Bay's road to redemption

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Agreed -- this Verizon FiOS commercial is the cleverest, most likable piece of filmmaking from the hand of Michal Bay since The Rock. Because it has a theme. Because it's half-sell and half-personal confession. By embracing his rep as the shallowest big-name director around, Bay has almost transcended it. He'll make his first truly rich and mature (and possibly even moving) film ten years from now. Maybe sooner.

Why is "The Bucket List" succeeding?<< previous | next >>All over but the shouting

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 16, 2008 at 11:02 AM

comment #1

DarthCorleone says ...

Good commercial. And bravo to my least favorite director for being able to poke fun at himself.

That said, is that arch self-awareness of those explosions on his part, or is it genuine enthusiasm? I'm not sure this ad implies that he'll suddenly lay off the "awesome" and his sledgehammer-subtle style of filmmaking anytime soon, so - when it comes to his generating this "rich and mature" artistic achievement - I'll believe it when I see it.

Posted by DarthCorleone at February 16, 2008 11:31 AM

comment #2

cinefan says ...

Well, I'm glad that you're convinced that he'll make a rich and mature film someday. Having seen Transformers recently, I'm not even close to convinced that he's capable of such a film. You have your adjective Spielbergian and I have my adjective Bayesque to describe the many moronic and implausible scenes his films seem to be filled with. My "favorite" in the Transformers is when Optimus Prime and his robot friends are tearing up the yard of Shia Lebouf's house (destroying a fountain, etc.) and his parents inside the house don't hear any of it.

Posted by cinefan at February 16, 2008 11:31 AM

comment #3

D.Z. says ...

Was he trying to hit on the Verizon guy?

Posted by D.Z. at February 16, 2008 12:03 PM

comment #4

tophertilson says ...

How is making fun of himself a sign that he's maturing? Irony isn't depth.

Posted by tophertilson at February 16, 2008 12:07 PM

comment #5

OddDuck says ...

Is it possible that Transformers is the worst big budget movie of all time? Granted, the movie was a good a demonstration of well executed big $$ CGI as I've ever seen, but my mind reels when I consider some of the weird moments in that movie - especially those involving John Turturro. Just inexplicable...

Posted by OddDuck at February 16, 2008 12:08 PM

comment #6

Dan Revill says ...

OddDuck, you forget Wild, Wild West? I'd take Transformers in a heartbeat over that travesty. While it's far from perfect, it's enjoyable.

As for this commercial, it's awesome. Not sure Bay will do something with huge depth (and I say this as a fan) but you never know. There have been hints in stuff like The Rock and The Island. Still I'd put my money on Bay to do something really meaningful before Ratner.

Posted by Dan Revill at February 16, 2008 12:16 PM

comment #7

Fred Mounts says ...

How dare you praise a commercial advertisement from one of the capitalist corporations trying to form an all-encompassing hegemony over the freedom of thought and expression of the American people!

-- Christian

I kid! And don't completely disagree...

Posted by Fred Mounts at February 16, 2008 12:17 PM

comment #8

George Prager says ...

Oh, I get it, Jeff is being sarcastic.

Posted by George Prager at February 16, 2008 12:23 PM

comment #9

D.Z. says ...

Odd: I'm just pissed that it's winning effects awards over 300.

Posted by D.Z. at February 16, 2008 12:25 PM

comment #10

actionman says ...

Very funny commercial. For all the shit this guy gets, he really is a funny dude in a clownish sort of way. His movies are obvious pieces of entertainment; there are worse things in life than sitting down and being entertained by movies like The Rock, Transformers, The Island, etc., The Rock is still his best film and I wonder if he'll ever really top it. Solid script, great characters, a layered villian, terrific performances, and gorgeous action. The action sequences in Bad Boys 2 are also fucking amazing. Same with the jet-bike stuff in The Island, which is slightly underrated (but the final action sequence is weak; he even admits as much).

Posted by actionman at February 16, 2008 1:15 PM

comment #11

D.Z. says ...

I hear Bad Boys 2 swiped its action scenes from Police Story.

Posted by D.Z. at February 16, 2008 1:19 PM

comment #12

George Prager says ...

"I hear Bad Boys 2 swiped its action scenes from Police Story."

Actually, no...it swiped them from LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD.

Posted by George Prager at February 16, 2008 1:28 PM

comment #13

Jeremy Smith says ...

We would've also accepted HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR.

Posted by Jeremy Smith at February 16, 2008 1:39 PM

comment #14

christian says ...

How dare you praise a commercial advertisement from one of the capitalist...

Oh shit. Fred beat me to it.

You should all feel secure in the knowledge that Bay is himself writing TRANSFORMERS 2: ROBOT BUGALOO.

Posted by christian at February 16, 2008 1:43 PM

comment #15

BurmaShave says ...

Wes Anderson's better looking douchebag older brother.

Posted by BurmaShave at February 16, 2008 2:04 PM

comment #16

Neil Miller says ...

Personally, I am a fan of Michael Bay -- and this commercial is a perfect example of why. Bay understands the way the public (and critics) percieve him, and he seems to be okay with that. I don't see anything wrong with a Hollywood director making movies that are entertaining to him. In this case, others are entertained by them as well.

No one ever accused Michael Bay of being an artist, himself included. So why should we expect him to make heavy, deep films? I would argue that there is as much a place in Hollywood for Bay as there is for directors like Steven Spielberg. We all just want to be entertained sometimes, right?

Posted by Neil Miller at February 16, 2008 2:09 PM

comment #17

WinslowLeachtheComposer says ...

Now let's see him put two shots together signifying continuity and I'll admit he might be on to something.

Posted by WinslowLeachtheComposer at February 16, 2008 2:38 PM

comment #18

frankbooth says ...

You mean his other movies are WORSE than The Rock? I would have walked out of that one after ten minutes if my viewing companion hadn't wanted to stay.

As for the ad, I see no evidence that Bay is in on the joke. I think he thinks he's awesome.

Posted by frankbooth at February 16, 2008 3:02 PM

comment #19

MPNeeb says ...

""Is it possible that Transformers is the worst big budget movie of all time?""

Nope. I hate Transformers, but it's not worse than Cleopatra or Raise the Titanic.
Or Batman and Robin.

Posted by MPNeeb at February 16, 2008 3:42 PM

comment #20

Edward says ...

George Prager you've been on a roll today. Funny stuff.

Armageddon and Black Hole have to be up there in the worst big budget movies of all time list.

Posted by Edward at February 16, 2008 3:55 PM

comment #21

JB Moore says ...

Big ups to George Prager. That was some funny-ass shit.

Posted by JB Moore at February 16, 2008 4:15 PM

comment #22

lazarus says ...

I can't stand Bay or his films, but I have to say, I really liked The Island. While I wouldn't call it visionary or wholly original, it was decent sci-fi that had some ideas, two likeable and good-looking leads, and some good action scenes. It could have been a lot worse, and I'm guessing if it had been, it would have made a lot more money. Props to Bay for scaling it back a little, though it appears he learned his lesson and went back to the trough for Transformers.

Posted by lazarus at February 16, 2008 4:35 PM

comment #23

symscovington says ...

Jeff,

Looks like Mr Bay is a serial mocker. He's just done a commercial for a big Australian bank where he pretty much does the same thing. Shorter cameo though, but it's been playing heaps over here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v89M3lhlKA

Posted by symscovington at February 16, 2008 7:28 PM

comment #24