Michael Bay’s “Transformers” films are a definite complete large amount of things: noisy, incoherently plotted, absurd, vaguely racist. But a very important factor they have never ever been is sweet. Now along comes the comparatively small-scale prequel “Bumblebee,” having its pleasant nostalgia and real figures we worry about. This new movie is an important departure, stripping away the prior movies’ impenetrable mythology and Bay-tastic extra while including some genuine feeling and fun that is family-friendly. It is a welcome program correction for the franchise that as yet happens to be sorts of in pretty bad shape.
The tale is defined in 1987, and follows Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), a The Smiths-loving tomboy having a knack for mechanics.