All the best moments in the movie — pure images, devoid of symbol and, for that matter, nearly empty of sense — go by too fast, are held too briefly (…). Bay’s highest inspirations are those of a virtually experimental filmmaker of pure sensation; the rush of sensation is also a temptation for experimental filmmakers who often don’t keep their own images onscreen very long (cf. Stan Brakhage). The absolute tastelessness of Bay’s images, their stultifying service to platitudes and to merchandise, doesn’t at all diminish their wildly imaginative power.
(…)
What matters is that there’s a car chase through London, seen from the level of tires, that could have gone on for an hour, um, tirelessly.
Richard Brody, ‘With “Transformers: The Last Knight,” Michael Bay Has Become an Experimental Filmmaker of Pure Sensations’, The New Yorker, 2017, June 20.