Terminator Salvation was so flawed at the script level, it was embarrassing. Why did the first two Terminators work so well? Because they had characters with such strong goals. The Terminator has to kill. The others have to get away or destroy him. Simple sure. But extremely effective.

We don't even know what the hell the characters in TS want until 3/4 of the way through the movie. This is what happens when you allow someone with no story sense to choose the direction of the film.

Also, to not at least recognize Michael Bay's particular brand of spectacle-based artistry is short-sighted. I know you hate him and his films, but the man is a showman in a way that only a few other directors are. Transformers 2 was one of the largest looking and most expensive looking movies of all time. The action sequences were beyond insane, both in their technical complexity, but also in their overall visual construction. I admit that he's not as successful with the comedy and the drama and he has a tin ear for dialogue, but he consistently delivers on a popcorn-movie level that so few others manage to do.

Case in point, G.I. Joe, which was a cheap looking Bay knock-off that was truly abysmal.