Great Movies:
The Rock
Armageddon
Decent Movies:
Pearl Harbor
Transformers
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Island
Bad Movies:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
I know that there is a lot of internet
hatred for Michael Bay. They think that he is all style and now
substance. But even this criticism is an admission of his talent.
He has a very distinctive filming
technique. He loves using large sweeping shots, even in very
intimate settings. While some find this distracting, I actually find
it invigorating. He gives unique sense of energy to his films. I
know that no matter what else I find in a Bay movie, my eyes will be
constantly drawn to the screen.
But Bay is often said to sacrifice
story and acting for visual spectacle. This is, of course, a
legitimate gripe of his super successful Transformers trilogy.
But I hold this much more to be the fault of the writers (or in the
case of the 2nd movie, a victim of the Writer's Guild
strike, lack of writers). But I do not know how that can be said
about his amazing film Armageddon.
If you remember, there were 2 “Asteroid
threatens to destroy the earth” movies that year. The other was
Deep Impact, which was thought to be the more mature and
serious piece. But Armageddon is not only more successful as
a piece of entertainment but also as a work of drama. Each character
is given a distinctive voice and a different function to the story.
The plot ratchets up slowly and intensely, with sharp, witty dialogue
all the way through.
But one most important moments is the
last scene shared between Harry and AJ (Bruce Willis and Ben
Affleck). He allows two very masculine characters a moment to rend
their hearts to each other without shedding any of their manhood.
The other is the moment when Harry pushes the button. The visuals he
conjures are so evocative that I doubt anyone watching was not moved.
I also love his very open patriotism in his movies. In a time when Hollywood thought it was cool to talk the nation down, Bay always tries to use images like the flowing flag to stir up pride in America.
I also love his very open patriotism in his movies. In a time when Hollywood thought it was cool to talk the nation down, Bay always tries to use images like the flowing flag to stir up pride in America.
He has not been able to top this early
success. And much of the criticism heaped on him for the problems
with Transformers is understandable. But there is a reason
his movies are so successful. I've read some critics blame it on the
stupidity of the American audience who only want dumb shows. I
respectfully disagree because I hold the average American moviegoer
in higher esteem. I think it should be looked at the other way
around: in a hands of a lesser director, the failures of the script
would have led to certain failure.
His directing is so skillful that he
can make even a bad story fun to watch.
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