It does not take very long for this film to establish that it contains all the elements that make it work so much better than Bay's bombastic franchise outings, especially the bloated mess of The Last Knight. From the opening dazzling battle for Cybertron, there is a clarity of narrative and storytelling and an open emotional simplicity that the previous films simply lack, ably presented through Christina Hodson's smart screenplay (with E.T. the obvious touchstone) and Travis Knight bringing the same degree of control, heart and precision that he demonstrated in Kubo. What perhaps does surprise is Knight's excellent handling of the impressive action sequences, which again also benefit from streamlined use of characters and story. Bumblebee will absolutely delight its main target audience - eight-year-old boys - but Steinfeld's spot-on performance will hopefully bring in more female viewers as well. This film is unexpectedly satisfying, charming and entertaining, and it ably demonstrates that filmmakers do not have to completely abandon scale to find heart.
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