I would have been even cool with them taking out the obvious scenes that took this into PG-13 territory and just kept it "PG".

though it doesn't speak to the quality of this film I was actually kind of reminded of '80s Spielberg (the "E.T." feel, and also the PG-13 shit) meets 1990 Ninja Turtles film (if for anything, the level of unexpected darkness at points) meets... Iron Man 3 (which was probably the worst solo Iron Man film). but it wasn't a complete nostalgia fest either.

I would rate it probably a strong B or B-, because the flaws are there. But I definitely got a better feel for this film than I did the 2007 movie. this is what I was expecting. for Sam to be what Charlie is into this film.

the only thing is this is pretty much a "one-time" bag. if they make another Transformers film, they won't be able to '80s it up. and that's the point at which you wonder if these films will be worth watching or continued diminishing returns. I was done after the first Bay film, and from what I hear (and in some cases saw) they got worse. more sexual innuendo, grossout shit, lack of narrative, shitty robot designs, so on and so forth.

I'm just glad that it wasn't a real "product placement" fest either.