The fact that the movies have made so much money at the box office shows that people do want to see the movies over and over again. You don't get those kind of returns on people only watching your movie once.Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
The money made by the films serves to demonstrate Michael Bay's core strength. He is an excellent "bums in seats" director. Getting people to watch his movies and make massive box office sales is his forte. Making movies that are actually good at telling stories and that people will want to watch over and over again without getting ever getting sick of it? Hhhmmm...Because IMHO, that's the hallmark of a good story; one that you never tire of.
"I'm so sick of The Empire Strikes Back," said no Star Wars fan ever.
Once again, I can't help but think that the problem a lot of people have here comes more from the writing than Michael Bay's direction. Story and characters, which seem to be recurring points, come from the writing, which Bay does not do, so I think it's unfair to blame him on these points. The writing is the foundation on which everything else is built on....and that's the point right there. "Bums on seats" films don't have to be bad, and Gok's example is a stellar one. AOE was extraordinarily bad, but it just didn't have to be. There's no reason we can't expect a movie that kills at the box office AND has great story, characters, writing, etc. Put simply, Michael Bay is demonstrably not the guy to do it. 4 attempts so far with ever diminishing returns as far as quality (and I would argue increasing perversion, eloquently put by Film Critic Hulk from BadAssDigest.com). Let someone else have a go I say, even though my enjoyment of TFs is not remotely affected either way. I've already decided to vote with my wallet if Bay directs a 5th TF film (for all the good that will do).
On the point of character, I recommend people watch Bay's other movies - as I have said before, no shortage of character 'moments' in The Island, The Rock, Armageddon or Pain and Gain.
On a somewhat related point, I don't really get the story-related complaints. I can follow easily enough what's going on, what characters are doing and why (most of the time, anyway). Simplistic? Perhaps.
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