Is Michael Bay Worthy of “Auteur” Filmmaker Status... Or Nah?
Examining the career of highly successfully, but often critically panned, filmography of Michael Bay.
I’m very curious as to what the No Film School audience consensus is on Michael Bay. A polarizing figure in just about all film circles, Michael Bay has enjoyed a long - and somewhat surprisingly decorated - career as a major blockbuster filmmaker.
According to Wikipedia, his films have “grossed over $7.8 billion worldwide, making him one of the most commercially successful directors in history." He also has the distinction of having not one, but two films selected for the Criterion Collection (The Rock and Armageddon - in case you were curious).
He’s also been the epitome of the sleazy all style / no substance mega Hollywood blockbuster film director for years. From having casting calls where he photographs actresses washing his car in bikinis, to wacking audiences senseless with five Transformer movies (not counting the latest spin-off Bumblebee).
However, in a very thorough two-part series by film Youtuber Patrick (H) Willems, we are presented with a compelling quandary as to how we must reconcile the abhorrent filmmaker with his unquestioned status as a “true american auteur”.
Or, as Willems puts it in part one of his series: “Judgement Bay: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Michael Bae.”
