Why do people hate Michael Bay so much?

Richard J. Johnson

Richard J. Johnson

Joystick Member
Every where I look People Bash Michael Bay. Maybe I just like seeing explosions and Gunfights. Would like to hear why People hate or love the guy.
 
People hate Michael Bay because his films are mostly crass, superficial, juvenile, overcut, and stupid. My opinion of him changed somewhat when I saw The Island, which had something resembling a script for once. He won me over with Transformers, which is crass, superficial, juvenile, overcut, and stupid...but in a good way.
 
People hate him because 1) people generally resent success by other people, and the greater that success, the more amplified the hate, and 2) because millions of people like his films, which only makes 1) worse.
 
I'd say it's a vocal minority... but it's things like giant robots saying "my bad" which gives me a bad taste. I think if it were 15 years ago that he might take an otherwise decent film and fill it with star-wipes.
 
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MattinSTL said:
but it's things like giant robots saying "my bad" which gives me a bad taste.
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Oh come on... he's trying to keep it as close to the original Transformers as he can, while still being modern, you've got to give him some credit for that. You can't make a transformers movie without the robots talking like that haha
 
David Jimerson said:
People hate him because 1) people generally resent success by other people, and the greater that success, the more amplified the hate, and 2) because millions of people like his films, which only makes 1) worse.
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That doesn't explain it though. Peter Jackson or Steven Spielberg don't have such rabid detractors.

On the other hand, George Lucas and Uwe Boll do...or appear to.

I don't think you can boil it down to jealousy. It seems to be at least somewhat related to their perceived "track record."
 
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Jackson hasn't done enough -- if he put out six overlong, self-indulgent tropes like King Kong, he would no doubt taste the wrath.

And Spielberg did before he became the elder statesman of Hollywood. But it was offset by a larger fanbase and an absence of the Web.
 
Bay hasn't done all that much either.

Bad Boys
The Rock
Armageddon
Pearl Harbor
Bad Boys II
The Island
Transformers

To each his own, but to my eyes those are all pretty bad movies. Glossy look. Beautiful actors. Awesome explosions. Lots of slow motion. But bad movies. While I think all the "hate" is silly, if you're going to skewer a director I can kind of understand why for the self-professed movie critics and fanboys it's Michael Bay.
 
Jared Meyer said:
That doesn't explain it though. Peter Jackson or Steven Spielberg don't have such rabid detractors.

On the other hand, George Lucas and Uwe Boll do...or appear to.

I don't think you can boil it down to jealousy. It seems to be at least somewhat related to their perceived "track record."
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Yeah but look at what we're comparing.

I think Bay gets flack for having zero substance. His movies are popcorn entertainment and he makes bank, but at the expense of candy coated white bread America.

No one bags on Steven or Peter I htink, because they have real talent.

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I was considering breaking down a scene from TRANSFORMERS for my blog recently and just couldn't do it. There was nothing if any cinematic substance in any scene I saw.

Were they pretty and well lit ? Yes, for a music video.

Every shot is a dolly move. Literally. Dolly this way, dolly that way and they serve ZERO visual purpose.

I don't hate him, I just think he is a lucky hack.
 
You can't deny that for the most part those are all fun movies to watch though... sometimes people don't want an intensly plot-driven movie. Sometimes people just like to turn their brain off, sit back and enjoy the ride...
 
David Jimerson said:
Jackson hasn't done enough -- if he put out six overlong, self-indulgent tropes like King Kong, he would no doubt taste the wrath.

And Spielberg did before he became the elder statesman of Hollywood. But it was offset by a larger fanbase and an absence of the Web.
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Jackson sold me on Heavenly Creatures and the subsequent The Frighteners.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy blew me away.

Jackson is the real deal.
 
David Jimerson said:
Jackson hasn't done enough -- if he put out six overlong, self-indulgent tropes like King Kong, he would no doubt taste the wrath.

And Spielberg did before he became the elder statesman of Hollywood. But it was offset by a larger fanbase and an absence of the Web.
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No, its simply because Bay has made far crappier movies. None of Jackson's or Spielberg's films are anywhere near as wretched as Bay at his worst. Why do people watch his films? Because they have their entertainment value if you get off on gunplay and explosions, but porn has value if you like T&A. Nobody watches porn for artistic content, same goes for Michael Bay's films.
 
I was watching "On the Lot" the other day and the episode with Bay was on. When he was commenting on the films he kept refferring to "visual style". He seems pretty big on that, and you can tell from his movies.
 
His visual style is nothing but overstylized lighting and camera moves.

I say it everytime this convo comes up:

Will he ever do anything with vaule and substance ? Does he have any personal project he wants to tell ?

Effin hack.
 
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