Michael Bay to direct TF4 - Peter Cullen returns as Optimus

[Trent]

I thought TF2 was meant to be the last film for Michael Bay.

(then Hasbro gave him complete creative control, and commission for every TF Movie toy sold to get him back for the third one... I wonder what they gave him this time to sign onto a fourth. )

His very own explosion factory. In his opinion the only thing you need to make a quality movie.

[Starscream77]

I know I will cop flack for this but I really enjoyed most of 1 & 3, there were moments I cringed but overall I like them. Number 2 was horrid

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

His very own explosion factory. In his opinion the only thing you need to make a quality movie.

Hey now, that's not fair.
Michael Bay knows there are other things you need to make a good movie too - things like boobs, butts, fart jokes, and the US army.

I for one eagerly await the coming of Michael Bay's 'Pride and Prejudice'.

[1orion2many]

I know I will cop flack for this but I really enjoyed most of 1 & 3, there were moments I cringed but overall I like them. Number 2 was horrid

I think they were all horrid, It's just number 2 made number 1 & 3 look less horrid

[theheretic]

I think ROTF was good but DOTM and Transformers was awesome. I guess you can't please all the fans. I mean look at Beast Machines.

[Trent]

First movie was good. I could overlook the flaws and see a pretty decent movie.

The rest blow. Plain and simple.

[GoktimusPrime]

The first movie was good -- it captured the spirit of G1 cartoon quite well.
The second movie was just too "try hard," the first movie was simpler and worked better. The 2nd movie got too convoluted for its own good and got tied up in its own inconsistent mess.
The third movie was better than the second, but still too convoluted and not enough plot consistency.

The entire trilogy lacks substance and real character driven stories. So many of the Transformers, especially the Decepticons are NOT treated as characters but as set pieces... like giant robots coming to get-choo!

Good characters are ones that the audience empathises with and emotionally invests in; we have to CARE about them. Okay, I was upset when they killed Ironhide -- that was well done. And when Bumblebee was about to be executed, that was a really emotionally tense scene -- my heart was pounding and I was at the edge of my seat during that moment! So well done there too. But I didn't really care about the deaths of any other Transformer in the entire trilogy. The death of Optimus Prime in ROTF was done well too -- but as a long time fan that has no effect on me since we all know that Hasbro would never allow anyone to kill Optimus Prime permanently. But maybe that was a tense moment for non fan audiences. But other than that... meh. Megatron died twice, both times I didn't really care either way.

Look at The Dark Knight Rises... I was able to empathise with all the main characters in that film at some stage at some level -- even Bane. A good story is one where you give a crap about the characters and what happens to them. I find that the Bay movies don't develop the Transformers enough as characters that makes audiences have that emotional connection with them. Instead it's mostly watching them do cool action fight stuff and go "WWWHHHHHOOOOOOOAAAAA!!" Look at Yoda... his best moments wasn't when he was jumping around with a light sabre during the Clone Wars, but when he was a decrepit hermit living in a swamp teaching Luke Skywalker how to be a Jedi. I mean, if you'd never seen the Original Trilogy before, and you were watching the Prequels for the first time -- if Yoda had been killed in Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith, I don't think audiences would've really cared -- not much more than say the deaths of any other Jedi in those movies (Qui Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Aayla Secura, Kit Fisto, Even Piel, Coleman Trebor, Plo Koon, Ki Adi Mundi and the rest of the Jedi who were killed under Order 66). But when we see Yoda dying in Return of the Jedi, and Luke goes, "Master Yoda, you can't die..." <--- that was really emotional! No fancy CG effects and explosions... just a muppet with a throw blanket.

[Demonac]

None of the movies are good.
They might be enjoyable, but don't get that confused with quality.

[gamblor916]

None of Michael Bay's movies are good.
They might be enjoyable, but don't get that confused with quality.

Fixed it for you

[Megatron]

...
Good characters are ones that the audience empathises with and emotionally invests in; we have to CARE about them. Okay, I was upset when they killed Ironhide -- that was well done. And when Bumblebee was about to be executed, that was a really emotionally tense scene -- my heart was pounding and I was at the edge of my seat during that moment! So well done there too. But I didn't really care about the deaths of any other Transformer in the entire trilogy. The death of Optimus Prime in ROTF was done well too -- but as a long time fan that has no effect on me since we all know that Hasbro would never allow anyone to kill Optimus Prime permanently. But maybe that was a tense moment for non fan audiences. But other than that... meh. Megatron died twice, both times I didn't really care either way.
...

Yeah, well, I'm sure he wouldn't care about you either.

Actually whilst we're on this topic, I remember Jazz's demise in the first movie absolutely shocked and devastated me... I still can't bring myself to watch that scene again.