The Rock is awesome. I always find myself comparing it to Con Air, another mid-'90s Jerry Bruckheimer-produced, Nicholas Cage-starring action film. In Con Air, Nick Cage is such a simple, straight-laced good guy that it almost robs him of his charisma as an actor. Cage's character in The Rock isn't traditional action hero material, but he's still more than capable of holding his own with Sean Connery. I was rooting for him the whole time, but it didn't go so far as to make him seem cheesy or wonderbread.
Stanley Goodspeed is on the same level as John McClane when it comes to reluctant action heroes, they can take care of anything, but hate every second of it
The reason Bay’s first 2 films are better paced is because at that point, he was a director for hire and Jerry Bruckheimer had the last word on his style choices and the final edit. Look at any of Bruckheimer’s movies starting with Top Gun, and you see that he and Tony Scott set the visual template that Bay and Simon West and others had to work within. On Bad Boys, it’s really noticeable (you could have told me Tony Scott directed that one and I’d believe it), then on The Rock, the template was still there, but Bruckheimer started loosening the reigns. Around Pearl Harbor and after, that’s when Bay started getting near total creative control, and that’s when his filmmaking weaknesses start to show, particularly his tin ear for dialogue and tendency to go about 30 minutes longer than the movie needs to be.
Michael Bay movies are like fast food. Everybody likes to shit on them, but when they’re good, they are super enjoyable, despite having no substance to them. When they’re bad though, they’ll make you want to vomit. EDIT: I would say The Rock is like a delicious burger and fries from an actual legit restaurant, though. Definitely his best work. Top ten action movie of all time, in my opinion.
This was a very solid ranking and breakdown of Michael Bay's films. My favorite of his films are the Bad Boys movies. I'm excited to see Ambulance! Great job Cody.
Glad you have Armageddon so high. Is my definitive guilty pleasure movie. Somehow have gotten in the tradition of watching it every Christmas Eve night.
More people need to be talking about General Hummel as a legit great movie villain. Perhaps the most interesting character in all of Bay-dom and much more sympathetic and layered than he's given credit for.
Great breakdown, I pretty much agree with the entire list, particularly the top 3. The car carrier chase from BB2 still gets the adrenaline pumping, I remember seeing it in the theater and the audience LOVING that scene. But I agree, the first BB is better, and The Rock pretty much has to be #1. On a side note, up until recent months, I thought Michael Bay directed Con Air for some reason. I guess it was the Jerry Bruckheimer connection. Anyways, good stuff Cody!
For me I find: The first Transformers film, while still a bit silly, is actually pretty good. ROTF takes a considerable dip in quality and the humour is piss awful, despite having some pretty good action scenes (the Forest fight is one of the best of the series) Dark of the Moon is by a landslide the best since the first, action is the best and most violent in that one for me, definitely the most epic, but the Sam job side of things (which I feel we spend too much time on) is to quote Deadpool the game ‘It’s SOO BORING! *starts crying*’ Age of Extinction was pretty bad and FAR too long, nearly 3 hours. Too much, especially for one that wasn’t massively interesting and the selling point of the Dinobots were barely in the film. But it does have its moments. The Last Knight, I don’t just dislike, I fucking despise this one. This is definitely my least favourite of the live action films (maybe even in TF, period), mainly because although the series retconned itself from film to film, this one takes it too far and the main reason I hate this one is it’s…well for a lack of better words, insulting. Bad and boring is worrying enough, but insulting? You’ve completely lost me. The only thing I like is Megatron and his design. Everything else I don’t like, surprisingly not even Prime (and Peter Cullen Prime is one of my favourite characters period). The whole Nemesis Prime angle REALLY didn’t work here and this is how you introduce Unicron? You can tell I hate this film by how much I’m ranting on it, but I’m done (I’ll be here all k-night otherwise and that joke is funnier than anything in ROTF)
Great ranking Cody. My ranking of the films I've watched from my favorite to my least favorite Is 1. Bad Boys 2 ( Awesome action film ) 2. Bad Boys ( Awesome action film ) 3. The Rock ( Awesome action film ) 4. Armageddon ( Awesome disaster film ) 5. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi ( Good film ) 6. Transformers ( Good film ) 7. Transformers: Dark Of The Moon ( Solid film ) 8. Pearl Harbor ( Bad film but the third act Is awesome ) 9. Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen ( Bad film but kind of enjoyable ) 10. Pain & Gain ( Bad film ) 11. Transformers: Age Of Extinction ( Bad film ) 12. Transformers: The Last Knight ( Awful film ) I still have to watch The Island, 6 Underground and Ambulance.
