In close-up, a line appears between their eyes and goes down their body as it falls apart.

Two stereotypical rednecks have an argument where the woman accuses her partner of trying to ‘sleep with my sister!’ which he indignantly retorts ‘unsuccessfully!’

Two human characters at different stages of the film are deliberately killed by the Decepticons. They hold out their arm which turns into a huge cannon. When they are shot, the characters explode into a transparent liquid which splashes onto the ground. Both of these deaths are shown entirely on-screen.

A neighbour, Memo, discovers Bumblebee in Charlie’s garage and in order to keep him quiet she threatens him, saying ‘If you tell anyone, I’ll have to run you over in my car’. He is shocked by how strong this is but the two soon become friends.

When Charlie and Memo drive in Bumblebee, because he takes over the controls, Charlie stands up and leans out of the sun roof, encouraging Memo to do the same. She tells him to remove his shirt so she can put it over her eyes for more of a thrill. We mention this in case it could be imitable.

A popular boy at Charlie’s school challengers her to dive off the edge of a (relatively low) cliff. The other kids cheer them on and the boy runs to the edge and leaps off. He is seen to be fine but we mention this as it could encourage other kids to do the same.

When Charlie is taunted by a mean girl, she, Memo and Bumblebee decide to get their revenge by going to her house at night and throwing toilet paper over a tree and throwing eggs at her car. Bumblebee doesn’t really understand what to do and, after some coaching from the others, he gets carried away and ends up destroying the girl’s car by jumping on it. The three escape into the night, laughing at their prank. There are no consequences to their actions.

Bumblebee sticks his finger into an electrical socket and it has a positive effect on him, this may encourage youngsters to do this as well.

Towards the end of the movie, Bumblebee is captured by the Decepticons and suffers while being interrogated. He is strung up by his hands and beaten.

A character threatens another by saying ‘If you lose that car, I will personally rip your face off’.

A character dives head first into water, knowing that there is a lot of metal debris under it.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘BUMBLEBEE’ FOR KIDS?

‘Bumblebee’ is exciting and fun but also has plenty of violence and emotional scenes that could be upsetting for young kids. Therefore we feel this movie is not appropriate for children aged under 8.

• Violence: 3/5 (a lot of strong violence involving the Autobots and Decepticons but there is no blood and minimal suffering shown)
• Emotional Distress: 3/5 (several emotional scenes, particularly with Charlie struggling to cope with the loss of her father. A major character is shot and it appears that they have been killed, another character is devastated. This lasts for a couple of minutes until circumstances change)
• Fear Factor: 2/5 (The aggression and viciousness of the Decepticons could be frightening for kids)
• Sexual Content: 1/5 (some mild romantic interest. Two male characters remove their shirts)
• Bad Language: 3/5 (frequent mild curding and blasphemy. Sh** is exclaimed twice which is unusually strong for a PG rated movie)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of family, friendship, grief, loyalty, tenacity, fighting a greater foe, arrogance and teamwork.

Words by Laura Record

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