Why Michael Bay is God

Well, not exactly... but high profile director Michael Bay manages to get out on top despite the constant critical distaste for his movies.

So why does everyone hate Michael Bay? Well, it's just that... his movies are known for getting critically panned, but yet they seem to make a boat load of money. Like he's making movies only for the adrenaline-pumped teenage boys, with his flashy, quick, seizure-induced cuts and over-stylized action. And that pretty much sums up his movies; flashy big action and maybe just touch of substance.

Take for instance Pearl Harbor (his Oscar forced epic), Rob Gonsalves from eFilmCritic pretty much summarizes the film:

"May be the closest thing to a good movie Michael Bay will ever direct; unfortunately, it's still not very close to a good movie."

Despite negative reviews like these, Pearl Harbor took in almost $450 million worldwide. Michael Bay's only big misfire would have to be The Island; for a $120 million budget, it only took in a little over $35 million in the United States. However, it did fare better overseas, adding another $127 million. Michael Bay blames this on Dreamworks' marketing campaign. And it seems they listened, as his next movie with Dreamworks, Transformers, crushed the box office with over $700 million worldwide (also had the best visual effects that year despite losing to The Golden Compass).

Many critics argue that his movies provide nothing deeper than what's on its surface and is a disservice to the adolescent youth because all it teaches is "Blam! Blam! Boom! Kaboom!"

I, for one, do not mind that he makes movies that just entertain. I get it, it's fun. That's it. I am a boy (well once one) so maybe I am skewed to that paradigm. Well, you should know what to expect when you head into a Michael Bay movie. So deep thinking, thought provoking mish-mash isn't what you should expect.

However, my only big knack about Michael Bay, is that I keep hearing that he is very, very hard to work with. And that kind of bums me out when I hear certain actors or celebrities are total assholes. It makes me think they shouldn't be there and don't deserve the gratitude they get because they aren't. I'll stop myself here, because this isn't a life lesson on being nice, since there are many successful people who don't care who they step on to get where they are. That's life.

Anyways, back to where these rumors come from. Well, there is that Bruce Willis chit-chat from a couple years ago, where he vowed to never work with Michael Bay again. I've also heard some other things from people who actually worked with him. Like on the set of Transformers, someone was fired for not finishing part of the set, even though it was only gonna take about five more minutes. It is also interesting to note that, Megan Fox is the only female actress to have worked with Michael Bay more than once (I've heard that he yells adamantly at his stars, even though he is also the film's AD). I have also heard many other stories, but obviously I wasn't on set to witness them. So I'll stop myself here before I run a mouth of rumors.

Anyways, despite all this nonsense, Michael Bay still churns out an action-packed wallop of a ride. Michael Bay is close to god in the movie industry because despite his movies getting crapped upon by critics and naysayers, his movies still do exceedingly well. And well, Steven Spielberg is still on his side, as the sequel to Transformers looks bigger and badder than the original. He is good at one thing, and that is making sure style and flair pushes the envelope and audiences bite down hard on their popcorn.

Michael Bay Movies:
Transformers: Budget: $151 million Worldwide Gross: $708.3 million
The Island: Budget: $120 million Worldwide Gross: $163 million
Bad Boys 2: Budget: $130 million Worldwide Gross: $272.9 million
Pearl Harbor: Budget: $151 million Worldwide Gross: $449.2 million
Armageddon: Budget: $140 million Worldwide Gross: $554.6 million
The Rock: Budget: $75 million Worldwide Gross: $336 million
Bad Boys: Budget: $23 million Worldwide Gross: $141.2 million

Source: The Numbers