1. The "Bay shot" didn't work because the lens wasn't long enough (this was on a 35mm) but mostly because that requires a dolly on a track. I did it freehand with a gimbal which is terrible for keeping objects in frame on a long lens. This illustrates my point: to do what Bay does you need the money and resources to lay down a circular dolly track. It looks expensive because it IS expensive. 2. There was a glitch with the font in that one title card that I missed and I'm mad at myself about it.

As one of the foremost Michael Bay scholars working today, I had legitimately already blocked 13 Hours from my brain.

We need shirts that say, "Michael Bay has 2 films in the criterion collection". The back should say "#neverforget"

"If Lars von Trier can make Antichrist and get into Cannes, so should Michael Bay with Bad Boys II." Fucking wisdom right there.

Man this series really changed my opinion on Michael Bay. I honestly think its one of your best series yet.

Armageddon and The Rock are the two movies that Bay has in the Criterion Collection.

"Thanks for releasing part 2, Patrick." -A direct quote from SpongeBob SquarePants

THE WHOLE PLATE is simply the best...

One of the big reasons your shots don't "feel" 100% bay-like is because you're shooting on short lenses. If you look at the way he compresses background and subject to make things hyperreal, you'll notice he's shooting further away with longer lenses than you are, which also makes it easier to fit in your stars/action and keep them in the shot through the camera moves.

BOOM! BAYHEM!

"And it makes milk look like the most precious, live saving substance in existence" WELL IT IS. Great video as always Patrick.

I never thought that I'd see the Shockwave scene in Age of Extinction be compared to a Boccioni painting, but I guess that's what I get when I watch a Willems production :)

The Rock is one of my favorite movies. It's got heart. And Michael Biehn's performance in it was unstoppable.

I gotta say dude, this video (series) was really well written and put together, 10/10.

damn ebert was angry about Bad Boys 2 lol

I remember looking at the opening shot of "The Island" and thinking to myself, man, if Bay didn't have such shitty things to say about...well, everything, he'd direct the hell out of a Lord of the Rings style fantasy film.

I’ve never really forgotten Michael Clarke-Duncan screaming “I want to liive!!” as he gets winched back into the operating room in Island.

NEVER FORGET.... MICHAEL BAY HAS TWO MOVIES IN THE CRITERION COLLECTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael Bay and Rob Liefeld are kind of like each other's counterparts.

Pain an Gain and Bad Boys 2 are fucking classics, no one can change my mind on that

So, weird story about Pain and Gain. In a screening for it, I said, "It feels like a Coen Brothers' movie... in a good way!" The audience derisively sneered at the suggestion, as if I was speaking blasphemy, but I grew up on those movies and knew exactly what language he was using. On the way out, I turn around and sitting at a table in the center of the theater taking notes was... Michael Bay. I nodded at him and he pursed his lips like, "At least someone got what I was trying to do."

I'm not a fan of Michael Bay, but he really is an auteur-director, which I mention in one of my own videos on Auteur Theory. I still enjoyed your essay on his filmography. Well done :)

Michael Bay wants to live in the last action hero world ahahahahah

The head shake after stating the 'MB CAN story-tell' and before "He just usually doesn't choose to.." is pure awesome.. Thank you. I will now rewind that part 5 times to concur with myself.

I was waiting for this video all week.

Ok now do Zack Snyder.

"What you call Hamilton was invented by guys like me to sell milk"- Michael Bay at his Clio acceptance ceremony.

I really hope Michael bay watches these videos.

Now I understand why the cinematography in the Transformers films are beautiful.

It's funny how all of Bay's movies make him seem like a blowhard American puntz but based on his quotes he actually sounds pretty intelligent and at the very least he's aware that he's placating to the lowest common denominator.

4:09 If you would ask Bay himself, he would probably say something like "It looked cool."

The Island = Minority Report and every J J Abrams movie ever

WHAT I'VEEE DOOONNEEEE I FACE MYSELF

Great video mini-series. I never thought Michael Bay was a hack, and it’s good to hear a strong case for him knowing what he’s doing. Which is precisely why I don’t like his movies. I can’t stand the world view he’s presenting, or how he presents them. Maybe it’s because I’m not from the US and I wasn’t subjected to his commercial style growing up, but I find the look of his work off-putting, from ads to film. The fact that he knows what he’s doing kind of makes it all worse. He might hate every day State Americans, but he’s part of the reason why they behave like people he hates.

