Every Michael Bay Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

Michael BahiaThroughout his career, his films helped establish him as one of the most successful directors of all time, as well as a deeply controversial one. Starting out in commercials, Bay started in feature films with the action comedy Bad Boys. From there, Bay directed blockbusters, war films, and several Western films. Transformers franchise. With these films, Bay established a distinctive style of filmmaking that earned him many fans and many critics.

Bay’s films have grossed more than $6.5 billion worldwide, making him the fourth highest-grossing director of all time. He’s worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, with the likes of Bruce Willis and Mark Wahlberg leading their films, and has also helped make emerging actors household names, including Will Smith and Shia LaBeouf. All of Bay’s films vary in terms of length and genre, but it’s not hard to spot a Michael Bay film when they come along.

15

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

A Vengeful Decepticon Targets Optimus Prime

Michael Bay Transformers: Revenge of the Fallenthe second of his five Transformers films, continued the adventures of Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) as he tried to balance his connection to the heroic Autobots while also starting his new life at college and maintaining his romance with Makayla (Megan Fox). However, Sam and the Autobots face a much greater threat in the form of a Decepticon known as The Fallen and a resurrected Megatron.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was made during a Hollywood writers’ strike and, unfortunately, it shows in a number of ways. The film appears to have been made from a very rushed first draft of the script.. The story is absurd, sending the main characters on a global adventure that makes no sense. Bay’s humor is also a big problem in the film, as it often detracts from the film’s dark tone with drawn-out silly bits. The inclusion of two comical robots was also criticized for being based on racist stereotypes. The result is often seen as the most maligned entry in the series.

14

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

Mechanic partners with Optimus Prime

With the fourth installment of Transformers series, Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky was considered the Transformers led and he was replaced by Mark Wahlberg’s blue-collar genius, Cade Yaegar. Transformers: Age of Extinction is set years after the events of the Michael Bay films, with Cade discovering a hibernating Optimus Prime. Together, the human and robot heroes team up to save the day from a villainous Transformer bounty hunter on Prime’s trail.

Although Bay presented this as the beginning of a new era of Transformers franchise, Transformers: Age of Extinction It’s more of the same. Senseless destruction and random action sequences make for a spectacle, but not quite a story. Wahlberg also doesn’t seem to fit into the franchise, as his attempts to be the realistic hero are unconvincing. Bay also continues to add necessary and noteworthy comedy, including an ill-advised joke about the relationship between Cade’s teenage daughter and her older boyfriend.

13

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

Transformers lore dates back to medieval times

Transformers: The Last Knight ended up being Michael Bay’s final Transformers film and the consensus was that it was time for the director and the franchise to move on. The fifth film in the series sees the return of Cade Yaeger as he teams up with the Autobots again as they hunt for a powerful ancient artifact that the Decepticons are also seeking. This leads to new discoveries about the Transformers’ history on Earth, as well as a secret about Cade’s past.

After endless success in Transformers franchise, regardless of critical reception, Transformers: The Last Knight It was the series’ first box office disappointment. The film featured the big action sequences that fans have come to expect from Bay’s blockbusters and the story was a bit more concise than previous installments. However, the growing mythology connecting the franchise to the legend of King Arthur felt unnecessary.

12

6 Underground (2019)

Shadow Operatives face a dangerous dictator

Although Michael Bay has been a theater director his entire career, he embraced the new world of streaming with the Netflix original action film. 6 Underground. The wild film tells the story of a billionaire (played by Ryan Reynolds) who fakes his own death to form a vigilante group to take down terrorists around the world while remaining anonymous. This leads a group of misfits to stage a takeover of a ruthless dictator.

6 Underground is a film that shows the best and worst of Michael Bay’s films. With a huge streaming budget, the action sequences are grand and thrilling, like the opening car chase and the hilariously violent set piece featuring a giant magnet. However, Bay once again misunderstands the tone, swinging wildly between Reynolds doing silly things and observing the brutal treatment of people in war-torn countries. It’s a film that has fun with Bay’s uncompromising approach and serves as a reminder that he needs to be reined in sometimes.

