I enjoy the films of Michael Bay.
This is a controversial statement I am sure. Most people are either in three camps: A) Those who hate Michael Bay films. B) Those who hate Michael Bay himself, or C) Those who are in both camps A and B.
Michael Bay is controversial no doubt about it. But, let's consider something for a moment. Transformers: Age of Extinction opens in theaters this weekend. The film is estimated to make a huge amount of money at the box office. It begs the question, if critics and a majority of people hate Michael Bay, why do his movies keep making huge sums of money? Are the critics wrong and out of touch with audiences?
One thing that is undeniable: Bay has a visual flair to his style of filmmaking. With his first few films, he brought such a style to his films that many film directors have gravitated towards that style. Look at Zack Snyder for example.
Snyder has brought a brand of frenetic filmmaking to cinema that I think is somewhat a direct result of Michael Bay. Think about his last film, the Superman epic Man of Steel. The whole last third of that film was pretty much one giant action set piece that was unrelenting. It felt like a Michael Bay film without Michael Bay actually directing it. Starting with Bad Boys II, most of Bay's film's has ended with third acts that have been pretty much all action and little character development. Since this style has made Bay millions at the box office, many directors obviously have gone to this style. Snyder is just one of many it seems.
If Bay has a great visual flair that is unique among his contemporaries, his lack of storytelling ability makes him stand out just as much as any other filmmaker. In fact, I am even of the opinion that the reason Bay doesn't get any of the respect that other action directors like James Cameron and Ridley Scott get is because he just doesn't care about character and plot. He just cares more about action and movement.
Ridley Scott for instance had a lot of the same criticism early in his career. That he was more interested in mood and visuals than he was in actually three dimensional characters. At the time of the film's release, Roger Ebert was quoted in his review of Scott's 1985 fantasy film Legend as saying that "Performances tend to get lost in productions like this. I particularly noticed how easily (Tom) Cruise got buried in the role of Jack. Here is the talented young actor from "Risky Business," where he came across as a genuine individual, and this time he's so overwhelmed by sets and special effects that his character could be played by anybody."
But Scott has improved as a filmmaker as the years have gone on. Look at Thelma & Louise, G.I. Jane, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Matchstick Men, and American Gangster. Scott's signature visuals are still there, but he has gained a better sense of story and character. He has shown growth as a filmmaker.
This is something that Bay, according to his critics, has not shown. Box office-wise he has grown. As of this writing, Michael Bay films have grossed an estimated $1.8 Billion Dollars at the box office. He is in the top five all time highest grossing filmmakers, bested only by Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, and James Cameron. So Bay is obviously doing something right.
But is Bay's inability to grow as a filmmaker a part of the Hollywood environment as much as anything else. Look around the film industry today. Many of the top filmmakers in the industry are stuck in what many people call "franchise mode." Instead of doing original films that they could put their own personal stamp on, many directors are having to direct big budget films in order to just get the chance to direct a personal project that they like. Look at Marc Webb for instance. His first film was the very well received romantic comedy/drama 500 Days of Summer. The film felt much much the stamp of a new filmmaker on the rise. What has Webb done since then? Two Spider-Man films. Both of which were reboots which frankly no one really was asking for. And while The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider Man 2 both had some great genuine character moments that Webb had brought to 500 Days of Summer, both of those films felt impersonal. Any director really could have stepped in a directed them.
And it is not just Webb. Bay is busy with the Transformers films. Justin Win just finished up a stint directing four Fast & Furious films and is busy prepping the next Jason Bourne film. Peter Jackson is just about finished up directing the new Hobbit Trilogy and has expressed interest in directing another Tintin film. Ridley Scott is rumored to be setting sequels to both Prometheus and Blade Runner. Today it is just hard for a director to do anything that else. Bay is often criticized for this but is it really fair to blame him all for this.
Bay after all seems to enjoy making big budget films. He has been famously quoted as saying "I make films for teenage boys. Oh dear, what a crime!" Maybe big budget films is what Bay is meant to do. It is easy to mock Bay for this. But he does have talent. Look at the "Got Milk?" ad that won him much acclaim.
That is a great commercial. A sign of someone who knows how to tell a story visually and in a great way.
Granted Bay can come off as snide in interviews and his storytelling can leave something to be desired. But Bay seems to know what audiences want. I respect his style. While far from my favorite director, I like Michael Bay. He is able to create great action scenes. The Humvee chase in The Rock. The asteroid attack scene at the beginning of Armageddon. The yellow Hummer wiping out the Cuban village in Bad Boys II and so on.
Bay's style is something I think Hollywood was going towards anyways. Bay just happened to be the guy to usher that style in. It is easy to hate Michael Bay. I am one of the few that likes his style. I just don't think critics will ever give him decent notices and frankly Bay doesn't seem to care. He gets to direct big budget films that make huge sums of money and he gets to direct commercials with Victoria Secret models. Hate the man all you want. He is probably going to laugh all the way to the bank anyways.