I wish i saw what people like you saw. Im really envious cuz to me Ambulance was absolutely terrible. And a slap in the face to audiences. So many unbelievable things happening in a movie that’s supposed to be grounded in reality. And atrocious writing and im someone that doesn’t usually criticize writing.
15: Transformers: The Last Knight 14: Transformers: Age Of Extinction 13: Transformers: Dark Of The Moon 12: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen 11: 6 Underground 10: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazzi 9: Pain & Gain 8: Pearl Harbor 7: Bad Boys 2 6: The Island 5: Ambulance 4: Transformer 3: Armaggedon 2: Bad Boys 1: The Rock
hey Cody! i’ve really been loving everything you’ve been doing recently. with the coming release of better call saul season 6, are you going to be doing a review series?
You hit on exactly what happened after the first Transformers - Spielberg had significant creative input on the first one, but not on the sequels. He even tried to get Bay to walk away from the franchise after the third one.
Nice, a new Cody video to get through Monday!! Saw Ambulance yesterday, it was ridiculous, lots of laughs. I was annoyed though that as a viewer I was either supposed to feel sorry for Will or view him as a hero 😒. I thought the dog was going to be given more air time so we would have someone to root for haha!
From what I discovered online, Michael Bay himself called Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen total crap due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guilds of America Strike affecting the production.
The #1 movie on this list is one I’ve been needing to watch for a while - Ed Harris is very underrated imo P.S as a person studying physics at a university - armageddon is an absurd mockery to all that is science… and it’s amazing! Definitely up there for my good bad movies
No it is not a good bad movie it is just a plain bad movie you can’t just say it’s one of bay’s best if it’s considered a bad movie its among bay’s worst movies Michael bay’s best movies have to be movies that are not soo bad it’s good it has to be just plain good
My favorite Michael Bay films are Bad Boys, The Rock, Transformers, and 13 Hours. The action was excellent in those 4 films. One of Michael Bay's greatest weaknesses is the increase in sexual jokes and innuendo that happen in the sequels he makes, case in point Bad Boys 2 and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The former's are so cringe-worthy I just skip them and the latter's made me quit halfway through that film.
15. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 14. Transformers: Age of Extinction 13. Transformers: The Last Knight 12. Pearl Harbor 11. Pain and Gain 10. 6 Underground 9. The Island 8. Bad Boys 7. Bad Boys II 6. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 5. Ambulance 4. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi 3. Transformers 2. Armageddon 1. The Rock
Michael bay is one of those director’s that I’m always know what I’m going to get and I love a lot of his movies yes even his transformers movies but only the first 4 . And I actually think he a pretty good producer as well
I had no idea how many Michael Bay films I had not seen until I watched this list. I don't gravitate that way very often. Did like Armageddon and Bad Boys though and the first Transformers was decent.
Nice ranking, here's mine: 1. The Rock 2. Bad Boys 3. Bad Boys II 4. Ambulance 5. Armageddon 6. Transformers 7. The Island 8. Pain & Gain 9. 13 Hours 10. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 11. Pearl Harbor 12. 6 Underground 13 Transformers: Age of Extinction 14 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 15 Transformers: The Last Knight
Bay used to be the perfect combination of action spectacle and check your brain at the door movies. Even Pearl Harbor I loved because the actual Pearl Harbor attack was such an amazing sequence that it was worth waiting through the threesome romance crap. Then Transformers took over his career.. I fell asleep during the 4th one, pretty amazing to fall asleep in a huge theater with loud bangs every 10 seconds, so that's really saying something. Since then, I kinda stopped paying attention to Bay Out of the ones I've seen, my ranking would be pretty close to yours though!
