Michael Bay: Not Just Explosions
One of the most successful directors in modern filmmaking is Michael Bay. Highly criticized by his peers, his movies have been referred to as “catastrophic violations of every aspect of cinema” (Berardinelli, ReelViews), “examples of big Hollywood at its worst” (Roman, MovieWeb), “unpleasant and ghoulish” (Weinberg, eFilmCritic), and “loud, shallow, sexist and a complete wastes of time” (Kempley, The Washington Post). However, films that Bay has directed and produced have grossed over $5.5 billion worldwide, half of which his most highly critiqued franchise, Transformers, has grossed. Bay has won virtually every major award in the commercial business, including “Cannes’ Golden Lion, the Grand Prix Clio, and the Directors Guild of America’s Commercial Director of the Year Award” (MichaelBay.com). According to Forbes Magazine, Bay has a net worth of just over $410 million, so he must be doing something right.
Bay was born in Los Angeles, California in 1965. His adoptive parents Harriet, a child therapist, and Jim, a Certified Public Accountant sent him to the exclusive Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. When he was fifteen, he got his start in the film industry interning with Steven Spielberg and George Luca on the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Impressed by his involvement he decided to become a film director. He attended Wesleyan University and in 1986 graduated with a double major in English and Film. He later attended graduate school for Film at the Art Centre College of Design in Pasadena then began directing music videos and commercials, including Meatloaf’s high concept I Would Do Anything for Love video, and the famous Aaron Burr "Got Milk?" campaign in the early 1990’s. (Belloni, Hollywood Reporter Vol. 409 Issue 10).
In 1995, Bay’s success in music videos and commercials got the attention of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, who asked Bay to direct his first feature length film, the buddy-cop action thriller, Bad Boys. Like many of its successors, the film had a big budget ($19 million) and was commercially successful grossing $142 million worldwide (IMDb) but received mixed reviews by critics. The box office success of the film led to a strong partnership with Bruckheimer, whom he collaborated with until directing The Island in 2005 (Simon, Venice Magazine).
Bay continued his career in the action film genre with The Rock (1996). With an estimated $70 million budget, it ended up grossing over $325 million worldwide (IMDb). Many critics consider this Bay’s best film. Roger Ebert, who was strongly critical of most of Bay’s later films, calls The Rock “an action picture that rises to the top of the genre because of a literate, witty screenplay and skilled craftsmanship in the direction and special effects” (The Criterion Collection 2001). It was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Achievement in Sound category.
In 1998, Bay collaborated with Bruckheimer on the sci-fi action-adventure film Armageddon, this time as a co-producer and director. This film became somewhat of a template for Bay’s future films, grossing over $553 million worldwide. Its $140 million budget allowed for big names (Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Billy Bob Thornton) and big special effects. It was nominated for four Oscars including Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Original Song.
In 2001, Bay directed Pearl Harbor. Another big budget film ($140 million), Bay’s style begins to solidify as he continues to use big names (Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale, and Cuba Gooding Jr.) and over the top special effects and editing (IMDb). Again, Bay’s close attention to sound and special effects pay off as Pearl Harbor was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing (won) and Best Song. It was highly criticized for its historical inaccuracy, exaggerations, and the subplot.
In 2003, Bad Boys II marked the beginning of Bay’s movie franchise career. Reteaming with Bruckheimer, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, the sequel grossed $273 million worldwide, nearly twice as much as the first movie (IMDb). In 2013 Columbia pictures announced, they are developing a script for Bad Boys III to be released in 2015. Bay’s first film without Bruckheimer, The Island, was released in 2005, and just barely grossed more than its production budget of $126 million.
In 2007, Bay teamed up with Steven Spielberg to produce the first Transformers, a live action film based on the 1980’s cartoon Transformers franchise. It broke multiple records during its release (record for Tuesday box office opening, biggest July 4 gross, and biggest opening weekend for a non- sequel (IMDb)). It ended up grossing over $705 million worldwide. Its success encouraged Bay to return as director and executive producer for the sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, grossing over $832 million worldwide. It received mostly negative reviews by critics such as David Denby who referred to Bay as “stunningly, almost viciously, untalented” (The New Yorker 2009). However, based on its box office success, the film was well received by its intended audience. The third, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, was released in 2011, and despite its predecessors’ reviews, grossed over $1.1 billion. The fourth of the franchise will release in 2014.
His latest film, Pain and Gain, was released in early 2013. It received mixed reviews actually praising the acting, direction and script, but condemning the cheesy violence, the comic chemistry, and the historical inaccuracies. It grossed just over $85 million worldwide, making it one of Bay’s lower grossing films.
As a co-founder of the commercial production company The Institute he has also created “original and effective branded entertainment, multi-media campaigns” (theinstitute.tv). The Institute has produced commercial works (directed by Bay) for companies such as Victoria’s Secret, EA Games, Levi’s and Chevrolet (see links to commercials). Bay is also founder and principal partner of Platinum Dunes, where he has been able to make his mark on films such as The Amityville Horror, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street (MichaelBay.com).
Looking at Bay’s biography and works, it is obvious that he has become a prominent director and producer in the entertainment business. Critics hate him, but the box offices really love him. His directing style and vision has kept audiences coming back to watch his films for over a decade of the young directors successful career.
