Thread by @delaneykingrox

I don't hate Michael Bay, I have never met him, and never worked with him.

What I am saying is, having studied his work, he demonstrates very little ability as a film maker. His choices are constantly poor, and his respect for the material zero.

When he makes changes, those changes do not serve the IP, and seem to be driven by ego.
He cannot compose an action sequence which doesn't turn into a confusing mess, especially if you take away slow motion, he cannot develop character, he always falls back on the same tropes,

His films rely on nothing more than shot porn- we joking say he does big explosions which he has been a good sport about... but short porn is composing a single shot that has wow factor. Great for trailers.

But one shot isn't a film.

He seems myopic to the single shot. That moment of boom, of wow. And... that's it.

Dialogue? No. Narrative? No. Pacing? Have you sat through Pearl Harbour?
Character growth? Hahahahahha

His work utterly relies on charismatic stars to keep us interested during the bits between his big shots.

Will Smith can pull off the dialogue and 2d character because, well, he is Will Smith and there is a reason why he is a megastar.

He makes a lot of money for studios. Even with huge negative reviews, the subject matter and trailers pull audiences who need some excitement.

But here is the thing- I guarantee you that if you give that subject matter to a skilled filmmaker you would go much better.

Bay and his production company are very good at the sell. And that I congratulate him for. He hires directors who get razzies and gets negative reviews across the board and bitches like me on twitter who went to film school eviscerated him and yet, after all that, profit.

But being a shrewd strategist that gets audiences through the door does NOT make you a good film maker.

Michael Bay is a terrible director and producer. But he makes money, and that is his skill.

I am also not covering the Megan Fox situation because I am talking about his film making skill. Uhg. I know, I know.

Let me ask you this:

Given one third the budget, could a skilled film maker turn any one of the films he made or produced into a hit with rave reviews?

I would argue absolutely yes.

And there is the rub- there are so many great film makers who don't get a break.

A director has many jobs to do, but among them is ensuring all the moving parts come together as a whole. They act as the point where the chaos meets the audience, making decisions to steer the film into a unified whole that plays on the audiences mind and emotions.

He can't.

When you put his body of work together you get an image of the man shaping all this clay, and that (as some of you have noted) is rather worrying.

You get childish pee pee jokes sitting next to hyper sexualising of women and hero worship of American soldiers in the same film

It breaks my heart to see all the investment going to white men of such mediocrity, time and time again. It shapes our films and therefore it shapes our culture and identity.

We go to blockbuster films to see gods to worship. We want excitement and emotion and adventure.

But we can do soooo much more in that format. Movies that really inspire and uplift, that tell great stories and give you anchors to understand and achieve in your own life.

When you connect to an IP and identify with a character- really connect- it is an amazing thing.

When you see those things shredded up by a poor film maker, it does damage.

So no, I do not HATE Michael Bay. But I am still waiting for him to use all that influence and money to make something truely good.

I get it, we often need to turn our brains off and just enjoy the ride. But lemme just give a few examples done by skilled film makers.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
Mad Max: Fury Road.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Into The Spiderverse
The Matrix
The Dark Knight
Desperado

The ride can be amazing all along the way.

But with Michael Bay films the ride in dull at worst, painful at best and it is punctuated here and there by great money shots and single liners. (Which are in the trailer anyway)

Watch any of his films again now, and ask yourself... okay where is the trailer shots and what is happening between those shots- let's call that filler.

If you take out those shots, are you enjoying the filler parts?

Filler-trailershot-filler-trailershot

In conclusion, I don't know Michael Bay and I don't hate the man. No need to aim any hate at me for that. But I am critical of his works, and I have given him the respect to watch them a few times so I can learn what is going on what works and what doesn't.

I respect his business savvy and his strategy of moneyshot trailers. Bravo.
Okay, time for me to roll out.