Dominic Preston Tech Advisor Aug 21, 2026 4/5

Director Travis Knight and writer Christina Hodson have finally found life under the hood of the Transformers, with a film that’s touching, funny, and joyous from start to finish.

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Justin Kim Loud and Clear Reviews Jan 6, 2025 4/5

Bumblebee is old fashioned in many respects, but it makes up for it by scaling down bombastic action in favor of emotion and character.

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Eddie Harrison film-authority.com Oct 8, 2024 3/5

…Bumblebee is a cute film, not as loud or bombastic as the other Transfomers movies, and actually kind of small and charming in comparison…

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Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies Aug 19, 2022 3.5/5

“Bumblebee” is a good spin-off that easily stands on its own unique merits.

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Cory Woodroof The Playlist Feb 10, 2022 B

Well always have Transformers movies as long as they keep making money and selling merchandise, so they might as well feature the Bee's kinder, more invigorating zeal.

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Nicholas Oon Maximum Hype (YouTube) Aug 17, 2021 6.5/10

They needed to make it a safe, solid movie in order to revitalize the franchise, get people believing in the Transformers again, and I think to a large extent, they did do that.

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Rick Marshall Digital Trends Jul 13, 2021

Bumblebee offers ample evidence that change can be a very good thing for a movie franchise, and there are still plenty of great stories to tell in the Transformers universe.

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Collier Jennings But Why Tho? Jun 24, 2021 10

Succeeds due to a talented director who loves the source material, a well-rounded cast, and an abundance of heart.

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Olly Richards NME (New Musical Express) Apr 29, 2021 4/5

...finally, a Transformers movie that's fun to watch.

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Alex Bentley CultureMap Apr 9, 2021

Bumblebee may very well represent a vast improvement in quality for the Transformers series. But that means the previous five films must be even worse than you think, as Bumblebee is pretty dang awful.

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Richard Crouse Richard Crouse Feb 3, 2021 3.5/5

A welcome change of pace for the Transformers series. Knight brings tenderness, humour and action that owes more to the style of the 80s era Transformers cartoons and Amblin films than Bay's bombast.

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Charlotte Harrison Charlotte Sometimes Goes to the Movies Jan 5, 2021

Such a charming delight.

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Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Dec 5, 2020 6/10

The movie is full of humor and heart, most effectively provided by Steinfeld, who manages to be genuine, despite acting predominantly in front of fully CG personas.

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Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Sep 4, 2020 3.0/4.0

Sometimes you just go to the movie theater to be entertained.

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Andrew Gaudion THN Aug 28, 2020 3/5

By looking back to the 80's from whence it came, the Transformers franchise seems to have found its heart again.

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Matt Cipolla Film Monthly Jul 26, 2020 3.5/5

[A]n affectionate (if obvious) riff on The Iron Giant, Bumblebee separates itself from the pack by not being desperate to prove itself.

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Yasser Medina Cinefilia Jul 21, 2020 5/10

It is a well-intentioned blockbuster, but it falls short when it comes to offering an exciting product. [Full review in Spanish]

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Steven Prokopy Third Coast Review Jul 14, 2020 3/4

Bumblebee succeeds because it relies not on acton and special effects but on characters and a sweet story about friendship, loss and finding your inner hero.

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Brent McKnight The Last Thing I See Jun 30, 2020 C+

Bumblebee never quite finds the right balance. It's intentionally cheesy and silly, sometimes in a warm, heartfelt way, but other times in a cringing way. It's bubbly and will play well with the intended audience, but there's not much more than that.

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Damond Fudge KCCI (Des Moines, IA) Jun 28, 2020

Bumblebee is one heck of a fun ride. It has action, humor, heart and character, as well as a plot that respects the source cartoons.

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