Bumblebee review round-up: Transformers prequel gets glowing response from critics

Reviews for Bumblebee have been released, and – perhaps to some surprise – they are overwhelmingly positive.

The Transformers spin-off stars Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), a soon-to-be 18-year-old who finds the transforming Bumblebee in a junkyard near California.

The movie takes place in 1987 and acts as a prequel to Michael Bay’s 2007 Transformers.

Bumblebee currently has a 100 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes, a contrast to the other five Transformers instalments, which average at 29 per cent on the reviews aggregate wesbite.

“By taking the Transformers universe in a new, more intimate character-driven direction, screenwriter Christina Hodson plays directly to the franchise’s roots,” writes Justin Lowe writes in a glowing review for The Hollywood Reporter.

“Skillfully shaping what’s essentially a coming-of-age story for both Charlie and Bumblebee, Hodson layers in a sense of wonder and discovery that effectively recaptures the innovation and energy of the 2007 original.”

Empire‘s James Dyer likewise praises the Steinfeld’s character and her relationship with the eponymous car, likening the pair to Elliott and ET in Steven Spielberg’s classic film (the director acts as a producer on Bumblebee) in his four-star review.

Robbie Collin of The Telegraph has awarded the same score, sayd ”it feels less like another Transformers film as we’ve come to know them than a live-action spin on the classic Ted Hughes-inspired animation The Iron Giant.”

IndieWire critic Liz Shannon Miller rated the film B+, saying: “Fans of the classic Transformers will be thrilled by many of the touches here. But there is also now an entire generation of kids who are going to get to watch a girl drive, with a smile on her face.” Total Film conclude their four-star review: “In that savvy fix and elsewhere, [dicrector Travis] Knight and Hodson have salvaged something agreeable from an otherwise badly dented series.”

Bumblebee reaches UK cinemas 15 December.