Favorite Michael Bay movie. Go!

For me it's Bad Boys 2. Its his most visually stunning movie as far as camera work and cinematography, its BY FAR his funniest, and the action is nonstop and INSANE. The Ferrari car chase is the best in film history IMO. It's definitely the movie I would put on in the background at a party or the film I would show someone whose never seen a Bay film before to introduce them to his work/style. It's him at his most 'Bay' haha. It's the perfect mix of everything he does right. It's just a jammin' good time from start to finish.

I cannot stand Nicolas Cage as an actor (although I did enjoy him in Face/Off, a film I LOVE) so him being the lead in The Rock has always made me only LIKE that film but not love it the way most people do. I do appreciate the intensity of the movie though and Ed Harris is GREAT in it! The original Bad Boys is also a personal favorite of mine. Armageddon is such a fun guilty pleasure (I always seem to cry when Bruce Willis sacrifices himself at the end). I enjoy Transformers 1, 3 and 4 greatly for their amazing action set pieces, grand scope/visuals, and groundbreaking ILM Visual FX.

When it comes to films such as The Island and Pain & Gain, I really appreciate a more subdued serious thoughtful side to Bay's filmmaking resume. While those films are still full of style and flash it shows Bay trying to ask important questions about our society. With The Island, he is asking what would we be willing to do to stay looking young, not have to go through child birth or losing an organ, and are clones really 'people'. I felt The Island was a decent 'Bay style' attempt to answer those questions in a fun blockbuster but nothing special to me. I loved the Cadillac Cien car chase in that film and the cinematography in the film is stunning. That opening shot of Lincoln drowning in his bedroom in reverse is one of the most awesome shots in movie history though! Love it! Bay is a GENIUS for that.

I really enjoyed Pain & Gain and took it as Bay's 'American Psycho'. Both films were an absurd dark comedy/satire all about a sociopath with a twisted version of the American Dream murdering people and going to work the next day like it's no big deal. Only difference is one (American Psycho) took place in the 1980's cocaine abusing New York Wall Street scene and the other (Pain & Gain) took place in the 1990's steroid abusing Miami bodybuilding scene. It's sad so many people who trash the film do not recognize those parallels. To date it's Bay's most mature film (we will see if 13 Hours tops it, looks good so far).

His only truly 'bad' films in my opinion that I cannot stand and refuse to watch again are PEARL HARBOR and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. The acting in Pearl Harbor is so atrocious and it is just so long and boring that I cannot get through it, even though the attack sequence is cool. It just takes too long to get to. The love story is incredibly corny. It's a beautifully shot movie but feels too much like a Hollywood product than a film made with passion or heart. TF2 made the cardinal sin most Bay films, for all their acting/script flaws, NEVER make, the action was boring and un-memorable. There are no set pieces in that film that make me wanna go back and re-watch it. No Transformers film should feel that way. The writer's strike really hurt that film.




I would rank his films currently:

(1) Bad Boys 2 (love it)
(2) Transformers (love it)
(3) Bad Boys (love it)
(4) Pain & Gain (like it alot)
(5) The Rock (like it alot)
(6) Transformers 3 (like it)
(7) Transformers 4 (like it)
(8) Armageddon (like it)
(9) The Island (okay)
(10) Transformers 2 (horrible)
(11) Pearl Harbor (GOD awful)


Looking very much forward to 13 HOURS. I will see it opening night January 15th in the theater. I have a feeling it will crack my top 5 for sure in the Bay resume.

Armageddon is such a fun guilty pleasure


See, I never really got that 'guilty pleasure' thingy. Why the hell would someone feel guilty for enjoying a piece of art, whether it's a movie, or a song, or a book?

Many have said that this statement doesn't make any sense, yet people still use it. Me, I LOVE Armageddon, I love it as a movie, and there's nothing in that flick that would make me guilty for enjoying it. It is a movie and like it as a movie. Period.

Just as I like It Happened One Night.

Both very different movies, but they successfuly do what they have to do. Simple as that. No guilt here.


It's sad so many people who trash the film do not recognize those parallels. To date it's Bay's most mature film


I agree. That's why I love the movie so much.

Honestly though, I haven't really seen hardcore hate for Pain and Gain. It was a successful movie -opened at #1 in 2013- but at the same time it kinda went under the radar and a lot of people still haven't seen it.

Ironically, more film critics seem to appreciate that movie. A lot of average Joes were disapointed because they were expecting a light Miami, Bad Boys type of comedy. Pain and Gain is not a comedy though. Yes, there are funny moments, but overall this is a very dark and twisted story.

Some things are so *beep* up that you, as a viewer, don't know how to react. These types of movies are always tough for the regular audience. So I'm not surprised that Pain and Gain got a C+ CinemaScore.


