Admittably, the Transformers Franchise got worse with every movie since its really interesting first one. But Age of Extinction has to be seen as a reset of the universe. It got rid of most of the really cringy and annoying assets like Sam and some of the annoying perverted Transformers. It doesn't try to be very deep and interesting, the plot is simple and easy, a bit too long, yes, but at no point I got annoyed by the story. Most of the characters, especially the autobots have destinct roles, they don't have to be introduced, they're part of the team and do their job. Gelvatron has a really nice plottwist and some scenes are decently funny. The whole movie has some Logan vibes to it, of course without very deep conflict and not near as much emotion.
I guess people still go into the movies and watch Transformers with some kind of expectation about a surprisingly good plot or expect that Bay suddenly changes his style from brainless explosion slaughter to something deep. But if you watch this film with no expectations, or at least want some action and good fighting for an evening with friends, you will be pleasently surprised. The film delivers exactly this, Good Action.
I guess people still go into the movies and watch Transformers with some kind of expectation about a surprisingly good plot or expect that Bay suddenly changes his style from brainless explosion slaughter to something deep. But if you watch this film with no expectations, or at least want some action and good fighting for an evening with friends, you will be pleasently surprised. The film delivers exactly this, Good Action.