To make a film at the same caliber as Bay, you can only imagine the intensity of the work. Actors have called Bay an “asshole” and a “Nazi.” However, dozens of his collaborators reveal that Bay is, in fact, a secret genius behind a true Hollywood visionary. He often collaborates with many actors for more than one film, and not just for franchises. Glen Morshower has worked with Bay for Pearl Harbor, The Island, and the first three Transformers films. Ben Affleck made his debut with Armageddon and worked with Bay again for Pearl Harbor. The Transformers franchise has not been so lucky. After a fall out with the franchises female star, Megan Fox, Bay had to replace and rewrite a role for her successor, Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington Whiteley. In creating the fourth of the franchise, the only returning actor is Peter Cullen, who plays the voice of Optimus Prime.
In 1998, Entertainment Weekly asked in an article "Is Michael Bay the Devil?" claiming his films are “testosterone-sweating embodiments of everything that is wrong with modern Hollywood”(MichaelBay.com). However, he has made movie stars look unstoppable in front of his camera orchestrating some of the most multifaceted and exhilarating action set pieces put on film. He may not be an artist, but many consider him a movie icon. James Cameron says in an interview with GQ “I've studied his films and "reverse-engineered" his shooting style. He loves what I call "the big train set," huge physical production, just as I do. It is the most challenging type of filmmaking, and he does it gorgeously.” George Lucas says his films are “immediately identifiable” and Roberto Orci agrees, “to have a style that distinct- like it or hate it, it deserves study.”
This distinct style accesses the “mainline to the testosterone glands of the American male” (Frances McDormand GQ Magazine). Bay’s films are quite formulaic and use many genre expectations and movie tropes. His films often star a young male protagonist whose call to adventure often involves national or international crises. He is best known for his grand explosions, both real and CGI made, cataclysmic events, and car chases. His films often star some of the world’s most beautiful women-Scarlett Johansson, Liv Tyler, and Kate Beckinsale to name a few.
He also has very distinct filming technique. He loves to use intense slow motion shots of characters, especially as they are running away from his massive explosions (Megan Fox in Transformers). Objects often crash tumbling towards the camera also in slow motion. He keeps the camera moving during most scenes, very rarely using static shots, characters in his films are almost uniformly shot in tight, emphatic close ups, he uses light flashes to enhance scenes and creates frenetic editing action sequences. He frequently uses shots where the camera spins in a circle around characters. Another signature for Bay is the over the top visuals. For example, he uses helicopters and aircraft against a setting sun in Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and Transformers. With his background in music videos and commercial work, he often utilizes intense musical cues during action filled scenes; car chases in Bad Boys II for example, and includes extensive product placements (IMDb).
Stepping back from the non- stop action, Bay often includes romantic and/or comedic relief scenes. A favourite being Armageddon’s “Animal Cracker” scene with Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler. Some fan websites have labeled this scene the #1 “Most Painful Moments of Movie History” or the “Most Vomit Inducing Scene.” However, if the silliness is overlooked, it is noticeable that Michael Bay is attempting to show some versatility in genre and perhaps give the viewers who would rather see a romance film something to awe over. His films are also often criticized for their somewhat crude or tasteless humour. It has been argued that he often uses homophobic or racist jokes for comedic relief. According to IMDb, some instances include Eddie Griffin and Steve Buscemi in Armageddon, Leonard McMahan in The Rock, and the robots Skids and Mudflap in eTransformers: Dark of the Moon, his humour was well received even when Ken Jeong had Shia Labeouf stuck in a bathroom stall discussing “deep wang.”
Bay’s over the top style is an incorporation of explosive and slow motion tactics used by his successors such as Roland Emmerich (Independence Day), Steven Spielberg (Indiana Jones Franchise), and James Cameron (Terminator). Bay has influenced directors like McG (Charlie’s Angels). Bay’s use of special effects and technical innovations has raised the bar for his successors. He shaped the genre of giant robot action thriller with Transformers. Armageddon re-imagined the quality, feel and language of the disaster film genre, which led to Emmerich’s later films like The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. Everything from the global scale of peril to the pace at which the plot progresses and the general filmic texture of these later films draw from Bay’s 1998 classic. Bay’s films are a class of cheap thrills and in that regard they were well ahead of their time, they have defined the dominant aesthetic of their respective genres and still continue to tower over their present-day descendants.
Despite his shortcomings indicated by critics and coworkers, Michael Bay has proven to be a successful action film director who has influenced the action film genre of today. He utilizes movie tropes and genre expectations of the modern film industry to create films for his directed audience, 18-34 year old males, which in turn has granted him great success in the box offices. In an Interview with Maxim Magazine Bay states “I make movies for teenage boys. Oh, dear, what a crime,” he goes on:
“There are tons of people who hate me. They hate my movies and whatnot. But you know, hey, my films have made a lot of money around the world…They said that I wrecked cinema… They say I cut too fast. And yet now you see it in movies everywhere. Do I take pride in people knowing my style? I think it's nice people know a director has a style.”
He knows what works, and with his background in commercials, knows what people are looking for. Any new directors, or clones of Orson Welles, interested in breaking their way into the entertainment business should take note of Bay’s films.