15. Transformers: Age of Extinction 14. Transformers: The Last Night 13. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 12. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 11. 6 Underground 10. Pearl Harbour 9. Transformers 8. Pain and Gain 7. Ambulance 6. The Island 5. Bad Boys 2 4. 13 Hours 3. Armageddon 2. The Rock 1. Bad Boys
1. The Rock 2. Bad Boys 3. Armageddon 4. 13 Hours 5. Transformers 6. Bad Boys II 7. 6 Underground 8. The Island 9. Pearl Harbor 10. Pain & Gain 11. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 12. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 13. Transformers: Age of Extinction 14. Transformers: The Last Knight 15. Ambulance (Haven’t seen)
I love Shia so much. He has stated he left Hollywood and the Transformer movies because he didn’t recognize himself anymore. He felt hollywoodized which led to him being addicted to alcohol and drugs. If you haven’t, watch The Peanut Butter Falcon. He is phenomenal in that movie.
While I get some enjoyment out of the first two transformers films and armageddon, I feel like Michael Bay is one of those directors that let's his style overshadow the substance
Being a longtime Transformers fan. I always had soft spots for the sequels. Revenge of the Fallen, the forest showdown, The Fallen being an interesting villain, & Jet-Optimus Prime. Dark of the Moon, Sentinel Prime’s character, the highway chase, Optimus’s trailer, & the battle of Chicago. Age of Extinction, Mark Wahlberg’s character, Lockdown & Cemetery Wind, & the Dinobots. The Last Knight, the opening scene, Nemesis Prime, & Dragonstorm. Those were the reasons I enjoyed the sequels.
My list 1. The Rock 2. Armageddon 3. Bad Boys 2 4. Pearl Harbor 5. Transformers 6. Bad Boys 7. Transformers. The last Knight 8. Transformers. Dark of the moon 9. Transformers. Revenge of the fallen 10. Transformers. Age of extinction
Personal Ranking Best to Worst: The Rock Armageddon Transformers Bad Boys Pearl Harbor Bad Boys II The Island Transformers: Dark of the Moon Ambulance Pain & Gain 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi 6 Underground Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Transformers: The Last Knight Transformers: Age of Extinction
Dude Armageddon is a horrible movie it deserves a negative 0.5/5 it makes no sense whatsoever it has hollow charachters distracting editing and dialogue that lands with a hard thud that makes critics groan as well as action scenes while exiting are too bewildering and sloppy to enjoy it’s just as bad as revenge of the fallen if not worse than age of extinction and the last knight I hated too of those movies
Haven’t seen Ambulance but here’s my ranking. I like everything from 8 upwards 14. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 13. Transformers: Age of Extinction 12. Pearl Harbor 11. Transformers: The Last Knight 10. 6 Underground 9. Transformers: Dark of the Moon 8. Armageddon 7. Bad Boys 2 6. The Island 5. Pain & Gain 4. 13 Hours 3. Bad Boys 2. Transformers 1. The Rock
My list (not much different from others): 1. The Rock ('96) 2. Transformers ('07) 3. The Island ('05) 4. Armageddon ('98) 5. 13 Hours ('16) 6. Bad Boys ('95) 7. Bad Boys 2 ('03) 8. Transformers: Dark of the Moon ('11) 9. Ambulance ('22) 10. Pearl Harbor ('01) 11. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ('09) 12. Pain & Gain ('13) 13. 6 Underground ('19) 14. Transformers: The Last time Michael Bay should ever do one of these. ('17) 15. Transformers: Age of who gives a fuck it's terrible and 165 minutes long. ('14)
15. Transformers The Last Knight 14. Transformers Age of Extinction 13. Pearl Harbor 12. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen 11. 6 Underground 10. Bad Boys II 9. The Island 8. Bad Boys 7. Ambulance 6. Pain & Gain 5. Transformers Dark of the Moon 4. 13 Hours 3. Armageddon 2. Transformers 1. The Rock
1.The Rock 2.Bad Boys II 3.Bad Boys 4.Pain and Gain 5.Ambulance 6.Armageddon 7.13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi 8.6 Underground 9.Transformers 10.Transformers Dark of the Moon 11.Transformers: The Last Knight 12.Transformers: Age of Extinction 13.Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
When Transformers: Rise of the Beasts comes out, it would be neat to have a Transformers retrospective leading up to it with all 5 Bay movies and Travis Knight’s Bumblebee
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts directed by Steven Caple Jr. is a sequel to Travis Knight's Bumblebee and in theaters June 9th, 2023. Just like Bumblebee it's still a half prequel half soft reboot.