Hot Fuzz parodied Bay's style pretty well in certain scenes, including the obligatory Hero Rotisserie.

As a description of Bay and his filmmaking sensibility, I don't think you can beat this quote from Mark Kermode's review of 'Pain And Gain': "It is a movie in which Michael Bay makes his little arthouse movie to show us his soul and we look into his soul and we find ourselves looking into a void-like abyss of blackness the depth and enormity of which it is impossible to comprehend. Werner Herzog could look at Pain & Gain and I think he'd actually be scared."

I agree his technique creates great visuals, but the trouble is that when every frame tries to be awesome, by the time you get to the parts which SHOULD stand out - be it action set pieces, emotional moments, or even establishing shots, the constant high-intensity of every single shot that has led up to it has desensitized the audience. We remember great sequences like the T-rex's escape and attack and Arnie's chase of a truck on a Harley while firing a shotgun with one hand because they stand out from the quieter, calmer narrative that led up to it, marking a contrast that defines the moment and making them stick in our memory, becoming iconic. In a Michael Bay movie, when every shot tries to be iconic, none of it stands out, and in spite of the great visuals, none of it sticks in our memory. Think about it - when I mentioned those example scenes you knew which movies I was talking about - but how many Michael Bay awesome moments/sequences can you describe in a way that'll make people immediately recognize which film it came from? Bayhem is cool to watch, but immediately forgettable. I believe he CAN make good movies, but at this point it's nigh impossible, because his work so far has given him way too much status. If a good producer could restrain his more eccentric instincts, he could very well make something truly spectacular. But now? After the the success he's had? Which producer would try? And why would Bay put up with it? The creative freedom he's earned for himself is pretty much a guarantee that he'll never make a true masterpiece.

Focal length might be not long enough for imitating "the classic Bay shot"

Patrick, thanks for making this. I've always FELT these things about MB's flicks - most of which I don't like - but didn't know WHY, until now. You put into words what I couldn't. I'll bet you will be a great filmmaker someday, when a Producer gets you the millions needed. I'm now a subscriber, and intend to watch a few more of your vids right now.

I firmly believe that 13 Hours is the best movie Michael Bay has made.

Explosions... Not enough explosions.

Bad Boys II is a self indulgent masterpiece

I never thought 13 hours to be a Bay movie... And Im quite loving it...

The one movie where Michael Bay shows his true Psychopathic action edge to the world is Pain and Gain . I like it because at least is extremely true to its satirical self. Obama’s commercial success came from a great campaign arm . Something Bay was very familiar with . Politics and narrative seem to run each other into the ground . Straight forward portraits of events are better than hamfisted pinko politics. The way 13 hours goes it feels the closest he’ll get to making something Fincheresque

I hope he cranks the dials to 11 if he does Bad Boys III

I'm really upset that you really didn't focus on the 1st 2007 Transformers film if you looked at it at its own it's a pretty standard and solid film and you could have talked about how it brought a new wave of blockbusters like the mcu.

Holy shit. What a wild fucking ride! Did not expect the twists and turns this series would take. Glad I'm a Patreon~

I had never heard of The Island, and was watching it on TV as I was in a hotel with no better options for entertainment. I do not recall a ton about it now, other than thinking it was a decent sci-fi movie (by TV in a hotel standards). What I do recall vividly is that, as the credits rolled and I read the name Michael Bay, I realized - embarrassed to say, for the first time - that one of the principle foundations of Bay's aesthetic is that it is always thirty mins before sunset. I can only surmise that I had never consciously made that observation about him previously because of exactly what you pointed out in part 1 of this essay - That Bay is like abstract art. I found this assertion to be profound, and astute. As with abstract art, for which intent and narrative have little to no function, I believe I learned instantly that watching a Bay movie can only be enjoyable if one just experiences it, feels whatever they feel while viewing it, and giving it no further or deeper consideration. Due to this, when I read the synopsis of Pain and Gain and thought essentially that it did sound very much like a Cohen brothers script, I knew I had no desire to ever watch it. Though he may well want to make other kinds of films, he simply can not. Partly because of his dependence on visual style, partly due to your observation of his utter lack of empathy, but mostly because one can neither expect Jackson Pollock to be able to paint like Van Gogh or Rembrandt. Bay does have lovely shot composition, which creates some pleasing colors for him to paint with, but all he is capable of doing with those beautiful colors is hurling and dripping them on a canvass and letting the viewer imagine whatever they wish might exist for some "deeper" meaning. I think the overly symbolic shot of Will Smith with the cross is the purest example of this "abstract intent" - He just puts things in an image that he thinks should be meaningful to people, and then hopes the viewer will give him credit for being deeper than he actually is.

