'Bumblebee' Makes History As The 1st Transformers Movie To Be Certified "Fresh" By Critics
"Finally, a Transformers movie that doesn't suck!" - Critics, probably.
By Samantha Khor — 21 Dec 2018, 09:41 AM
There may be hope yet for the Transformers franchise!
Bumblebee, which is set to hit cinemas this week, has officially been certified "Fresh" by Rotten Tomatoes with a stellar score of 94%.
Many critics agree that Bumblebee more than meets the eye and has breathed new life into the "bloated" franchise. Hailee Steinfeld's performance and the nostalgic setting were widely praised, with some calling it the best movie in the Transformers franchise so far.
"Bumblebee is basically the movie that fans of the 1980s animated series wanted all along," Variety's review read.
And what a historic milestone it is too. Not only did it become the highest-rated movie in the series, Bumblebee is now the first and only Transformers movie to earn a "Fresh" rating.
Sure, all five previous movies were huge box office successes, but received little to no love from critics. In fact, they were all classified "Rotten" by the Rotten Tomatoes.
The original Transformers holds a 57% on the Tomatometer, although it should be noted its Audience Score is much higher at 85%.
The sequels, however, pretty much went splat with both critics and moviegoers. With the exception of Transformers: Dark of the Moon (35%), the rest only managed to score between 15% and 19% on the Tomatometer, with 2017's Transformers: The Last Knight at the bottom of the pile.
It is worth noting that Bumblebee is the first movie in the franchise to not be directed by Michael Bay, who is often criticised for favouring spectacle over substance. This time around, it's Travis Knight on the director's chair.
Formerly an animator for stop-motion animation studio Laika (where he is also president and CEO of), Knight made his directorial debut in 2016 with the critically-acclaimed Kubo and the Two Strings.
Bumblebee marks his second directorial work, as well as his first foray into live-action films.
Fun fact: Knight's father, Phil Knight, is the founder and chairman of Nike. :O
The latest entry into the live-action Transformers franchise, Bumblebee serves as a prequel and is set decades before the events of the core series
Going back in time to 1987, the movie follows the titular Autobot (voiced by Dylan O'Brien) after he crash-lands on Earth. Fate brought the battle-scarred Bumblebee to 17-year-old Charlie (played by Hailee Steinfeld), who befriends the amnesiac Autobot when she realises he is no ordinary VW Beetle.
The film also stars John Cena (below), Angela Bassett, Justin Theroux, and Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime.
