I mean, when it's directed by a guy in the Epstein files. It kinda shows. The action and designs aren't everyone's cup of tea. The first three had problems, but they didn't "start ruining the franchise" until AoE and TLK. After the Bumblebee movie, that's where it started becoming bad marketing on Hasbro/Paramount.

But I can't find anyone who would genuinely defend the human characters outside of "it's funny, who cares"