Is Michael Bay actually a bad director?

redowl90 said:I hope you noticed that while I was defending Bay, I intentionally left Armageddon and Pearl Harbor out of it, since those two are completely different beasts compared to the rest of his filmography. I didn't mention Bad Boys 2 either, mostly because I haven't actually seen it.

To be fair, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor really are bad movies. I’m not running away from that truth for a second: from the disastrous casting to plots that are either totally unrealistic (Armageddon) or just plain distorted (Pearl Harbor), everything about them is a mess.

On the flip side, I think Hrid actually has one of the best plots in the action genre. It isn't mindless; it actually makes sense. The villain isn't some over-the-top caricature like you see in most action flicks, which I appreciated. Plus, I missed out on an incredible score by Hans Zimmer.

The Island has a really engaging story and, at least for me, a great ending. I was genuinely surprised by how good it was, and honestly, it might just be the best film Bay has ever directed (aside from Hrid, obviously). 🙂

I’m not sure what everyone else thinks of those titles (though I'm fairly certain quietdriver3 doesn't even take these genres seriously), but personally, I find Transformers and Bad Boys to be great cinematic fun.

I haven't actually sat down to watch Transformers or The Island, so I can't really weigh in on those... I just don't have much of an appetite for any new stuff from Bay lately.
It's been ages since I saw Bad Boys or Hrid, so I decided to dig through my own list of watched and rated movies just to see what I had actually written down about Bay's work. Man, I am so glad I keep that little logbook... both a physical one and a Word doc...🙂

So, here it is:
Hrid-5/10, Bad Boys-5/10, Armageddon-3/10, Pearl Harbor-2/10.

It’s worth noting that I rated these right after they came out; if I were watching them today, they'd probably all get at least one point lower...
But hey, I guess that’s just the charm of keeping a rating list...

Bay is a mediocre director. I suppose he has never actually crafted a truly great film.
However, he possesses a certain knack for churning out perfectly watchable popcorn blockbusters, which suggests there might be some level of talent there after all. The most insightful take I’ve come across regarding his work lately was simply, "Bay can't direct, but he can blow shit up really good."

There is, of course, no comparison to be made with genuine action masters like James Cameron or Joe McTiernan (back in his prime), yet he remains significantly more capable than absolute hacks like Uwe Boll or Paul W. S. Anderson.

redowl90 said:I hope you noticed that while I was defending Bay, I intentionally left Armageddon and Pearl Harbor out of it, since those two are completely different beasts compared to the rest of his filmography. I didn't mention Bad Boys 2 either, mostly because I haven't actually seen it.

To be fair, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor really are bad movies. I’m not running away from that truth for a second: from the disastrous casting to plots that are either totally unrealistic (Armageddon) or just plain distorted (Pearl Harbor), everything about them is a mess.

On the flip side, I think Hrid actually has one of the best plots in the action genre. It isn't mindless; it actually makes sense. The villain isn't some over-the-top caricature like you see in most action flicks, which I appreciated. Plus, I missed out on an incredible score by Hans Zimmer.

The Island has a really engaging story and, at least for me, a great ending. I was genuinely surprised by how good it was, and honestly, it might just be the best film Bay has ever directed (aside from Hrid, obviously). 🙂

I’m not sure what everyone else thinks of those titles (though I'm fairly certain quietdriver3 doesn't even take these genres seriously), but personally, I find Transformers and Bad Boys to be great cinematic fun.

Dice, I honestly never thought anyone would call me out on this. 😲

Look, if we're talking about my personal all-time favorites, Raiders of the Lost Ark is probably at the top, so... I guess you could say my horizons are pretty wide open when it comes to movies like these. Maybe they're even wider than that.

But that doesn't really change the fact that Mr. Bay makes movies without any real passion. It feels like heavy mechanics. Just no sense of wonder. It's crap.

And don't even get me started on how he handles action scenes—I can never actually tell what's happening during them, so all those effects and the effort he puts in... it's kind of pointless. He might be a good choreographer, maybe, but unfortunately, it just doesn't show.

Why all the hate? The guy knows how to make an action movie, period. Just because some people can't handle "brainless" blockbusters doesn't mean they should trash a director who executes them better than anyone else.

True, if the characters had more depth and the themes were sharper, the films would be even better. But that doesn't make him a bad director or his movies bad.

Elizabeth Garcia2 said:I haven't actually sat down to watch Transformers or The Island, so I can't really weigh in on those... I just don't have much of an appetite for any new stuff from Bay lately.
It's been ages since I saw Bad Boys or Hrid, so I decided to dig through my own list of watched and rated movies just to see what I had actually written down about Bay's work. Man, I am so glad I keep that little logbook... both a physical one and a Word doc...🙂

So, here it is:
Hrid-5/10, Bad Boys-5/10, Armageddon-3/10, Pearl Harbor-2/10.

It’s worth noting that I rated these right after they came out; if I were watching them today, they'd probably all get at least one point lower...
But hey, I guess that’s just the charm of keeping a rating list...

I think you're taking Bay a little too seriously. His goal isn't to hit up film festivals and pick up awards. He wants money. And he's incredibly good at getting it.

