Film Actually more interesting than they look, if you give them a chance
I remember how polarizing these movies were [and still are], both within the tf fanbase[of which I'm a part of since TF: Armada] and cinema in general.
So what I'm about to say will probably make most of you try to hang me for treason: I think these movies actually do have some meaning to them. Not just mindless action [the action is amazing, though], but actually pretty good things writing-wise.
In my opinion, the first movie already deserves credit for managing to make the concept even work in live-action [talking transforming cars = ridiculous for a live-action movie], the first movie takes itself seriously, it does a lot of work to explain that otherwise preposterous concept seriously: It explains why they turn into cars, why they can speak english, it spends a lot of time showing Decepticons and Autobots as real war-machines in a War Is Hell. Optimus spends half of his screen-time grieving the generations lost. The entire concept could have easily turned out stupid, and it didn't.
The second movie is a trainwreck, the only posivite points being some amusing characters and how it expands on the series' mythology.
Dark Of The Moon was a return to form in my opinion. Less in terms of concept exploring and more in terms of character. Sentinel was a very well-developed villain whose motivations were interesting. He wasn't a moustache twirling madman, but a man trying to save his world. Megatron had tragedy added to his character ["Cybertron, you are saved...at last."]. Optimus gets excellent dialogue with his former mentor. These characters are well done, even with their reduced screen-time.
The movies have flaws: The humans are shallow and receives too much focus, the pace is everywhere, the humour is sometimes Toilet Humour and second on onwards, the plot gets so complicated you have to re-watch to comprehend the plot. BUT when the movie actually takes its time to focus on the cybertronians and their culture, it can have a surprising amount of depth. Not masterpieces of writing, but a entertaining amount of depth/exploration.
The review's title/my last point: "If you give it a chance". If you go 100% expecting a dumb Michael Bay flick, you will see them as such. If you judge them as normal movies and forget Michael Bay's reputation, you can see surprising amount of interesting things.
Film I'm No Critic But....
I enjoyed the first two movies, and while I have not seen the third , I will say it looks good. Now, I'm just an average person, and I will try to respect the opinions of others. Also, I am not saying the two movies were perfect, the second one had plot holes big enough for Texas to fall through, but they were still enjoyable.
Both movies had stunning visual effects, I think. Seeing the first one was the first time I stopped and thought, 'Wow, that looks so real!' And say what you will about the movies, but not only is the CGI good, the non-CGI is something to appreciate too, I think. You have to respect that the explosions and destruction is real for the most part. That is a bus being destroyed, those explosions in the sand are real, the Hoover Dam and Pyramids are really there, and so on.
The human focus for the movies is another thing I actually like. I like seeing humans shown so positively. Throughout the Transformer franchises, the humans have been useless all throughout, whether young or old. Here, they have a purpose. They're not just there to die or to look scared, they're able to fight back and help the Autobots win. I love positive portrayals of humanity, and this movie gave me one of the most positive. Besides, rendering the movements of all those Transformers was incredibly hard. The human focus was needed or else they would have gone way over budget most likely.
The goofy humor is another thing I enjoy. Yes, sometimes it is stupid, but it does work for the most part. Maybe I'm just a stupid guy, but that's just my opinion.
I'll cut this review short as I do not want to drag this on. I'll just leave this as a closing statement. These movies make all that money for a reason and it is not because people are stupid. At least, I don't think so.
Film One of my guilty pleasures
Many people find Michael Bay's Transformers movies terrible. In several ways, they are. The four films have attracted a lot of criticism, most of which I'm not going to disagree with. But despite this, I feel that these movies can be enjoyed somewhat regardless.
Firstly, I'm going to say that I disagree with the idea that "Michael Bay ruined Transformers". To me, the franchise has never been a thing one can "ruin". It's a film series based on a toy line of transforming alien robots that fight against other transforming alien robots. The source material isn't poignant and sophisticated like the Harry Potter books, so the Transformers films were never meant to be perfect or even particularly great. This hardly excuses the problems that the four films have, but I'm certain that they wouldn't have been much improved if any other director had made these movies. In fact, they might have been even worse if Bay wasn't behind them.
The major problems of these movies are obvious: The human characters are uninteresting, and the acting is often poor. The dialogue is pretty clumsy and the jokes can be shockingly distasteful. The storylines are laughably over-complicated and at times make no sense. Lastly, the films are pretty long and can become very tiresome for some.
However, if you look past these damaging flaws, there are three huge positives here. Firstly, the designs of the robots are brilliantly detailed and the transforming effects look mind-blowingly intricate. In my opinion, every time something in these movies transforms, it's always jaw-droppingly creative and realistic. The second huge positive of this film series is the action, which, to me, is almost always massively enjoyable and thrilling - and whenever the action gets too chaotic, it becomes humorous instead, so it's still pretty enjoyable for me. And finally, I really love the war-zone atmosphere in the movies. While I personally care little for the actual story of this series, I find the basic concept of giant robots using our planet as a battlefield fascinating, making the constant explosive action feel all the more important and exciting.
In conclusion, the Transformers movies aren't meant to be taken seriously. They're deliberately over-the-top and stupid. It's giant, overpowered robots beating the crap out of each other, and I can't help but love it.