You are not a moron, just like people who might like Rampage are not morons

The Transformers movies are great and Michael Bay is a Jean-Luc Godard-level master of his craft.

WELCOME TO MY WORLD TREE

I’ve said for years that story doesn’t matter in film. Characterization is generally more important, but neither is relevant to what makes Transformers interesting and unique.

Story matters, aesthetics matter, characterization matters, each one of those elements may be more or less important in each individual film according to the filmmakers' vision but they are all part of what makes cinema a powerful and enduring artform. LV's take on this is wrongheaded

My personal opinion is without good aesthetics, a movie can still be good, but without story/characterization (equally important), the movie is worthless. Aesthetics can enhance the experience of good story/characterization. I have a hard time watching Space Odyssey for this reason. I love the aesthetics but the story moves at a snail's pace and the characterization is nearly non-existent, aside from HAL, the strongest character in the movie.

Obviously I’m being hyperbolic when I say story “doesn’t matter,” but the spirit of what I’m saying is essentially honest. I think plot/story is generally the least interesting part of cinema, can often be a hindrance, and - crucially - two films can be made with identical stories and one of them can be great and one can be shit.