[cracks knuckles]
[cracks neck]
[jumps up in place a couple times]

Alright, let's do this.

I enjoy watching the entire Transformers trilogy. I do not enjoy Michael Bay's (or the writer's?) sense of humor and I think he needs to fire his editor and hire someone with a less music video, trendy style.  (Or shut up and leave his editor the hell alone).

Underrated is not the right word for the trilogy. Plenty of people love them. Filmmakers, geeks and old school Transformers fans hate them. I think starting from Sam leaving Carlie to investigate the Decepticon movements in Dark of the Moon until the end is some of Michael Bay's finest work. The highway chase, the Mexican standoff, Ironhide's death (I almost cried), the Decepticon invasion, the space shuttle explosion, Sam saving Carlie, the paratroopers, surviving the falling building, death of Starscream (aka how a human killed a Leader Class) and omg, Optimus vs. Sentinel, not to mention the best line of the series:
"After all, who would you be without me, Prime?"
"Time to find out." [CLANK]
I was edge of my seat the entire time, totally gripped by the character moments in the films, human and robot alike.

Revenge of the Fallen is the biggest mess, obviously, but the action is still spectacular and the story they were going for was good enough. Less college, more "the last Prime", kthx.
I like to imagine what that movie would be like without Leo.

The original film was the best way to tell the story, a boy and his car, but I wish they'd skipped out on the CIA/hacker storyline. Sam and the soldiers was all we needed.
A big argument I'd see is that the humans were the main characters, not the Transformers, but I think that's partially comes from storytelling, but also practicality. Good luck affording/rendering the VFX on a film where the bots are the main character in almost every scene.
The main plot was a good story, I enjoyed it.

So, I have tons of nitpicky things that irk me every time I watch them, but overall, I think they picked the right director for the job. Otherwise, it'd have come out like Green Lantern or Airbender, I'm sure of it. The franchise would have been done after the first film, who knows if it'd have been given a second chance. It was not exactly a high-art source material they were working with, but I think they took that silly cartoon and made it into something truly special.
Though, I am getting curious to see what someone else would with it now that the precedent has been set.

As for Episode I, any time it comes up I will offer the opinion that it is a great sci-fi movie and a terrible Star Wars film and leave it at that.

I can't decide if my most controversial opinion is that Ang Lee's Hulk is a work of art, or that the Transformers: Dark of the Moon is.
The latter, you have to ignore most of the first act of the film, whereas Hulk I enjoy start to finish.

And I think Zack Snyder will be later recognized as a formidable auteur of our era.

I choose Hulk.
Because it's the easiest to defend and also because it gets so much crap and I don't get why. It's a great drama that gives a full understanding of our hero, where he comes from, who he is and where he's headed. It tells a complete arc instead of holding out for a sequel (even though it does lead into one). It's all high caliber actors giving exceptional performances and the movie has more style than most generic origin stories that have been pumped out by the studios combined.

It's unique, it's interesting, compelling and exciting. Good drama, cool action, dynamic cinematography and great actors. Why don't people like this movie?!

omg where has this thread been all my life

I'll post something when I'm not having to leave for work!

So I actually watched like five movies this last weekend, including Dogma, Matrix Reloaded, Hellboy, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and I wrapped it all up with:

And damnit, I want #3.