So much hatred for the movie yet it made so much money?

It's because people in the USA are idiots

I just watched the movie for the first time. I found the first 2/3 of the film to be genuinely enjoyable. There's an interesting story, some good humor, good performances and some good action.

The problem is that the story falls apart a little in the final act--there was one specific plot element which really confused me--and it's also just too long. Clean up the story a little and bring the film in right at the two hour mark and you have a pretty enjoyable sci-fi actioner from start to finish.

I watched the start today and gave up. I got just far enough to discover that Bumblebee did not originate in the eponymous movie (which I actually quite like) and decide I didn't particularly like either of the stars. The one Transformers movie I have watched (I don't count Bumblebee as a transformers movie because I thought I was sitting down to watch something else) didn't work for me either so maybe it's not surprising I gave up so quickly.
I was surprised they used Diego Garcia as the base. It's a controversial place and perhaps it would have been more sensible to have a totally fictional location?

Because Michael Bay specifically aimed this movie (and its sequels) towards horny teenage boys and simple America. The type of audience that doesn’t want to think, doesn’t want any sort of ambiguity or challenge. No liberal hippy dippy, arthouse fart house nonsense. Just hot girls, weiner jokes, racial stereotypes, robots saying “wazzup bitch!” and tons of explosions. They are the Adam Sandler of action movies. The story is thin and almost nonexistent, but it sure is funny to watch a middle aged mom run around on edibles, or two dogs hump. And hey, one robot punched another robot. Now that’s what I call entertainment. Sell me a ticket or two, I’m bringing the whole family!

Honestly, well, I liked it. True, you never appreciate a movie that wasn't made (think Matrix Resurrections which after 2 viewings I also like, but lots of people have disliked). but. Transformers. whaddayawant? (and I'm saying this as someone who owned some of the original plastic toys in about 1990) you want.....massive robots that blast the cr*p out of each other. and T/F 2 had this. I thought Dark of the Moon tried to be too much (taking apart an entire city, the special effects couldn't quite handle it), but T/F 2.....forest fight....a combine-o-tron (Devastator - can't remember what the official name for that toy was). yeah I mean they are called Bay-splosions because Michael Bay has a reputation for just blowing everything up. but. robots. missiles. bang. tons of it. yay.

Would anyone recommend watching this film? I liked the first one but avoided this movie like the plague when I heard all the horrendous reviews. Has it gotten better in retrospect, as is the case with many films?