I own literally every single Michael Bay movie, even his Platinum Dunes movies. I even own 6 Underground on Bluray, which hardly anybody can do, since its a Netflix film. That's how much I love his movies. Yes, even his Bad ones like Transformers 5, and his bad Platinum Dunes movies like The Unborn, Forever Purge and Ouija.
I like Michael Bay's early work I'm skeptical to look at ambulance due to your review earlier but my top five which one be in order are bad boys , bad boys 2 , transformers , transformers revenge of the fallen and The rock
I really like The Rock, I think the concept for The Island is fantastic, and I actively avoid everything else. I saw the first Transformers and didn’t care for it. I fell asleep during the second one at the theater. Haven’t seen the rest. Suspense and tension get me excited. With action movies I tend to check out of everything feels weightless. No punch or realism. They just look like cartoons to me. And I hate rapid editing that tries to add extra kinetic movement (like the Bourne flicks). Die Hard and Heat are examples of movies where the action feels present or heavy/weighty. Realistic I guess. It has punch rather. When Bourne Identity gets going I look away from the screen until it’s calm again.
I agree with The Rock, and one actor I also love in it is Michael Biehn from Aliens/ the Abyss/Terminator/ etc....My top 3 would be THE ROCK, Transformers pt 1, and Ambulance. 🤘🎬🖤
rotten tomatoes ranking: 15. Transformers: Last Knight (16%) 14. Transformers: Age of Extinction (17%) 13. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (20%) 12. Bad Boys 2 (23%) 11. Pearl Harbour (24%) 10. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (35%) 9. 6 Underground (36%) 8. Armageddon (38%) 7. The Island (39%) 6. Bad Boys (43%) 5. Pain & Gain (50%) 4. 13 Hours (51%) 3. Transformers (58%) 2. The Rock (67%) 1. Ambulance (68%) average: 37%
15. "Transformers: The Last Knight". Never saw. 14. "Transformers: The Revenge Of The Fallen". Never saw. 13. "Transformers: The Age Of Extinction". Never saw. 12. "Transformers: The Dark Of The Moon". Never saw. 11. "6 Underground". Don't think I even heard of it. 10. "Pearl Harbor". Saw bits and pieces, never the entire film. 9. "Ambulance". Undecided. Haven't seen it, but wondering whether or not to give it a try. 8. "13 Hours." Never saw. 7. "Pain & Gain". Never heard of. 6. "The Island". Never saw. 5. "Transformers." Saw it. Ok film. I never dug "Transformers" the cartoon, didn't even feel the toys were cool. This is the only one of the movies I saw, and the only reason I did see it is because one of my buds invited me to his place to watch movies, and this is what he rented. Outside of the presence of the gorgeous Megan Fox, the movie was passable entertainment. 4. "Armageddon". Never saw. 3. "Bad Boys II." Strangely, I don't recall whether or not I saw this(though I know I saw the first), but I plan on purchasing the entire trilogy. 2. "Bad Boys 1". Love it! 1. "The Rock". Unsure if I even heard of it.
The Rock is good. But I don’t see how people think it’s better than the bad boys movies Bad Boys 2 especially is absolutely incredible. The Rock is a perfectly fun movie. But the Bad Boys movies are classics.
Steven Spielberg is a producer on Transformers. Maybe he put in some advice for the first film. Second film was during the writers strike so they rushed it into cinema.
