Many summers ago, my friends and I decided to check out this new Will Smith picture everyone was talking about. Almost 30 years before “The Slap”, Smith was still A-OK in my book – he had released a song that was the anthem of my high-school years (Summertime) and was the star of the incredibly funny sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air that I watched religiously. This new film however, promised to be something else entirely. Mega producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer – who had supercharged The Eighties with High-Concept blockbusters like Flashdance (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Top Gun (1986) – had now reinvented The Fresh Prince as The Nineties’ new action hero for their latest production Bad Boys (1995).
Simpson and Bruckheimer paired Smith up with Martin Lawrence – another newcomer to the Action genre – to star as Miami cops Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, who try to balance family, love and friendship while in pursuit of a ruthless drug kingpin. The film was just about the coolest thing I ever saw. An incredibly hip score and soundtrack, stunning South-Florida locations, and amazing Action-sequences directed with a visual flair that reminded me of another great Simpson / Bruckheimer collaborator – Tony Scott. However, BB was decidedly not a Tony Scott film. There was something very different and refreshing about the look and feel of the story. A new approach to Action filmmaking that could be largely attributed to one person – first-time feature-film director Michael Bay.
Much like his kindred film-spirit Scott, Bay had made his mark directing commercials for big brands. But being several decades younger, Bay had also cut his teeth on a medium that became hugely influential in The Eighties and early Nineties – the music video. Bay’s track record in the world of videoclips is thoroughly impressive overall, but specifically his frequent collaboration with rock star and occasional actor Meat Loaf is an early indication of his cinematic prowess. Who doesn’t remember being in awe of the mini movie that was the music video for I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)? Bay’s signature elements are all there – beautiful, scarcely dressed women, helicopters, slow-motion and a camera that never stops moving.
Cynical, acidic film “critics” have always attacked Bay for his bombastic, grandiose style, but f*ck them. I love it. My father introduced me to opera at a very young age and I realized at some point in my life that Bay’s films are exactly that – operatic. My favorite anecdote from the production of BB is that when Simpson and Bruckheimer didn’t want to foot the bill for a dramatic, operatic explosion that would elevate the final act, Bay told his bosses to stick it and he paid for the ballistics himself.
Bay followed up BB with what I think is his best film – The Rock (1996). This project was just the perfect storm. Not only did it reunite the by then piping-hot director with Simpson and Bruckheimer, the film also secured recent Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage who was about to have an incredible run of hit films. Even more impressive, the project piqued the interest of a true film icon – some would say the ultimate film icon – Sir Sean Connery.
Connery all but retired from acting after The Rock, and I am of the opinion that Bay’s film is his last great performance. I just can’t imagine anyone else playing John Mason – a former SAS-operative who was the only one to ever successfully escape from the Alcatraz prison.
Bay was visibly ramping up to full “Bayhem” with The Rock. It’s abundantly clear that he was finding his feet as the hottest Action director in town. I always rewatch the films I write about for this blog, and The Rock is such a joy to get re-acquainted with. This film has one of the best opening credits ever – except for maybe Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), but more on that later – and once I’ve started, I just can’t stop watching it.
Due to the incredible difficult process of film financing, most film credits these days are cluttered with acknowledgements to producers, co-producers, co-executive producers and countless studio and / or production-company logos. The Rock however, opens with just two instantly recognizable icons, rhythmically accompanied by a phenomenal Hans Zimmer score. Hollywood Pictures – the label Disney invented to sell films that were not PG – and the dual lightning-strike of Simpson / Bruckheimer productions. After this powerful introduction, we are immediately drawn into the story with a signature Bay-sequence that shows Ed Harris’ general Hummel in slow-motion, drenched in thick rain, visiting his wife’s grave to ask for forgiveness for what he is about to do. I am telling you – Michael Bay is a modern-day Mozart.
Aside from being one of the great Action films of The Nineties, The Rock also has one of the best-ever film quotes. When Cage’s Stanley Goodspeed moans to Connery’s Mason that he will “do his best”, Mason retorts: “Your best? Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f*ck the prom queen.” Of course, Stanley’s rebuttal in which he refers to his girlfriend Carla, might be even better: “Carla was the prom queen.”
In my opinion, Bay never equaled or surpassed the one-two knockout punch of BB and The Rock, but his subsequent output has been nothing short of legendary nonetheless. After The Rock came Armageddon (1998), a film I have deep affection for, but is sometimes so over the top even for my taste, that I can’t watch it whenever. This in stark contrast to BB or The Rock, which I both have to watch in full when I accidentally stumble across it on TV. I do love however that Armageddon apparently exists in the same world as The Rock, considering that the same actor plays the doom-speeching president in both films. Maybe it is time for a BCU? A Bay Cinematic Universe? Just sayin’…
After Armageddon came a couple of less focused, but equally exciting films like Pearl Harbor (2001) and The Island (2005). But everything changed when Bay teamed up with another Hollywood luminary to reinvent a long-dormant franchise. I was never a big fan of the Transformers animation series, but when it was announced that Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay where teaming up to bring to screens a live-action version of the property, my SciFi sensors all but short-circuited. I was skeptical though… I mean, the concept sells perfectly as a cartoon, but how could one possibly translate an otherwise ludicrous idea of robots disguising as objects to mainstream live-action film?
