Day: December 29, 2018

On Cybertron, the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, are on the verge of losing their civil war with their enemies, the Decepticons, and begin making preparations to leave the planet. The Decepticons ambush them during the evacuation, and Optimus sends a young scout, B-127, to Earth in order to set up a base of operations where the Autobots can regroup. B-127 reaches Earth alone, crash-landing in California and disrupting a training exercise being conducted by Sector 7, a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial activity on Earth. Sector 7 Colonel Jack Burns presumes B-127 to be a hostile invader and attacks, driving B-127 into the forest, where he is then ambushed by the Decepticon Blitzwing. When B-127 refuses to reveal Optimus’s whereabouts, Blitzwing spitefully tears out his voicebox and damages his memory core; despite this, B-127 manages to kill Blitzwing before collapsing from his wounds. Before entering stasis, B-127 scans and transforms into a nearby 1967 Volkswagen Beetle.

Charlie Watson, a teenage outcast traumatized by the death of her father and resentful of her mother Sally for remarrying, finds B-127 in his Beetle form in a scrap yard belonging to her uncle Hank, who gives it to her as a birthday present. Upon starting B-127, Charlie unknowingly accidentally activates a homing signal that is detected in space around the surface of one of Saturn’s moons by Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick, just as they are in the middle of interrogating the captive Autobot Cliffjumper. After brutally killing him for defiance, the pair head to Earth, where they masquerade as peacekeepers to persuade Sector 7 to help them find and capture B-127, whom they deceive into thinking is a dangerous criminal.

Meanwhile, Charlie revives and befriends the amnesiac B-127, whom she nicknames “Bumblebee” and teaches him how to communicate through his radio. Together, they unlock a message from Optimus urging Bumblebee to defend Earth in their absences, which restores some of his memories. Bumblebee is discovered by Charlie’s neighbor Memo, who agrees to protect their secret due to his feelings for Charlie. Left alone, Bumblebee accidentally destroys Charlie’s living room and causes an energy spike that attracts Sector 7’s attention. When Sally blames Charlie for the destruction, Charlie angrily leaves with Bumblebee and Memo, only for the group to be intercepted by Sector 7, Shatter, and Dropkick. Bumblebee is captured while Charlie and Memo are returned home. Charlie finally expresses her pain over her father’s death and makes amends with her brother, who helps Charlie follow Burns to the Sector 7 outpost where Bumblebee is being held. Shatter and Dropkick torture Bumblebee into revealing the Autobots’ whereabouts and leave him for dead after revealing their plan to bring the Decepticons to Earth. Powell is killed before informing Burns the truth about Decepticons. Charlie revives and restores the rest of Bumblebee’s memories with one of Sector 7’s high voltage guns. After fighting past Burns’ obstruction and attempt to re-secure Bumblebee, the pair set out to prevent Shatter and Dropkick from contacting the Decepticons with a beacon. Burns and his men also attempt to stop Shatter and Dropkick, but Shatter destroys their helicopter and nearly kills Burns, who is saved by Bumblebee.

Bumblebee kills Dropkick and Charlie deactivates the Decepticon beacon, causing an enraged Shatter to pursue her. Bumblebee causes a flash flood by puncturing a dam wall, crushing Shatter under the rubble, before being rescued by Charlie. Realizing that he had been wrong about Bumblebee, Burns buys them time to escape before the army arrives. Charlie, realizing that Bumblebee has a greater purpose on Earth, tearfully parts ways with him. After saying goodbye, Bumblebee scans a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro and drives away. Charlie returns to her family while Bumblebee meets up with Optimus Prime, who is disguised as a red 1977 Freightliner semi truck, as more Autobots arrive on Earth.