Michael Bay has done it all. After starting out with music videos, Bay went on to direct feature films, where he developed a reputation for blowing stuff up real good. And while not all films call for explosions, some people believe that there are even some classic TV shows that could use the Bay treatment.
Over the years, Bay didn’t just remain a Hollywood director. He delved into producing too. One looking for an overview of his work can start here with the five best movies he’s directed and five he’s produced.
Directed: Bad Boys, 42%
When Bad Boys came out, it immediately faced some conflict, since it’s one of those movies with the same name as another film. Nonetheless, this 1995 Bay action movie managed to distinguish itself quite easily from Sean Penn’s 1983 Bad Boys movie.
Originally, the film was supposed to star Saturday Night Live alums Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz, however, a source told Variety that production experienced “a myriad of problems.” Eventually, the two men left the project and Will Smith was cast alongside Martin Lawrence. The film went on to become one of Lawrence’s best movies.
Produced: The First Purge, 56%
Unlike the first three Purge movies that came before it, The First Purge is directed by Gerard McMurray. McMurray said he decided to take on the project after reading James DeMonaco’s script. “The story felt very personal to me; it felt like home,” McMurray told iHorror. “I instantly identified with the main characters, and I had a vision immediately.”
In the movie, the New Founding Fathers of America decides to conduct a social experiment in which laws are not enacted on Staten Island for 12 hours. The film stars Marissa Tomei, Y'lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Steve Harris, and Joivan Wade.
Directed: Pain And Gain, 50%
Pain and Gain is really about the drama and action, despite all the muscle you see in the film. And for Bay, it represented a departure from his usual explosive style of filmmaking. Bay had to step out of his comfort zone in this Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg starring movie. Surprisingly though, he didn’t seem to mind.
“I wanted to do something small, just actors acting,” Bay told The New York Times. “It was almost like film school again for me.” That said, the film still featured one of the best explosions in Bay’s movies.
Produced: The Purge: Anarchy, 57%
In this second installment of the Purge movies, Frank Grillo plays a man hellbent on revenge following the death of his son. Meanwhile, Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez play a couple trying to survive purge night on the streets after their car breaks down while trying to get home.
Of Grillo’s character, the film’s director, James DeMonaco, told Complex, “I knew that if I got to do a second one and go outside, that character would be a big part of it …”
Directed: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi, 51%
Based on a harrowing true story, this 2016 movie recounts the events that led to the killing of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, who had been stationed at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi stars John Krasinski, Max Martini, James Badge Dale, Pablo Schreiber, and Dominic Fumusa as members of the Annex Security Team who engage in a firefight with Islamic militants who had breached the area. While discussing the movie with CW Atlanta, John “Tig” Tiegen, one of the men portrayed in the film, said Bay “did a good job.”
Produced: Ouija: Origin Of Evil, 82%
In this 2016 film, Twilight’s Elizabeth Reaser stars as a widowed mother who doesn’t realize she’s invited a real evil presence into her home for a séance scam business until it’s too late. The movie’s co-writer and director, Mike Flanagan, purposely set the film in the 60s because of the interest surrounding the occult at that time.
Flanagan revealed that the classic horror movie, The Exorcist, served as an inspiration for Ouija: Origin of Evil. He told Fandango, “We knew we were doing a story centering around possession, so you kind of have to acknowledge The Exorcist.”
Directed: Transformers, 58%
When it was announced that Bay was going to do this 2007 movie, fans gave him a tough time. While speaking with IndieLondon, Bay even said there were “death threats” involved. Nonetheless, Steven Spielberg was confident he could pull it off.
The two men worked on Transformers together, delivering a film that exceeded expectations, despite its rather modest $145 million budget. If you can’t get enough of the Autobots, be sure to look out for these best moments in Bay’s Transformers movies.
Produced: Bumblebee, 91%
Bumblebee marks the first time that Bay decided not to direct a Transformers movie. Nonetheless, he stayed involved with the project and this was something that director Travis Knight appreciated. “We sat down early on and it was great for me, director to director, to pick his brain,” Knight recalled while speaking with CNET. “He was really respectful and recognized this was someone else's movie …”
The movie serves as a prequel to Bumblebee’s story before the events of Transformers and it stars Hailee Steinfeld as the Autobot’s first human friend.
Directed: The Rock, 66%
If you ask critics, The Rock is the best movie that Bay has ever directed. In fact, it ranks first among Bay’s best movies on Rotten Tomatoes. Interestingly, he worked on it when he was still relatively new in the industry and he found the late Sean Connery quite intimidating on the set.
“I had heard he was notoriously tough on directors,” Bay recalled while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter. “I was terrified when I gave him my first direction …” Later on, Bay also revealed that Connery helped him get more money for the film.
Produced: A Quiet Place, 96%
This horror film is directed by actor John Krasinski, who also starred in the movie alongside his wife, Emily Blunt. In A Quiet Place, Krasinski and Blunt play a couple trying to protect their family from creatures who kill anyone that makes a sound. And although Bay was attached to the project, fellow executive producer Brad Fuller told Indie Wire that “Michael saw his responsibility as supporting [Krasinski].”
The creature shown in the film was developed by Industrial Light & Magic, the same visual effects studio that Bay worked with on the Transformers and Ninja Turtles movies.