Michael Buay Hiao Bai

In all seriousness, I cannot take Michael Bay seriously.
Not because I hate him but because I find him funny… in a facepalm kind of way.

Prior to Transformers 4, the only film of his (director only) I’d watched was The Island (2005) with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. Which I really liked because of the interesting and engaging storyline. I even cried at the end because the final scene was so moving and I even rated it a 8 on IMDB.

The only thing that bothered me was the second half of the movie, where there were too many explosions. Not even action or fighting, but irrelevant explosions all over. It turned a sci-fi film into an action film so I felt like I was watching 2 movies instead. Which is quite a pity.

And then I realised that explosions were Michael Bay’s trademark and style.

Watched Transformers 4 yesterday (never watched the other 3 though) and it was surprisingly not bad. Maybe because I had low expectations. Yeah it was a usual Michael Bay mess of action and explosions (many of which were eerily similar to The Island e.g. the spaceships even move in the same way) but what else would you expect from a film about robots?

A lot of obvious and irrelevant product placements as well and I can go on about its demerits but why. I didn’t enter the theatre expecting to see an intellectual movie. I wanted to be entertained.

And entertained I was. In fact I was gleeful that the movie was nearly 3 hours long. Which is saying quite a lot since my attention span is barely there and I fall asleep all the time. A good popcorn movie that made my money’s worth.

Anyway, back to my topic on why I can’t take Michael Bay seriously.

1. His response to haters

In response to all the criticism about him, this is his response. And let’s be honest. It’s funny and witty and enough. Plus he actually has a point. It’s his choice what kind of movies he wants to make, and it’s his choice if he wants to be criticised (honestly though those critics never shut up about anything).

The most important thing is HE MAKES MONEY. Loads of it. In fact, Transformers is one of the highest-grossing film series of all-time with just the first 3 films (as opposed to Harry Potter’s 8 or Marvel Universe’s 9). And Age Of Extinction is making shit load of money. Still is. According to Guardian, it is already China’s highest grossing film of ALL TIME despite having only been released for 10 days.

Let’s admit it — financial success is still success. Just like how bad rep is still reputation.

2. His meltdown on stage at a Samsung event

This just cracked me up so badly. Apparently there was a glitch with his teleprompter. At the 0:40 mark, he starts to lose it. Then he makes the best sigh ever which I will never forget. I feel your frustration!

He recovers soon enough but goes off again at 1:00. Then he simply says, “Excuse me, I’m sorry” and walks off, leading to a very awkward silence. I just find the whole saga epic and fun to watch. Anyway, he responded to the incident afterwards:

“Wow! I just embarrassed myself at CES – I was about to speak for Samsung for this awesome Curved 105-inch UHD TV. I rarely lend my name to any products, but this one is just stellar. I got so excited to talk, that I skipped over the Exec VP’s intro line and then the teleprompter got lost. Then the prompter went up and down – then I walked off. I guess live shows aren’t my thing.”

It’s okay, Bay. I hate public speaking too.

3. His response to those who dislike Transformers 4

“They love to hate, and I don’t care; let them hate. They’re still going to see the movie! I think it’s good to get a little tension. Very good. I used to get bothered by it, but I think it’s good to get the dialogue going. It makes me think, and it keeps me on my toes, so it’s good.”

I had pretty much gotten over being amused by him until this article came up and got me going again. Thus inspiring this post which I can’t decide if it’s making fun of him or defending him. Neither, I guess.

Gotta admire his spirit and positivity.
Quoting Mean Girls, don’t ever let the haters stop you from doing your thang!