11

The Island (2005)

A peaceful island community holds a dark secret

The Island is Michael Bay’s attempt at a more subtle and thought-provoking story for one of his films. The problem is that he then tries to combine it with his typical relentless action chaos, creating a strange cinematic ride. The film is set in an island community where citizens live in relative harmony, with certain subjects occasionally being selected for special updates. However, two members of the community discover a dark secret about the island and their own existence, leading them to flee.

Despite using the same compelling themes in dystopian science fiction classics, The Island is probably the Michael Bay blockbuster that audiences will probably forget exists. The entire narrative feels like a YA novel written to capture the enthusiasm of The Hunger Gamescomplete with thematic simplicity and painfully obvious influences. What sinks the film more than its mundane approach to the material is its blatant product placement. The film features a stellar cast, led by Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson, but Bay seems uninterested in exploring characters.

10

Bad Boys II (2003)

Mike and Marcus face a drug kingpin

Michael Bay made the first streak of his career with this wild return to Bad Boys franchise. Bad Boys II arrived almost a decade after the original film, with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence now established as blockbuster stars. The film follows Miami detectives Marcus and Mike as they take on a drug lord operating in their city.

This is the film where it feels like Bay was given full permission to go off the rails and do the kind of project he always wanted. The chaos of some of these action scenes showcases some of the best techniques of Bay’s career. In between all this carnage, however, there is an incessant barrage of long-winded and offensive comedy sequences that add to the film’s bloated runtime. It’s a really fun movie to watch for the stupid action, but Bay makes the audience go through a lot to get to these fun parts.

9

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

A Transformer Relic Is Found on the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a notable advance compared to Revenge of the fallenserving as the ending of Bay’s original Transformers trilogy. This is also the first Transformers film without Megan Fox, who was fired and replaced by British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as Sam’s new love interest. The film further expands the wild Transformers lore with the revelation that humanity first encountered the robots in disguise during the moon landing. With a discovered spaceship hidden above, Optimus and the Autobots face their old enemies once again.

Bay seemed to learn from the previous film’s script problems, as Darkness of the Moon presents a much more interesting story. That’s not to say the film doesn’t still suffer from an unnecessary runtime that’s padded out by more misguided comedy. However, Bay totally delivers on the action with some incredibly fun set pieces and a gloriously over-the-top climax. It became Bay’s highest-grossing film.

8

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)

The true story of soldiers who bravely defend an American compound

Michael Bay faced a real-life military tragedy for the second time in his career with the action film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. The film revolves around the terrorist attack of September 11, 2012, when the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by local militants. The film follows six members of the Annex Security Team who protected the complex during several waves of attacks.

When it was announced that Bay would make a film about Benghazi, one of the most politically controversial issues in modern politics, it seemed like a misguided idea that could have dire results. However, 1 p.m. is more restrained than one would expect from Bay. There’s a lot of grit in this war drama, as befits the story, and it’s easily Bay’s most mature work, even if it draws on his jingoistic sensibilities.. Separated from its socio-political context, 1 p.m. is quite enjoyable, although not a very in-depth look at the event itself.

7

Pearl Harbor (2001)

A love triangle set against the backdrop of the infamous attack

Pearl Harbor should signal the birth of a new kind of Michael Bay. This was the beginning of the prestigious Bay, the kind of director who could combine high-octane action with serious drama and historical weight. Pearl Harbor was the recounting of the Japanese army’s infamous attack on the American military base in Hawaii, which launched the United States’ involvement in World War II. The film is told from the perspective of two fictional pilots, played by Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett, who fall in love with the same woman, Kate Beckinsale.

The film tried the James Cameron approach Titanicdepicting a famous historical event in the midst of a great Hollywood romance. Unfortunately, half of this plan doesn’t work. The love triangle plot drags the entire film down. However, Although there are many historical accuracies in Bay’s retelling, the actual attack sequence may be the best action film Bay has ever made.

6

Transformers (2007)

A teenager’s car is a robot in disguise

Even after four more Transformers movies, Bay could never top the one that started it all. Transformers takes a simpler approach to the story, as it follows young outcast student Sam Witwicky as he gets his first car, which turns out to be a Transformer called Bumblebee. Along with the girl he’s in love with, Sam is introduced to the hidden world of the Transformers and must help them save the day.

