A montage tribute to American genre filmmaker Michael Bay.
In a word...Michael Bay's films are FUN. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Bad Boys," "The Rock," "Armageddon," much more) and Steven Spielberg ("Transformers" Franchise) recognized Michael Bay's visual and storytelling talents early in his career as a young man working in advertising. Whatever anyone wants to say about Michael Bay, I do not give a ****. This man is a legend not matter how you slice it, his box office numbers are outrageous and he is one of the greatest or most successful genre/action filmmakers ever.
Michael Bay's films (sometimes) are a bit long but he works very hard as a filmmaker to make every moment SLEEK, FAST and VISUALLY ENGAGING. Bay is also apparently like a drill Sargent with his cast and crew but it is extremely difficult to make films like this and while it is not always "nice" to be this way to people, he is able to get the job done and most people respect him even after the intense on set experience because of the quality of work he produces. There has also been far too many "Transformers" films made, I think, but did you see "6 Underground?" It is unbelievable.
Would it really be a Michael Bay analysis without a discussion of the box office money he has generated? No it wouldn't be, so I will be using thenumbers.com for each one of those. Here is that list with the numbers his films have generated in the box office as director, some of these as a producer too.
It is probably important that American filmmakers study directors like Michael Bay because some of these are crowning achievements of the American filmmaking system, where genre/lead actors is an obsession. While some may not consider Michael Bay to be "artistic" I disagree. I think Michael Bay is an artist who has made financially successful genre films for massive audiences. Whether or not the we agree with his personality or life choices (do we really know who he is?) are not part of this discussion we are just looking at the film work.
BAD BOYS (1995)
A fun film that makes WILL SMITH and MARTIN LAWRENCE into the stars they should be. Michael Bay uses the buddy cop format to exceed expectations in this funny and quick paced action film.
THE ROCK (1996)
This is a bit of a bigger move for Bay because we see the inclusion of established actors. This is a great plot with some incredible visual moments that start to establish Bay as a director who can build beautiful visual moments into an action-packed plot.
ARMAGEDDON (1998)
The camera never stops moving in "Armageddon," it is relentless and Bay covers dialogue scenes from 7 different angles and cuts between all of them rapidly and each one is moving, dolly in, sliding, panning. This energy works well, it is sort of like sprinting the entire length of a marathon run due to the film's long run time. The overall effect is remarkable, a massive film that synthesizes plot, character, Bay's visual moments, story and thrills.
PEARL HARBOR (2001)
A good film that is able to take Michael Bay to another level of professional filmmaking. Subject matter here is more serious and Bay handles it well, it could be argued it is much better in his hands than in another directors because his understanding of chaotic action and how to synthesis everything happening in a chaotic action sequence into a tense, exciting adrenaline ride for the audience is now notably one of his greatest skills as a director. This is so noticeable that we will soon associate Michael Bay with this mayhem action scene directing...Michael Bay himself and others will call it "BAYHEM."
BAD BOYS 2 (2003)
Even better than number one, Michael Bay brings together all the things he values in a film - chaotic action sequences, humor, explosions, beautiful women and moments of jaw-dropping visual images. Bay seems to often involve that orange California daylight mixed with a teal/blue color palette in the set-design or location/prop choice. These complimentary colors will define the visual look of almost all of his films...just look at all these posters to prove this, below.
TRANSFORMERS (2007)
A fun action film that is the very pinnacle of the franchise. The "Transformers" films are a high-schools boy's dream come true essentially...a badass car, a beautiful girlfriend and a robot mech as a best-friend. In this franchise, Bay's background in advertising, love of action and tastes seem to come together in this fun summer film adventure.
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009)
Another film that is similar to number 1.
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON (2011)
The final "Transformers" that will star Shia Lebouf and no Megan Fox, which is a little jarring. These actors are really the core of the franchise and why the people who went to see these movies could relate to a giant robot battle scenario. Without them, it is hard for us to get behind the action for some reason.
PAIN AND GAIN (2013)
A funny film that feels almost like the anti-hero downfall films of Martin Scorsese like "Goodfellas" and "The Wolf of Wallstreet." What if ambition and status was not carefully achieved but instead smashed into like a sledgehammer and taken by force. A cautionary tale that feels like a Michael Bay film but lacks a lot of what make his other work so much fun. This is probably because this is an illustration of a person's downfall and mistakes, therefore we do not truly root for them or even hate them. Bay's films almost always work better when we just simply want the hero to "win" and fight to get the girl and stop the bad guy.
TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION (2014)
It feels a little dead without the earlier cast, I am surprised I felt that way. Action is still incredible.
13 HOURS (2016)
Michael Bay's most mature film so to speak, his love for America is always a part of him but this is a damn fine war film that was important to make and it is great that Michael Bay made it.
TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT (2017)
I do not think this franchise has anywhere left to go and I think even Michael Bay would agree.
6 UNDERGROUND (2019)
By far and away this is Michael Bay's greatest achievement in filmmaking. This film has everything you would expect in a Bay film cool cars/chases, beautiful women who are interesting/strong characters too, unique/chaotic action, military style operations, fighting for freedom, shots of the SUN in relation to a character to create flare, slow-motion, small jokes, ensemble casts and fighting for a bigger cause. The opening sequence alone is one of the very best action sequences I think that has ever been made, certainly one of the greatest car chases ever.