Bumblebee

"Every hero has a beginning."

2018 1h 54m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 6,875

ActionAdventureScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary yellow VW bug.

“Every hero has a beginning.”

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Cast

Dylan O'Brien
B-127 / Bumblebee (voice)
Hailee Steinfeld
Charlie Watson
John Cena
Jack Burns
Jorge Lendeborg Jr.
Memo Gutierrez
John Ortiz
Dr. Powell
Stephen Schneider
Ron
Jason Ian Drucker
Otis Watson
Pamela Adlon
Sally Watson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Travis Knight
Writers: Christina Hodson, Maya Shimoguchi, Emanuela Cozzi
Languages: English
Countries: China, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$135M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: China, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

276+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Travis Knight, shot by Enrique Chediak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dario Marianelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Paul Rubell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Travis Knight directs. Enrique Chediak behind the camera. Dario Marianelli scores. Paul Rubell cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in China, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$135M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.
3Released 8 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: China, United States of America.
5276+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Travis Knight, shot by Enrique Chediak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Dario Marianelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Paul Rubell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Dylan O'Brien and Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Every hero has a beginning.".
11IMDB entry: tt4701182 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 8 themes, including "technology", "based on toy", "giant robot", "robot".
13Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Enrique Chediak
Original score: Dario Marianelli
Editing: Paul Rubell
Production design: Sean Haworth
Costume design: Dayna Pink
Makeup / hair: Miia Kovero
VFX supervisor: Jason Smith
Sound: Tobias Poppe
Stunt coordinator: Mike Gunther
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $135,000,000
Box office: $467,989,645
Return: 347% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Bumblebee (2018)

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Travis Knight

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Community reviews

What people are saying

TriggerZ2019-04-12
★ 5/10
Decent, by the numbers, popcorn movie. Better than the other live action Transformers movie, but still not very good. Best parts were the fight scenes, especially on Cybertron. Otherwise, it was average, 5/10.
Gimly2019-06-10
★ 5/10
Strong contender for best live-action Transformers movie ever made, but Christ, what a low fuckin' bar that is. The fact it isn't the clear and absolute winner is a devastating criticism. Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole.
CinemaSerf2024-05-02
★ 6/10
So I thought that "Herbie" had it tough! Well his traumas look like tea with the Queen compared to poor old "Bumblebee"! He actually starts off life with the much less friendly moniker of "B-127" when he is sent to Earth to set things up amidst what looks like the end of the war between the his "Autobots" and the "Decepticons" on their home planet of "Cybertron". He lands slap bang in the middle of some top secret American military testing that handily looks at all things extra-terrestrial and that's when we encounter the menacing "Burns" (John Cena) who deduces that our yellow Meccano is not natural and that it must be hunted down and captured or destroyed. As if that we're not enough, "Blitzwing" is also on the planet and they have a duel that renders our yellow hero unable to speak and forced to turn into his more recognisable motor car shape while he repairs the damage from that combat and awaits his pals. "Charlie" (Hailee Steinfeld) discovers it hiding in a scrapyard and by touching things she shouldn't, activates all sorts of beacons and gadgets that breaks his cover and summons friend and foe alike for the usual slew of "Transformer" tear 'em limb from limb escapades. There's quite a bit of fun from the dialogue and the visual effects are enjoyable too as we follow a well trammelled path of formulaic storytelling, tempered with a little human bonding, and some mediocre acting. They've tried to give "Bumblebee" some personable characteristics - think of a less cowardly "C-3PO", but as an action adventure it's all just a bit long and predictable. The denouement is quite action-packed, though, and I think it's at the better end of this franchise so just about worth two hours.