There are serious films (which aim for, or at least try to serve, an artistic purpose) and then there are popcorn movies. Michael Bay is a popcorn movie director. The whole point of those films is to ENTERTAIN the audience, and I think Michael is currently the best in the business at that. There's no art here (nor will there ever be).

redowl90 said:I think you're taking Bay a little too seriously. His goal isn't to hit up film festivals and pick up awards. He wants money. And he's incredibly good at getting it.

There are serious films (which aim for, or at least try to serve, an artistic purpose) and then there are popcorn movies. Michael Bay is a popcorn movie director. The whole point of those films is to ENTERTAIN the audience, and I think Michael is currently the best in the business at that. There's no art here (nor will there ever be).

Signature... Spot on.

Pearl Harbor. Is there anything else worth mentioning?

The guy is essentially a killer of cinema as an art form, yet when it comes to pure entertainment, he’s perfectly engineered for that 10-to-17 demographic—or anyone else who still feels like one. He represents the quintessential director for this incredibly shallow era of filmmaking we find ourselves living through.

redowl90 said:I think you're taking Bay a little too seriously. His goal isn't to hit up film festivals and pick up awards. He wants money. And he's incredibly good at getting it.

There are serious films (which aim for, or at least try to serve, an artistic purpose) and then there are popcorn movies. Michael Bay is a popcorn movie director. The whole point of those films is to ENTERTAIN the audience, and I think Michael is currently the best in the business at that. There's no art here (nor will there ever be).

And that’s the goal... which in my case, definitely DIDN'T happen.
It wasn't fun or engaging for me, it was just BORING and EXHAUSTING...
Plus, it felt totally numbing and stupidifying.

redowl90 said:I think you're taking Bay a little too seriously. His goal isn't to hit up film festivals and pick up awards. He wants money. And he's incredibly good at getting it.

There are serious films (which aim for, or at least try to serve, an artistic purpose) and then there are popcorn movies. Michael Bay is a popcorn movie director. The whole point of those films is to ENTERTAIN the audience, and I think Michael is currently the best in the business at that. There's no art here (nor will there ever be).

That is some pretty serious art.

I honestly don't get how it makes sense to dump $2 billion into special effects when you can't even find a decent screenwriter to put together a halfway good story for the movie.

Richard Wilson4 said:I honestly don't get how it makes sense to dump $2 billion into special effects when you can't even find a decent screenwriter to put together a halfway good story for the movie.

I just had a sudden flashback to Alien vs. Predator: Requiem. How... why did that even happen? Like, what were they thinking?
Look, at the end of the day, movies—especially these massive, hundred-million-dollar blockbusters—are just business ventures. Pure and simple. The executives sitting in those high-rise offices planning these things? They probably don't even watch them. It doesn't matter. Even the most mindless, brainless blockbuster will claw back its investment and turn a profit, no matter how much it sucks. If one of those movies actually manages to cross over into actual art... well, that’s really just a lucky accident when the stars align.

Bay is basically what Paris Hilton is to the music industry

If you find his movies boring, numbing, or whatever, why on earth are you even watching them?

John Peterson3 said:If you find his movies boring, numbing, or whatever, why on earth are you even watching them?

Well, so we can actually make an educated argument when we tear him down. Look, don't take it personally if I think he's pathetic. He is essentially the embodiment of everything wrong with the industry. Because of people like him, movies have turned into mere products—designed not to entertain or offer anything meaningful to the audience, but simply to lure people into theaters just to bleed them dry.

Why is everyone being so unnecessarily critical? I mean, look—he isn't out there churning out remakes of existing classics, but in my opinion, his movies are actually decent enough to watch. Honestly, I can't wrap my head around how anyone could claim that Bad Boys isn't a good film.☕

Nathan Myers28 said:Why is everyone being so unnecessarily critical? I mean, look—he isn't out there churning out remakes of existing classics, but in my opinion, his movies are actually decent enough to watch. Honestly, I can't wrap my head around how anyone could claim that Bad Boys isn't a good film.☕

I'll probably just watch it myself to see if it's actually bad. It likely is.
☕

Samuel Smith5 said:Well, so we can actually make an educated argument when we tear him down. Look, don't take it personally if I think he's pathetic. He is essentially the embodiment of everything wrong with the industry. Because of people like him, movies have turned into mere products—designed not to entertain or offer anything meaningful to the audience, but simply to lure people into theaters just to bleed them dry.

Movies have always been a product.

Look, call it subjective if you want, but here’s how I see it:

Transformers: 4/10
The Island: 4/10
Bad Boys II: 3/10
Pearl Harbor: 1/10
Armageddon: 9/10
Dwayne Johnson: 5/10
Bad Boys: 6/10

Total: 4.6

My bar for a decent director: 8.5.

So…

George Alvarez3 said:Look, call it subjective if you want, but here’s how I see it:

Transformers: 4/10
The Island: 4/10
Bad Boys II: 3/10
Pearl Harbor: 1/10
Armageddon: 9/10
Dwayne Johnson: 5/10
Bad Boys: 6/10

Total: 4.6

My bar for a decent director: 8.5.

So…

🤣🤣

redowl90 said:Movies have always been a product.

Babbling White. At least try to back up your argument.