A surprisingly great action spin-off is among the movies on TV tonight

It holds an impressive 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.

When you think of the Transformers films, the words ‘heartwarming’ and ‘fresh’ don’t necessarily come to mind immediately. However, that’s exactly what spinoff flick Bumblebee brings to the table for the exhausted action franchise.

The 2018 movie takes place in the year 1987, and focuses on Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) a young teenager trying to find her place in the world, who suddenly comes across the broken and battered transformer Bumblebee taking refuge in a small California beach town.

What follows is a heartwarming and nostalgic tale, very unlike the Transformers movies before it, that brings a fresh twist to the franchise that nobody was really expecting.

Reviewers picked out Steinfeld’s performance as a highlight, with a Vulture review saying, “Steinfeld is an enormously talented actress, and the film knows to spend some time with her and not try to hurry things along to the next big set piece.”

The Washington Post added that Bumblebee “tones down everything that made its predecessors weak, while adding humour, emotion and a surprising amount of heart.”

Dylan O’Brien and John Cena also star in Bumblebee, which you can catch on Film Four at 6.45pm tonight.

Here are some of the other movies on TV this evening.

S.W.A.T. – Film Four – 9pm

A very mediocre noughties action flick starring a fresh-faced Colin Farrell, Samuel L. Jackson, Michelle Rodriguez, LL Cool J and Jeremy Renner.

The Breakfast Club – Comedy Central – 9pm

Don’t you forget about this iconic 80’s coming-of-age flick about a group of five different students from various stereotypical High School cliques bonding during their detention.

When Harry Met Sally – BBC One – 10.30pm

This beloved rom-com starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan is commonly named as the best movie ever to come out of the genre.

Charlie’s Angels – Film Four – 11.20pm

2000 action adventure, based on the TV series, starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Bill Murray.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Channel 4 – 12.05am

Eva Green stars in this Tim Burton-directed fantasy film as the headmistress of a mysterious children’s home for kids with supernatural abilities.

The Empty Man – Channel 4 – 2.15am

An underseen horror from 2020 which follows an ex-cop who, upon an investigation into a missing girl, discovers a secret cult.

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