I personally love all his movies I'm one of the biggest Michael Bay fans you'll ever meet my ranking hard one for me 1. Bad Boys 2 2. Pain and Gain 3. Armageddon 4. Transformers Age of extinction 5. 6 Underground 6. Ambulance 7. The Rock 8. Bad Boys 9. Transformers Dark of the moon 10. The Island 11. Pearl Harbour 12. Transformers 13. Transformers Revenge of the fallen 14. Transformers the last knight 15. 13 hours
I Love Michael Bay he’s 1 of my Favorite Directors, very Underrated, I Love Bad Boys 1 & 2, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Transformers 1, 2, 3, & 4, Pain & Gain, & Ambulance I Love all those films those are Bay’s Best Films IMO, my Least Favorites Of his are The Island, 13 Hours, Transformers 5, & 6 Underground I Like those movies I enjoy them but there just Ok for me
I'm surprised Pain & Gain was the middle of the list, because that one is my favorite Michael Bay movie. Are there other movies that are better? Yes, such as The Rock. However, this movie really plays to his directorial style: a flashy and macho dudebro movie with an off-kilter, at times juvenile sense of humor. But then again, yeah, it is pretty screwed up.
give the man some credit, he once told Steven Spielberg and i quote, "man and I thought raiders was gonna suck." and still managed to have a career after that.
1. The rock (die hard on rebirth island, where we dropping) 2. Armageddon 3. The island 4. Bad boys 5. Bad boys 2 6. Transformers: dark of the moon 7. Transformers: revenge of the fallen 8. Transformers 9. Pain & gain 10. Pearl Harbor 11. Ambulance 12. 6 underground 13. 13 hours 14. Transformers: age of extinction 15: transformers: the last knight I disagree with the transformers 2 and 3 rankings, 1 I can see but I hated how they made prime too weak. 2 to me was absolutely hilarious with that roommate crying and prime was destroying everyone. 3 I think was the best with prime vs his mentor basically.
Good ranking. I'm not a Bay fan, just not into his directing style. I completely agree with you on The Rock, that movie is great. I didn't enjoy Transformers so I skipped the sequels, seems I dodged a bullet. 🤣. I didn't know he did Pearl Harbor, I couldn't get into that movie at all.
15. Transformers: TLK 14. Pain & Gain 13. Transformers: AOE 12. Pearl Harbor 11. 6 Underground 10. Transformers: DOTM 9. The Island 8. Transformers 7. Ambulance 6. 13 Hours 5. Bad Boys 4. The Rock 3. Armageddon 2. Transformers: ROTF 1. Bad Boys II
I know Michael Bay usually gets a lot of hate for the movies he makes but I find myself still enjoying his work and him giving others a chance to make movies thanks to Platinum Dunes is a something I do like about the guy. Definitely shows can be a good director and producer
@@carsonpeterson758 oh yes he does. He gets loads of hate for a plethora of reasons from just as many different people. He's probably one of the most popular directors to hate online. It's mostly accumulated as people's tolerance for the Transformers movies diminished. Personally, I like very few of his movies, at least the ones I've seen, anyway, but it's not really a beef against him personally.
I Love Michael Bay he’s very Underrated don’t agree with the haters & critics on his movies, I Love The Cast, his direction, Story, & Action which he does a Wonderful Job executing he’s one of the Best Directors IMO
Bay is my 10th favorite director I love every single movie he's made and they're a part of my childhood. He, Zack Snyder and David Fincher are the only directors whose filmographies i completed and my rankings(most favorite to least favorite) are Transformers The Rock 13 Hours Dark of the Moon Ambulance Armageddon Bad Boys 2 Bad Boys Age of Extinction 6 Underground Revenge of the Fallen Pearl Harbor The Last Knight The Island Pain & Gain Highest score is A+ while lowest is B+
The Island is a remake of Parts: The Clonus Horror. Michael Bay got in huge trouble for not giving credit to the original writers. If you watch Parts: The Clonus Horror and The Island back to back, you'll see what I mean about them being beat for beat the same movie.
Armageddon is the only one of his I enjoy * - actually I enjoy The Rock too - * 🤣 and I'm 99% sure why I enjoy Armageddon is just down to Steve Buscemi who had me in stitches with most of his lines.