Transformers is a perfect popcorn blockbuster with exciting action and great effects. What makes him stand out in the franchise is the genuine feeling of wonder it creates with these robots. The scale and sense of detail still manage to move audiences more than a decade after its debut and long after the rest of Hollywood began copying its aesthetic. Transformers it’s silly and stupid, and offers enough impressive set pieces to justify its existence as a movie based on a toy line.

5

Bad Boys (1995)

Two Miami detectives protect a witness

Michael Bay made his directorial debut with the action comedy Bad Boysquickly showing off her considerable Hollywood style. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence star as detective partners and best friends who are trying to take down a mastermind who stole a huge stash of drugs from a police station. When a witness to the drug dealer’s crimes seeks help from the police, Smith and Lawrence are forced to switch places to keep her safe.

The sitcom aspect of the script, with the misunderstandings spiraling out of control, is the least interesting thing in Bad Boysbut Bay makes up for it with his action. The film is a much smaller-scale outing than Bay presented later in his career, and that’s part of its charm. Smith and Lawrence manage to carry much of the film with their great performances. However, as with the climactic shootout, when it comes time to spring into action, Bay proves his worth.

4

Ambulance (2022)

Thieves escape inside a hijacked ambulance

Ambulance is Michael Bay’s most recent film and remains one of the best of his career. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as half-brothers and former soldiers who team up to pull off a desperate heist. When the plan goes wrong, the pair are forced to hijack an ambulance and its paramedic (Eiza González) while they are pursued by police in Los Angeles.

The film is essentially one long car chase sequence, and it works surprisingly well. Bay keeps things fun with one obstacle after another and some inventive filming techniques, including the extremely fun use of drones.. The film falls into the trap of many Bay projects in that the humor is forced and the wacky antics unnecessarily lengthen the running time. However, the film is a solid action ride that is elevated by some great performances.

3

Pain and Gain (2013)

A true story of criminal bodybuilders

Pain and Gain is a black comedy based on a true crime story. Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie play a trio of muscular, big-headed bodybuilders who plan to kidnap a nasty businessman who frequents their gym and get ransom money from him. However, the desperate and misguided men soon discover that they are not criminal masterminds and the entire plan gradually descends into deadly chaos.

Pain and Gain is the smallest of Bay’s films and benefits from the director having to be a little more reserved. The film features some of his worst qualities and there is a meanness to the way the film portrays the victims of these crimes, but it is an interesting complement to Bay’s other work. Bay typically glorifies a specific type of retro masculinity, but here he exposes it for the pathetic facade it really is.. The film is deeply nihilistic and hateful, but with a cohesive agenda that Bay’s work often lacks.

2

Armageddon (1998)

Oil drillers try to save Earth from an asteroid

Armageddon was Michael Bay’s first foray into the sci-fi genre long before his Transformers films. It was also his biggest film to date, delivering a truly entertaining summer blockbuster. The film stars Bruce Willis as an oil driller hired by NASA to go into space along with his ragtag team of drillers in order to save the world from an asteroid that is heading towards the planet and will destroy every living thing on Earth. if that happens. impacts.

The premise is ridiculous and falls apart at the slightest scrutiny, but it’s easy to put all that aside and simply enjoy the wildness of it all. The film creates a team of ideas on a defined mission, making the audience care about these colorful characters, which makes everything even more impactful when not everyone succeeds. The space scenes are outrageous and fun, while the world destruction sequences are terrifying and thrilling.

1

The Rock (1996)

An older ex-con and a chemist face off against mercenaries on Alcatraz

With only his second film, Michael Bahia He established himself as one of Hollywood’s best action film directors of the 90s, even if he wasn’t the most subtle. The rock sees a group of rogue soldiers taking prisoners on the former prison island of Alcatraz and threatening to use a biological weapon if their demands are not met. It’s then up to a neurotic, mild-mannered biochemist (Nicolas Cage) and the only man to successfully escape from Alcatraz (Sean Connery) to save the day.

The rock is the perfect mix of Bay delivering thrilling action while still at a stage in his career where the studio was perhaps resisting some of his distracting tendencies. It doesn’t hurt either The rock features one of the best casts Bay has ever worked with. Cage and Connery make a mismatched team, while Ed Harris is intense as the complex antagonist. More effectively, Bay’s comedic tendencies are reined in, allowing the film to maintain its thrilling town feel without being bogged down by jokes.