Of all the Transformer movies, this one was probably less bad than the second and third, mainly because Shia LeBeouf wasn't in it. Despite the usual incoherent plots going all over the place and blatant product placement shoveled all over you, I actually thought the cast for this particular movie was much better than what we've had in the past. John Goodman as Hound, Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci, Titus Welliver, and Mark Wahlberg made the movie much more palatable than its predecessors. It was particularly nice to see Frank Welker as the voice of Galvatron (for the two or three lines he had, anyway). I was surprised to see Optimus get a bit of character development, didn't expect that to happen.
But in the end, despite some good points, it was still more of the same from Michael Bay. If any are wondering why I would fork over the cash to see this dreck, well, it's because my wife (also a big Transformers fan) and I enjoy watching these movies MST3K style and having a good laugh at them! We are both of the opinion that if the actual Transformers were made the primary characters and humans relegated to a supporting role, these movies would improve. Oh, and getting a writer and director that have the first idea about the property would help too, not hacks who throw in useless fanwank every now and then.