Btw that's not nihilism that's misanthrope meaning "human who hates all other humans". Nihilism is a philosophy based life having no meaning. Two completely different things

I love this so much! I love the way you put your reviews together with a narrative that is entertaining but doesn't get annoying or distract from the content.

Michael Bay has produced some genuine great movies

This is eyeopening and incredibly well put together and straight up funny. Thank you for the quality content Pat!

With these two parts together, you've made a feature length video about Michael Bay. That's pretty cool!

I agree he is sincere, technically insanely adept and truly every movie is a personal expression of his viewpoint. Anyone calling him a hack have no idea what they are talking about. And still his movies are still aesthetically awful (imo), confusing, mean-spirited and forgetable. Just because an artist creates distinctive creations does not necessarily deserves respect and to be taken seriously. Respect is earned and in my humble opinion as a viewer nothing i have seen after The Rock deserves that respect.

This is why you're one of the best KZfaqrs out there. Great work, the type piece I wouldn't have thought I'd care about but was actually one of the best.

Just rewatched both your Bay videos - these are full on masterpieces! 5/5

This was amazing, Bad Boys II is a masterpiece

Yes, its almost 2am in the UK, and ive been waiting for this.

great job man! this is some of your best work to date

Thanks for another incredible video essay, Patrick!!

This was awesome and everyone is saying for you to do the same thing for Zach Snyder but I would like to see you do a simular video analyzing Dwayne Johnson's acting career.

Great video as always. Finally someone on the net treating Bay with a bit of respect. I would love it if you did a Zack Snyder video. Coz I feel you are only youtuber who can give us an objective take on him instead of just pure hatred

This is your best video, by far! The music and the atmosphere was great. I now have a new appreciation for Michael Bay!

Holy cow, Patrick (H) Willems. This is, perhaps, one of your best videos. You took a hard stance on a complicated director and moved me. Thanks.

This was an absolute blast. Great production. It's nice to see how you guys integrate a narrative inside a video essay. You yourselves have a unique style in these things. Keep the good work.

Well done man. Michael Bay was the one who first got me into filmmaking, gotta love the 2hr behind the scenes documentary of the first TF movie. I wish they did that sort of thing for more recent and popular movies. I guess things are too secretive these days. :(

Excellent video. Getting through 40 min of content in most cases is impossible but you make it fun. You are objective and did your homework.

Amazing series!!! I will be watching these two videos for years to come.

I Just LOVE Bad Boy's 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your Bay styled spinning shot with 2 dudes failed partly because dudes are well... mediocre. They are not nearly as rugged and stylized as men on 13 hours, The Rock or Armageddon. It's the package of everything with Bay.

This is probably one of the best analysis of any thing ever!

Never thought I'd say it, but I have a newfound respect for Michael Bay. Awesome job, Patrick.

Good stuff dude. Pain and Gain was a real eye opener on what Bay can do after all the Transformers fatigue. Definitely STILL A LOT of potential in him. Most surprising was that he can get real nuanced and interesting performances from very unusual actors - I'm referring to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He's fuking phenomenal there, on par with what Steve Buscemi did in Armageddon - very organic to the world of the movie. 13 Hours was strange... He took a real event and tried to be as true to it as possible (even involving the real men who lived through that night) but still using that Bad Boys/Transformers visual language. Just kept it off the afterburner for 99% of the movie. It's like he can't help it or doesn't want to. It's definitely less spectacle oriented than his big budget work, but even then it's pretty obviously Bay branded.