The Island may be a flawed film, but it did connect Bay to the very much in demand screenwriting-team of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. The pair had already very successfully reinvigorated the Mission: Impossible series when they were given the insurmountable task of convincing audiences that shape-shifting robots were meant to be taken seriously.
Orci, Kurtzman and contributing writer John Rogers eventually wrote a fine screenplay, but it took the combined visual genius of Spielberg and Bay to really sell the idea to film lovers around the world. And boy did it work. I remember being extremely skeptical about the film, but I left the cinema transformed – pun intended. Once again, the perfect mix of director, producer and other above and below the line talents – like composer Steve Jablonsky, for example – generated a truly original cinematic experience that spawned a multi-billion-dollar concept that continues to entertain people in cinemas, theme parks and toy stores around the world.
Bay made four Transformers sequels to various critical and commercial reception – my personal theory is that the odd-numbered sequels are the best – and eventually handed the franchise over to other visionaries with Bumblebee (2018) and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023). You can rest assured however that Hasbro – the company that owns the brand – won’t allow this proven goldmine to die, so expect more Transformer films, games and / or series in the nearby future.
However, as this piece is about Michael Bay, I want to take a couple of steps back. Several years, actually, to 2003. Eight years after I was so blown away by the thrilling experience of BB, I was very excited to learn that a sequel to the Smith - Lawrence - Bay extravaganza had come to theaters. Once again, a couple of friends and I settled in the red velvet seats of our local cinema, ready to be amazed. What would happen this time? Maybe the director would out-Bay himself and blow up an explosion?
Bad Boys II (2003) though, I have to say, somehow disappointed me. I felt the same I had felt after I saw Armageddon – there was so much to love on screen, but as a whole it just didn’t connect with me on the level that BB, The Rock and Transformers had. I did feel however, that we should definitely see more of detectives Lowrey and Burnett in the future. There was, I felt, still life in the series.
Once again, it took a long time for my prayers to be met. Over the years, various plans for a third Bad Boys film were announced – there has even been a female led spin-off TV series – but ultimately, none of these concepts really took flight. A few years ago however, that all changed. Ostensibly out of the blue, we learned that the supremely talented filmmaking-team of Adil el Arbi and Bilall Fallah had signed on to direct Smith and Lawrence in the aptly titled Bad Boys for Life (2020). The hiring of Adil and Bilall made me especially proud and delighted because of their Belgian roots. Belgium, of course, is not Holland, but it is still pretty close.
BBFL is a joy to watch. Maybe it is just wishful thinking, but I feel that Adil and Bilall peppered the film with winks and homages to the same films I loved and grew up with. Also, in recognition and appreciation to their predecessor, the directing duo gave Bay a small but significant cameo for true fans to geek out over. Overall, I was just very, very impressed with Adil and Bilall’s Hollywood debut. Had it not been for Warner Bros. Discovery’s stunning and heartbreaking decision to write off Batgirl completely, I believe that these guys would have been major players in James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe right now. We don’t have to worry too much about Adil and Bilall, though. The directing duo has since jumped right into shooting Bad Boys 4 (2024), so I think it's safe to say that they have taken over from Bay as shepherds of the lucrative franchise.
Adil and Bilall are not the only filmmakers with an obvious connection to Michael Bay. Over the past three decades, I have seen several talented filmmakers emerge with a directing style that is very similar to Bay’s. Dominic Sena and Simon West are the ones that spring to mind immediately, but obviously other multi-billion-dollar franchises like The Fast And The Furious have also been very, very strongly influenced by Bay’s approach to directing.
So, what’s next for Michael Bay? Lots, actually. Aside from directing, Bay actively started producing several years ago under his Platinum Dunes label. His latest directing efforts saw him venture into the streaming world with 6 Underground (2019), a Netflix original film, and tackle the Heist genre with Ambulance (2022). Next, according to IMDb, is Robopocalypse, a SciFi spectacle that will reunite Bay with his Transformers partner-in-crime Steven Spielberg.
But what will happen to Bay’s firstborn now that Adil and Bilall are presumably taking over the IP? Well, a couple of weeks ago I read an article that almost made my geek head explode. Someone floated the obvious, but just incredibly brilliant idea to pull an “Alien-versus-Predator” and combine two Simpson / Bruckheimer franchises. What if Axel Foley and Lowrey / Burnett existed in the same universe? Again – it’s just so stupendously evident, that I am kicking myself for not thinking of it first. Just imagine Beverly Hills Cop Eddie Murphy and Bad Boys Smith and Lawrence fighting crime together while trying to out-wisecrack each other…
Unfortunately, as of right now we have no way of knowing if this ultimate team up will ever actually happen, but one can dream, right?
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Twitter (X): Robin Logjes | The Screen Addict