Bumblebee Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs

5. The Designs And Transformations

It cannot be overstated just how drastically the designs and transformations of the Transformers have been improved in this film.

Whereas Bay's films featured designs that started out as jagged and then only got uglier and more migraine-inducing with each subsequent film, Bumblebee wears its love of the Gen 1 designs and aesthetics very much on its sleeve. When these characters transform, you can actually follow which parts are moving where and it's nothing short of incredible. They've taken the transformations from the animated series and just translated them to the live-action medium, which is all fans ever really wanted in the first place.

It's also important to note that this film features a lot of transformations. Bay's films grew increasingly and obviously bored with the transforming effect, to the point that The Last Knight frequently went out of its way to not show them transforming. Bumblebee relishes the transformations of its characters, with gorgeous effects work by ILM and some delightful sound design that actively incorporates the iconic sound of the transformations from the animated series.