He may be the most mocked auteur in film history, but Michael Bay is second only to Steven Spielberg as the highest-grossing director of all time. For all his offensiveness to a very vocal group of “serious” moviegoers, Bay is still king of the multiplex. Why? The answer may lie in a featurette from the “Transformers: Age of Extinction” Blu-ray.
Tilted “Bay on Action," the Blu-ray bonus feature sees the much-maligned director break down his style —he loves to start wide and then cut in close to focus on small moments within set pieces— and explains how he nailed down some of the sequences in the film. For all his faults, it can’t be said that Bay doesn’t care immensely about the action in his films and that attention to detail is probably what draws someone like Christopher Nolan to Bay’s work. His level of craft is what may have lead to him having two films in the Criterion Collection: “The Rock” and “Armageddon.”
Watch “Bay on Action” below, via No Film School, and pick up “Transformers: Age of Extinction” on DVD or Blu-Ray today (if you’re into that sort of thing). Now, when is Criterion going to double down and re-release Bay’s films?
films* over*
Robert Butler, about the Razzie\’s.. the award show is there to simply poke fun at and make fun of films that they, in their opinions, did not like. If people truly hated him and his films as much as the media portrays it to be, then the film wouldn\’t have been one of the highest-grossing domestic filma of 2014, and be the highest-grossing film worldwide in 2014.. plain and simple.. Critics bash him and his films and yet, the moviegoing audience still, despite horrible reviews and bashing upon bashing.. still go and see his films.. over and iver and over again. Also, TF4 released to being number one on home video (bluray, DVD, VOD, etc.), so if his films are "horrid" and "shitty" then why the massive success? Remember, the Transformers franchise is only PART of his success, and noone can take that away from him.
master*
I honestly consider Michael Bay to be, by far, one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time. He is amazing at what he does, and it\’s a true shame that he gets this hatred and smear from critics and from the people who believe he is "all about explosions and action." The man is a madter of his craft, and I am glad this article pinpointed that such a beloved filmmaker such as Nolan, is drawn to (and loves) Bay\’s films. Even the likes of Steven Spielberg and James Cameron have praised Bay on his storytelling, yes.. his storytelling for all of the people who don\’t pay attention to Bay\’s films. He is a master filmmaker and brings top-notch quality to everything he directs.
He\’s a shoo-in for the Razzie this year.