This is a real uplift to my day- I had a good time working concessions at a winning Penn State game, only to discover my hamster dead when I went to feed her. Thank you for this.

YES! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!

Michael Bay is a true cinematic artist!

FYI the films in the criterion collection are The Rock and Armageddon.

My problem with Michael Bay is that through his acolytes (J. J. Abrams, Orci, Kurtzman) his style of storytelling has infiltrated other franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars. Armageddon (1998): Directed by Michael Bay Screenplay by J. J. Abrams The Island (2005): Directed by Michael Bay Screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman The Legend of Zorro (2005): Story and Screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman Mission: Impossible III (2006): Directed by J. J. Abrams Written by J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman Transformers (2007): Directed by Michael Bay Story and Screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009): Directed by Michael Bay Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman Star Trek (2009): Directed by J. J. Abrams Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman Cowboys & Aliens (2011): Directed by Jon Favreau Screenplay by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof Prometheus (2012 film): Written by Damon Lindelof Star Trek Into Darkness (2013): Directed by J. J. Abrams Written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014): Story and Screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015): Directed and Written by J. J. Abrams The Mummy (2017 film): Directed and Story by Alex Kurtzman The Dark Tower (2017): Produced and Screenplay by Akiva Goldsman Transformers: The Last Knight (2017): Directed by Michael Bay, Story by Akiva Goldsman Star Trek: Discovery (2017): Created by Alex Kurtzman, Executive producer Akiva Goldsman "The Vulcan Hello" Story by Alex Kurtzman, Teleplay by Akiva Goldsman

These videos are the best I've seen for a while. Thanks!

2:48, I see what you did there ;) .... much appreciated

the connection you made between the transformes fight scenes and the futurist movement is perfect on so many levels! I'll definitely write a paper about this.

So let me get this straight: Michael Bay was actually the biggest troll in the film industry and we all fell for it Damm it

15 minutes ago I was cheking the channel for the part 2. "I guess it didn't come out yet". Came back now to check another video of yours... LUCKY ME.

There are some really interesting insights into Bay as a filmmaker here, and I think it's an excellently well written essay; congratulations.

Is it possible Michael Bay's skills as a visual stylist and storyteller would make him one of the world's great cinematographers?

4:52 You definitely just said wosn't. That wasn't even close to a 'a' there.

I just got done watching part 1 then part 2 popped up. Great video! Keep up the good work patrick

Thank you for this video. My love for Michael bay just went up!

Patrick grew up as a true american auteur

That was fantastic. i know you glossed over the Transformers films, as you should, but I reckon there's a video in studying just how incoherent The Last Knight is. It's on a whole different level of impossible to watch. I'm kinda hoping he does a musical eventually. He so clearly wants to make one.

Patrick you are really really good at this, so please don’t stop making videos ✊🏼

Was eagerly waiting for this the whole week :)

Lets rewatch the last episode, and then watch both of them together.

I really like your analysis of Bay. however his Masterpiece is always going to be the Rock

These videos were freaking amazing. I loved them

Thank you Mr Willems for this marvelous analysis of visual genius. Was looking forward to part 2 and it exceeded expectations.

5:58 happened and I said "Toru Hagakure" out loud before I could even think, thus proving how much of a fuckin weeb I am

I know your intent was to take Bay seriously as an artist, but I actually came away from this feeling even more negatively towards him. The fact that he is capable of creating such powerful, affecting images, makes me even more upset that he applies these gifts to such misogynistic, incoherent, idiotic stories. Spielberg also figured out at a young age how to play the audience like a piano, but then he decided to apply this to more interesting subjects, like racism, the holocaust, and World War 2. Even something like Jurassic Park is so much more thoughtful in how it approaches animals and science than anything Bay does. I guess this is just who Bay is, but I don’t think “he’s a terrible person, but he’s good at his job” is actually a good defense of someone.

I like that you can argue and be very interesting about such a subject and guy like hime, analyzing these things bring a very unique and intriging way of thinking about movie creation in general. Well done !

God i love this. So well done Patrick. Great work! Thank you!