Chances are good that most people in the United States and other English-speaking countries have heard of Michael Bay. For those who haven’t, he is an American director who is well-known for his big-budget action movies, with examples ranging from Armageddon in 1998 to the Transformers movie series since 2007 to the present. In particular, Bay is well-known for being chosen to work on movie after movie in spite of considerable criticism from critics as well as significant swatches of movie-goers, which might have something to do with the fact that he can churn out on-time and on-budget commercial successes in a more-or-less reliable manner.
So Why Does Michael Bay Get Criticized So Much?
People are upset with Bay’s movies for the simple reason that they find them to be bad movies for a number of reasons. For example, some people have cited poor plots that serve as carriers for cool cars, hot chicks, and plenty of explosions rather than sensible stories. Furthermore, other people have pointed at the lack of character development, which is part of a wider problem in that Bay’s movies have no nuance, no themes, and nothing of real substance beneath the surface. All of which are not particularly surprising, seeing as how Bay’s movies tend to be aimed at movie-goers who are not particularly concerned about good story-telling at the point in time when they choose to see them.
With that said, it is interesting to note that some of the criticism might also be rooted in disappointment. After all, there is a fair number of people who believe that Bay has plenty of directing talent as well as the expertise and experience needed to bring it out, meaning that he doesn’t make bad movies because he’s a bad director but because bad movies are all that’s needed to sell. Since there is no rule stipulating that successful action movies have to be bad movies, this seems like the sort of thing that would cause a lot of people to bristle.
Is This Fair?
Regardless, the sheer amount of criticism aimed at Bay might be too much. Yes, he makes movies that are more show than substance, but the fact of the matter is that people go to movie theaters to see movies for a wide range of reasons. As a result, there should be plenty of room for big-budget action movies, just as how there should be plenty of room for brainier movies with more soul to them. People should watch better movies for much the same reasons that they should eat healthier food, but at the same time, there is no harm to indulging in something fun and nonsensical from time to time for much the same reasons that it’s alright to eat junk food from time to time.
Furthermore, Bay should get more respect than he does at the moment. The fact that he can churn out commercial successes in a reliable manner means that he has real expertise and experience as a director, no matter how that expertise and experience is being used. Moreover, whether people like it or not, Bay’s penchant for explosions has turned him into a part of the popular lexicon when referencing over-the-top action scenes, which is something that deserves not just amusement but also acknowledgement.
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