Over the last decade, there have been five Transformers movies which have raked in billions for Paramount Pictures despite terrible reviews. The latest was last year’s Transformers The Last Knight which garnered 16% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. However, making just over $600 million worldwide, it was the lowest grossing of the franchise and it now looks like Transformers 6 has been shelved. Nevertheless, Bumblebee – a 1980s set prequel spin-off – has found favour with the critics, with many hailing it the best Transformers movie to date.

Empire

An impassioned ode to both the toys and their era, this, at last, is the Transformers movie we’ve been waiting for. IGN

Bumblebee is the best live-action Transformers movie since the 2007 film, even though it doesn’t quite recapture the wow factor of seeing the robots in disguise come to life that very first time. The Wrap

Bumblebee is, again and easily, the best Transformers movie. Heck, it’s probably the only genuinely good Transformers movie, with nary a caveat to be found. But it’s also a lively and earnest 1980s nostalgia trip, made with affection for the era and its characters and its soundtracks and its storytelling styles and, yes, even its toys. If this is where the new Transformers franchise is headed, then let the transformation continue. Screen Junkies

Sixth time’s the charm. Bumblebee is easily the best Transformers film in the franchise. It’s what they should have been making from the very beginning. Wipe the slate clean and build from here - the Autobots finally have a solid foundation.

Bumblebee movie reviews ‘The BEST Transformers movie, the one we’ve been waiting for’

Bumblebee has been hailed by many critics

Hollywood Reporter

With Paramount’s planned Transformers 7 project shelved for now, Bumblebee could represent the studio’s next best chance to extend the franchise, if audiences throw their support behind the latest reimagining of the iconic entertainment property. Telegraph

The result is derivative twice over – Epcot futurism meets Tears For Fears and Pop Tarts – but as a toy-advert movie full of artistry and heart, it’s as slyly progressive as it is shamelessly nostalgic. Screen International

Bumblebee has such obvious fondness for its characters that those shortcomings can mostly be brushed aside. Who knew underneath the hood of this franchise there could be a little heart? BUMBLEBEE: WATCH DECEPTICONS TRIPLE-CHANGERS FOR FIRST TIME IN TRANSFORMERS MOVIE

Bumblebee is set in 1980s California