I mean, Bay is a total asshole and most of his movies have terrible pacing, scripts, plots, characters, etc. But he truly is a savant when it comes to framing and scripting frenetic action. Pretty much unmatched in that department imo. He's gone overboard with the Transformers series but The Rock and especially Bad Boys 2 have some of the craziest most beauitful action and chase sequences ever shot.
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Anthony Hopkins Calls Michael Bay a 'Genius' and 'Savant'
- Thread starter LordOfLore
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Kaneda Shotaro
Member
I remember an interview Hopkins did years ago in either Premiere magazine or EW where he basically said acting was the easiest job there is and he can't believe he gets paid to play make believe.
Hes definitely only thinking about the fat check he got for this one.
Hes definitely only thinking about the fat check he got for this one.
I don't get a single ounce of enjoyment from the Transformer movies (only watched one in full) however I love the BTS. Bay is the master in giant action set-pieces and drawing viewer focuses amid all the chaos.
He's definitely a master filmmaker, in a technical sense. Master storyteller though? Nah. There are low-budget dramas shot in a single room that pack far more of an emotional punch than any Transformer movie.
He's definitely a master filmmaker, in a technical sense. Master storyteller though? Nah. There are low-budget dramas shot in a single room that pack far more of an emotional punch than any Transformer movie.
Flying Toaster
Member
Buddha Beam
Banned
Well, he is getting pretty old. The mind starts to get a little loosey-goosey with reality around that age.
ryutaro's mama
Member
Michael Bay knows his audience almost as well as Paul WS Anderson knows his.
Beerman462
Member
He's not wrong really. Michael Bay is the best at what he does right now. The only Block Buster director I put above him is James Cameron. If you don't like it or think it's low class it doesn't matter. The shit is popular and makes a ton of money.
LOL
Try a Nolan movie like the Dark Knight trilogy . The Dark Knight alone blasts almost every garbage Michael Bay put out.
Principate
Saint Titanfall
People still continue their hate-boner for Michael Bay. Even Nolan recognises his talent.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Lots of people who have worked for Bay sing his praises because he's really hardworking and dedicated to getting everything to look right. Getting something as unwieldy as a Transformers movie to work requires talent, and it's no wonder execs always try to get Bay back for the franchise.
Bay out does every action director in Hollywood outside of Cameron and the Wachowskis if they're having a good day. Unfortunately, his movies for the most part have really dumb stories, but when he does something more grounded or usually works out very well. Even the Transformers movies are Marvel's compared to GI Joe and Battleship where Bay's inferiors tried their hand at the genre.
In terms of action? Bay blows Nolan out of the water and I don't doubt that Nolan would agree. Bay has, for the most part, terrible stories. But his technical work is the best you can get in the genre.
MisterAnderson
Member
lol
Bay is talented, no doubt about that. His films are shit, but there's undeniable technical skill behind them.
Nolan is a horrible action director.
Bay is talented, no doubt about that. His films are shit, but there's undeniable technical skill behind them.
Nolan is a horrible action director.
nhlducks35
Member
He did make The Rock
SilentRacoon
Member
Terrible example when the trilogy is so inconsistent in that regard, and nothing in the Bats trilogy comes close in terms of scope, scale nor execution to Bay's better work(maybe TDK) , Nolan ain't got shit on Bay.
Soapbox Killer
Grand Nagus
"Who the fuck is Reggie?"
Yep, you may actually say he's in the top tier of action directors. GAF thinks he's Uwe Boll for some reason.
Calm waterfall
Banned
No lies detected. Bay´s movies make plenty of money and have a lot of fans.
Unknown Soldier
Member
Bay is the most accomplished technical director of his generation. If he was a cinematographer he would win lots of awards.
Of course after Pearl Harbor no one pretends he has the other visionary qualities of a great film director.
Of course after Pearl Harbor no one pretends he has the other visionary qualities of a great film director.
Gordon Shumway
Banned
The Atticus
Member
The Rock is damn good
And Nolan is a fan of Bay's films. You can make bad movies and still be excellent in an area of film. The Dark Knight trilogy is goon in spite of their mediocre to poor action.
Which is odd as Uwe Boll is just terrible. Bay's movies are still mostly average to bad though despite the work he does on action.
TheGameshark
Member
Bay is the true genius of his generation of filmmakers. /s
Guy knows how to sell his movies though.
Guy knows how to sell his movies though.
Yes, The Dark Knight is better than anything Bay puts out, hell even Batman Begins can be argued for that as well.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
I've heard people who are well educated in cinema claim this, and I still don't understand what skill it is that Bay is so talented at and what this skill has to do with making good movies?
Dictator93
Member
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
What good are those scenes if on film they end up looking like a blurry mess? Who cares at that point how complicated they were to shoot if it isn't visible in the result?
This video explains it quite a bit
https://youtu.be/2THVvshvq0Q
His stuff is easy to follow and very clear for the most part though.
Zvonimir Boban
Banned
Fucking hell, kids of today don't know anything do they? Armageddon is better than anything Nolan has ever made. Shitting out terrible Transformers movies one after another doesn't change that.
Making one of the best comic movies is not a terribly high bar to clear, especially when comparing Nolan to someone who has made some of the greatest action movies of all time.
You're ok in my book.
Lord Fagan
Junior Member
He's doing promotion for a new movie.
Exactly. He's somewhat similar to Paul W. S. Anderson who is IMHO quite underrated as a director since he's got a great eye for visuals and always gets the most out of his budget, but who really should leave the scriptwriting to someone else. Anderson is just not a good writer, and that's putting it lightly.
However, unlike W. S. Anderson, Bay isn't a screenwriter, but he doesn't have the best track record in choosing the good ones.
Armageddon is utter shite. And so is Bay.
SilentRacoon
Member
Does this look like a blurry mess to you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOr09s-1FiA
Also I think the man is incredibly underrated for his comedy chops, man knows how to make you crack a laugh out of the most ordinary stuff.
Zvonimir Boban
Banned
You should be ashamed of yourself
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
What I get from the video is that Bay is very good at thinking up, constructing and coordinating complex scenes but doesn't completely understand how to use this complexity in a way that effectively conveys an appropriate message. In other words he's a great technician.
This actually helps me better understand that Bay has a very good sense of three dimensional space and is very good at conveying complex spatial relations to the audience through what is ultimately a two dimensional image. I can appreciate the talent it would require to keep this from becoming confusing to the audience. So Bay is a very good dynamic cinematographer.
These are both noteworthy but do not a genius director make.
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