His only truly 'bad' films in my opinion that I cannot stand and refuse to watch again are PEARL HARBOR and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.


For me, his 'weakest' movie is the first Bad Boys. Not that I hate it, I just find it, for lack of better word, prety damn routine. The sequel is INSANE though. I love it.

As for Pearl Harbour and TF2, I don't really have any serious problems with these movies. Aside from the love story Pearl Harbour is a pretty solid movie. The attack sequence is easily one of the best action sequences in film history. Even the critics who don't like the movie praise the attack sequence.

Compared to a lot of recent blockbusters Pearl Harbor still impresses with its massive, massive scope, stunning CGI, locations and cinematography. It's one of those movies that get better with age.


Transformers 2: well, I had fun with it. In some spects I find it better than Part 3. The ending in Egypt, the fact that Bay actually shot there, instead of relying on green screen and CGI like 99% of Hollywood, come on, you have to admire that.

Yes, the writers strike clearly caused problems, but that doesn't take away the fact that I, and many other people, like that flick. I expected a giant sci-fi action, and that's exactly what I got.


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"You don't watch Michael Bay films. They happen to you."

See, I never really got that 'guilty pleasure' thingy. Why the hell would someone feel guilty for enjoying a piece of art, whether it's a movie, or a song, or a book?

Guilty pleasure to me means, I would never recommend other people to watch it because I know it's not a 'Good' film per say that most people would enjoy but because I have my own weird perverse taste. I do enjoy it so I just watch it on my own. Not that I feel guilty for it, but I put it in that category because I wouldn't argue with anyone who considers it a bad movie, but I WOULD argue with someone who considers Bad Boys 2 or Transformers a bad movie.

I couldn't argue with someone that Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis give amazing performances or that the script its amazing. I watch the film for Bay's visuals, the humor (which I love but many people detest Bay's humor) and the score/soundtrack.

If you tell most 'movie lovers', hey this movie has average to horrible acting, a weak script, partially offensive humor, not the best pacing, and is directed by one of Hollywood's most hated filmmakers ... BUT the cinematography is cool and there's a super catchy Aerosmith song that plays about half way through, they'd most likely tell me to take a hike, haha.


Honestly though, I haven't really seen hardcore hate for Pain and Gain. It was a successful movie -opened at #1 in 2013- but at the same time it kinda went under the radar and a lot of people still haven't seen it.

Ironically, more film critics seem to appreciate that movie. A lot of average Joes were disapointed because they were expecting a light Miami, Bad Boys type of comedy. Pain and Gain is not a comedy though. Yes, there are funny moments, but overall this is a very dark and twisted story.



I remember a lot of people (professional and popular film critics online like YouTube and on here as well) hating on the film mainly because they felt Bay was trying to make the main characters (who are murderers) likable, and that disturbed them.

I think they misunderstood the film completely.

We were never supposed to like them. That was not Bay's intent at all. We were laughing AT them, not WITH them. In the same way we do not like or root for Leo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort in Wolf of Wall Street or Christian Bale in American Psycho, we do not like or root for Daniel Lugo in Pain & Gain.

Yes we laugh at the circumstances they get themselves into, how crazy their view of the world is, and in some perverse way vicariously enjoy the lavish life they are living while they are getting away with their crimes, but at the end of the day we are ultimately rooting for the people trying to bring them down, whether it be Kyle Chandler's FBI agent in Wolf of Wall Street, Willem Dafoe's cop in American Psycho, or Ed Harris' private eye in Pain & Gain.

I just think because it is Bay, they do not give him the credit for thinking that deep with it that they give filmmakers like Mary Harron or Martin Scorsese.

that's easy the rock

Guilty pleasure to me means, I would never recommend other people to watch it because I know it's not a 'Good' film


Come on! It's Armageddon we're talking about here. How can you NOT recommend that movie? Every single person around me who has seen that movie has nothing but good things to say about it. I'm not kidding.

People love it. It's part of pop-culture, it's on the Criterion Collection, it got emotion, drama, comedy, action, it got everything a person wants from a movie. It's also one of the most re-watchable movies in history. I'm saying that based on what others have told me when we were talking about that movie. So it's not only my opinion.

Seriously NYMike, don't let the hate for this movie on IMDb influence your views. You know better than that, you've been around for a while now. There will always be haters. Name me ONE movie without some haters on the web bitching about it.


Yeah, exactly.


I'm not saying people HAVE to love Armaggedon, all I'm saying is that OBJECTIVELY this movie offers pretty much everything people expect from a movie. Who appreciates that and who hates it, well that's a different topic. That's clearly a matter of opinion and preferences.



