Bumblebee

This spin-off episode from the Transformers series mixes The Iron Giant with The Love Bug, as the massive but lovable robot of the title takes refuge in 1980s San Francisco. After taking the form of a Volkswagen Beetle, Bumblebee is befriended by a teenage girl (Hailee Steinfeld) and becomes embroiled in all manner of high jinks while adapting to life on Earth, but evil pursuers are closing in. Less dependent on the bangs and crashes of the earlier Transformers films helmed by Michael Bay, it's a much warmer, family-friendly affair, as director Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings) delivers a succession of well-executed laughs and sight gags, with splendid human support from Steinfeld, John Cena and Pamela Adlon. There's more than enough mayhem for movie fans with an appetite for destruction, but the core story possesses the heart of a Steven Spielberg crowd-pleaser.