I would have loved if we saw Optimus experience PTSD, like not explain, but show it. Because the movies don't do that when somebody said, Prime acts that way because he has PTSD, he's hurting...i don't see it. all i see is someone killing left and right. Who I'm i kidding, it's Bay. Maybe in the new movies, because i would like to see everything that happens stick with Prime, show that it's haunting him, and just..scared of ever losing himself.

 

Is that not what AOE is? When he wakes up in the barn? His character arc is supposed to be him reaffirming his faith in humanity after being scarred by a traumatic experience (Sentinel's betrayal followed by the humans turning on the Autobots). Cade helps him overcome his cynicism and fear following his trauma. Or that was the intent anyways.

 

I hear ya. . .In a much better-written series of movies, not only would we see a clear indication of Optimus' PTSD, but I'd even show him proactively dealing with treating it and healing from it, i.e., with the assistance of a cinematic equivalent of a character like Rung. Then again, in the bayverse, characterization pretty much rides the back of the bus, and spectacle not only sits up front-it also drives the bus, too. . .

 

That was probably their intention, but they definitely failed and he moreso just came off as selectively unhinged for the sake of a scene rather than a character genuinely suffering from PTSD.

Though something tells me the primary audience for these films would struggle to grasp deeper concepts anyway, just a hunch.

 

I mean, yeah, that absolutely was the intention - however, the problem lies in the script.

In fact, a lot of the Bayverse story beats were good ideas - the problem is simply they are poorly executed by writers and a director who don't want to step outside the box.

In fact, Bay has openly said he will never change his style - and it probably cost him a Best Director Oscar for Pearl Harbour. Having seen it in History class yonks ago, it's actually a pretty good film - historical inconsistencies aside.

That's why the MCU always make good films, because they hire, for the most part, non-action backgrounds. Most of their directors have backgrounds in comedy, horror or drama - hell, with Ken Branagh, even Shakespeare.

The reason why is these people are used to looking at a film and thinking about story and characterisation - because in comedy and drama, you don't have big action-heavy sequences to fall back on if the story or characters have lost you. In those genres, everything revolves around the story and the characters - if you don't have either of those, you've lost the audience.

Rather sadly, you are probably right; well, they wouldn't care more likely, if my fourteen-year-old cousin who said that Dinobot's redemption arc, which dealt with themes of fate and self-determinism, in Beast Wars was "faggy" is to be believed.

If you want a film that got those deeper concepts right, watch How To Train Your Dragon 2. That film portrayed grief, loss and war far better than AOE did; Hiccup losing his father is absolutely gutwrenching, the scenes with Drago are legitimately horrifying and the action sequences are far more compelling.

How sad is that? When the so-called "kids' films" actually deal with mature topics better than the so-called mature movies, you know something is very, very wrong.