The Michael Bay Apology

Of all the filmmakers who are too often unfairly criticized, Michael Bay is very often the most hated on, i previously described how i try to make this blog a celebration of the cinema and a positive experience, and thus i don't review or even watch films that i know i will hate, thus there is no Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Transformers 4 review, however Michael Bay holds an important place in today's film industry. Tentpole movies are a huge part of today's summer movie schedule, and studios now spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a single picture, normally a film that is certain to make money.

Many directors croak when given too much money, the production nightmares of John Carter and The Lone Ranger, both of which went hugely over budget, and both of which cost in excess of 200 million dollars to make show that although it is hard to make a film on a tight budget, it is often harder to make one with a huge budget. With Pain and Gain being a slight exception, costing only 26 million dollars, most of Bay's films cost in excess of 100 million to produce, and his films have grossed in excess of 5 billion dollars worldwide.Bay has consistantly shown that he is capable of handling huge productions, his films rarely run over budget, and they always make money.

Michael Bay's films have a target audience, mainly teenage boys, and although most film critics loathe his films, audiences love them, and his box office returns are proof of that. Although i love smaller film productions like Lost in Translation and The Hours, these are not projects that are huge runaway successes, and they don't make hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. It is films like Transformers that are the reason these projects are green-lit in the first place, tentpole movies are named as such because that are able to prop up other, less successful films, so whilst it is great that risky films like Gravity can get made, it is only because of films like Transformers, that money is available to finance a 100 million dollar art film.

Critically i will also apologise, unlike other filmmakers, Michael Bay has his own aesthetic, he tries to make good film, and he at least shows a mere level of respect for his audience that is not seen in other filmmakers. The was a definite improvement between Transformers 2 and 3, and Pain and Gain was actually, sort of good! Despite being critically reviled, Bay has also show a level of nonchalance, and he is great at making films that appeal to his target audience, so while giant robot porn might not be to everyone's taste, Bay at least has his own aesthetic, and while his films are not to my taste, Michael Bay has at least shown himself to be a highly consistent filmmaker, critically and commercially.

"I make movies for teenage boys. Oh, dear, what a crime." - Michael Bay