Michael Bays Top 5 Movies
In celebration of the release of yet another Transformers movie (rumors of 2 more sequels are already swirling about the net) I decided to take it upon myself to recap 5 of Michael Bay’s most explosive movies. Over his 20 year career as one of the blockbuster movie making kings of our era Michael Bay movies either excite you or disgust you, either way you can’t deny the guy’s films make bank! While some of you youngin’s might only be familiar with Bay’s Transformers franchise, the polarizing director has in fact been blowing things up on the big screen since the mid 90s. So let’s take a look back at some of his most entertaining work as a film maker.
5) ARMAGEDDON
Every time I think of Armageddon I remember my then teenage older sister sitting next to me crying her eyes out. Why you ask? Because Bruce Willis, who’s character drills for oil for a living, just blew himself up on the asteroid so a “pre-batman” Ben Affleck could go back to earth to marry his daughter. Every time I feel down and need a laugh, I think of that moment. Released in 1998, Bay’s Armageddon was something like a foreshadowing of films to come in the future. Loose of all logic, like most Bay films, Armageddon is a story about an asteroid that is pummeling to earth and the only way to stop it apparently was to train a bunch of grease monkeys to be Astronauts like in a month and shoot them into space to , I shit you not, drill a hole into the asteroid, plant a bomb and blow the thing up (of course). The premise was flimsy at best, but Liv Tyler was hot, her dad Steven made a Grammy winning song for it and Bruce Willis, as my sister clearly pointed out, could do no wrong in the 90s. The movie was a box office smash and essentially succeeded in giving Bay the license to make any kind of film he wanted after that.
4) TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON
The first Transformers film in the franchise definitely impressed adults and kids alike and had them all drooling at the first sight of Optimus Prime. Shia Labeouf and Megan Fox entered the realm of box office gold and after bombing at the box office some years prior with The Island Michael Bay was back in full form. The sequel Revenge of the Fallen racked up at the box office but due to a writer’s strike and a rushed release critics and some die hard fans weren’t too pleased with the results. The third installment however saw Bay listen to some of the criticism to deliver what is arguably the best out of the first three films. With the introduction of Sentinel Prime and the now iconic “Battle for Chicago” set piece, the Transformers transition into 3D was a thing of wonder to watch.
3) BAD BOYS II
What can you say about this buddy cop action comedy that hasn’t been said already. The first one was a well paced action piece set in the mean streets of Miami that proved that both Will Smith and Martin Lawrence could bring a crowd to theaters. It makes you wonder why the sequel took 9 years to be come out, but when it was finally released it was probably most assuredly the most action packed movie Bay had made to date. With gun fights happening every 15 minutes and car chases form Miami to Cuba Bad Boys II was an exercise in complete excess. Of course the films protagonists survived every single melee with barely a scratch but we didn’t care. The lead actors were cool, funny, always got the girl and did almost everything in slow motion which by now, was what we all came to expect from a Michael Bay movie.
2) PAIN & GAIN
Michael Bay’s “Schindler’s List”, Pain & Gain pulls its inspiration from the Miami headlines and is about 3 knuckle-headed gym rats who had a not so brilliant idea to kidnap a rich member of their gym and try to extort him of his riches. With a modest budget by Bay standards and an actual story to pull from one can argue that this is probably the best film that Michael Bay has ever made. Wahlberg and Mackie’s performances were quite good but the stand out performance definitely goes to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s portrayal of what was probably the most sensitive body builder you could ever meet. If you ever saw the movie or read the headlines you know it doesn’t work out for the muscle bound criminals in the end but Bay definitely had a field day adding a bit of a comedic touch to what is actually a very very tragic and sadistic story.
1) THE ROCK
Before CGI robots and transforming sound effects there was Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage. The Rock stands as probably Bay’s only critically accepted film. For those who weren’t around in 1996 the plot revolves around a hostage/terrorist threat on the prison island of Alcatraz. Disenchanted marine Ed Harris, along with his team of soldiers, steal nerve gas missiles and hold a group of tourist hostage on the island. A ransom is involved and it’s up to chemical engineer Cage and FBI prisoner Connery to save the day. Why you ask? Because Cage is the only one with extensive knowledge in nerve gas and Connery is the only man on record to ever escape Alcatraz. The story is thin but it’s still tied together better than most of Bay’s other films. It’s definitely a classic of the Bay Filmography and takes the number 1 spot out of all the Michael Bay films we have ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