If you tell most 'movie lovers', hey this movie has average to horrible acting, a weak script, partially offensive humor, not the best pacing, and is directed by one of Hollywood's most hated filmmakers ... BUT the cinematography is cool and there's a super catchy Aerosmith song that plays about half way through, they'd most likely tell me to take a hike, haha.


See, that's the problem here. There you go! The problem is that you are focused on the militant 'movie lovers'. Well, that's your biggest mistake.

As long as you pay attention to the stuff they say on forums, you're NOT gonna be able to relax and really see what's out there in the real world. How do you think most of the regular viewers feel about the movie? They love it. Armageddon is the best example of a 'crowd pleaser'.

I have an old friend who loves that movie SO damn much that he watches it every single month, from start to fisnish, on a giant HDTV with a terrific sound system. For him that movie is a religion.


So yeah, these days I would rather discuss a movie with an average Joe, and certainly not with a 'movie lover' on the web. Why? Because most movie lovers these days tend to be extremely negative and snarky. They thrive on that *beep* The internet made it way worse, because they can hide and post all kinds of hateful crap. It's really rare to see people who don't have an agenda, people who go with an open mind to just enjoy a movie for two hours.

I'm one of those people and I'm always happy when I encounter someone who's like me. Sadly, on the web that's something quite rare.



I just think because it is Bay, they do not give him the credit for thinking that deep with it that they give filmmakers like Mary Harron or Martin Scorsese.


Of course. That's beyond obvious. For a lot of film critics the words 'open mind, objectivity' don't mean squat. The second they see the name 'Michael Bay' they already have the review written in their heads.

To be honest though, it's not just Bay. It's the same with the other 'controversial' directors. The Tarantino haters were trashing The Hateful 8 wayyy before its premiere. One guy even said 'I don't have to see that movie to know that it's crap.'


So there you go. It's just how the world works. Thankfully, it's not that difficult to detach yourself from these hateful morons. Just focus on the more respected movie sites (THR, Variety) and ignore fanboy-driven crap sites like Collider, ComicBookMovie, Slash Film, We Got this Covered, Obsessed with Film and JoBlo.

Plus of course all the imbeciles on YouTube, from Honest Trailers to Nostalgia Critic, to Movie Sins. Just don't pay atention to them and your movie-related experiences will be excellent. Excellent! You can trust me on this one, because that's exactly what I've been doing for the last few years and it's GREAT.

IMDb is the only exception, simply because most of the loudest haters here are actually teens or just kids and I find their hatred really amusing. It's impossible to take them seriously, so it's quite fun dealing with them. They're just too easy and predictable. Like little toys to play with.



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"You don't watch Michael Bay films. They happen to you."

that's easy the rock


You know, I don't really get that huge love for the movie. Sure, Bay delivers big time, but at least IMO it's not his best movie. If only The Island got that much love....



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"You don't watch Michael Bay films. They happen to you."

The Rock has an iconic soundtrack and is arguably the best film in the "Die Hard On A..." subgenre that isn't actually a Die Hard film. Throw in Sean Connery's performance as James Bond under a pseudonym and its popularity makes even more sense. His next two (and last) action films were Entrapment and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; The Rock was better than either of those.

The Job Interview Poem https://youtu.be/MtkmC4kCSTs

The Rock has an iconic soundtrack and is arguably the best film in the "Die Hard On A..." subgenre that isn't actually a Die Hard film. Throw in Sean Connery's performance as James Bond under a pseudonym and its popularity makes even more sense.


Well, if those are indeed crucial reasons then I think Armageddon should also be considered one of Bay's best movies, if not the best.

I mean, the soundtrack and the score are pretty damn iconic and popular. There are tons of great performances from an impressive ensemble cast, and most importantly the movie itsels is really emotional and the audience actually cares for these characters. I should know, I saw the movie four times in the theaters back in '98. It was an event, a real movie event. People were cheering, crying, laughing. You got the full range of emotions. No wonder it became the biggest international hit of 1998.

Yet, it's not as loved as The Rock. The reason I believe is that Armageddon is considered a 'summer popcorn movie', while The Rock is considered a grounded, realistic, raw movie for grown ups. Which is not exactly fair, because as it was proven many, many times - before and after Armageddon - a summer popcorn movie CAN be a strong, powerful movie that grown ups can enjoy too.

And to be completely honest, I think Armageddon is on many levels a better, more engaging movie than The Rock. I know a lot of people would strongly disagree with that statement, but that's how I feel. I can go on and start explaining my reasons, but it would be too much extra writing and I don't have the time now. It's all matter of opinion anyway.



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"You don't watch Michael Bay films. They happen to you."