Director Michael Bay might not be winning any awards soon but it’s guaranteed that his movies will have epic moments.  Even his worst movie, ” Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen” had a kick ass fight between Optimus and the Decepticons.  Many moviegoers despise Bay, but I like the way he makes the scenes so heroic.  Below are the top 6 scenes from Michael Bay:

Warning: This contains spoilers, so read at your own risk!

6)  Pearl Harbor – Doolittle Raid Take Off

There were two great things going for Pearl Harbor: John McClane and Alec Baldwin. McClane was only in it for a couple of seconds but Baldwin played the American hero, Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle .  Baldwin was in classic movies such as “The Shadow” and “The Getaway” so you knew he’d steal every scene in Pearl Harbor. He delivered lines like “Pray for the both of us” with such sincerity that it brought many to tears.  What made this scene work was the urgency.  The Japanese ships already saw the U.S. carriers, so Doolittle and his men had no choice but to take off and start bombing their targets.  Add Hans Zimmer triumphant score and you have an inspiring scene.  And if that wasn’t heroic enough, Bay added the speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the take offs.  Yay for patriotism!

Watch til the 5 minute mark

Here’s John McClane making a cameo.  He looks young because it’s from the first Die Hard.
5)  Bad Boys – Intro

Bad Boys, the movie that skyrocketed Will Smith’s and Martin Lawrence’s career was also Michael Bay’s  full length directorial debut.  The intro involved Smith and Lawrence bickering and taking out some bad guys.  The sequence has Bay’s signature work all over it: beautiful cinematography, comedy, low angle shots and a gorgeous girl!  The scene was added after a positive reaction from test screenings.  Bay used his own Porsche and Playboy model Lisa Boyle for the memorable scene.

It was also in Bad Boys that Bay had his first trademark EXPLOSION moment.  Because of limited budget, Bay used his own money to blow up the airplane after Lawrence  shouts “You forget your boarding pass” at the end of the movie.  Bay said that the “audience clapped” when they saw the scene and Sony paid him back once the movie became a hit.

4)  Island – The Truth

The Island, Bay’s 1st movie after his breakup with uber producer Jerry Bruckheimer, resulted in a flop.  Dreamworks, the studio that financed the movie didn’t know how to market it.  They should have marketed it like Bay’s other movies, action with explosions! But they decided to get serious and it tanked at the box office.  It also didn’t help that Dreamworks were in contract disputes with theatres at the time.

The movie was decent, the first half was intriguing while the second half became a typical action movie. But the ending sequence was beautiful as the Island’s truth is revealed.  Only Bay can make Ewan McGregor and Djimon Hounsou walk in a tunnel and make it look cool.  Steve Jablonsky’s score from the scene has been used in countless trailers including Avatar and Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Original Ending

Chariots Of Fire version

3) Transformers – Scorponok

After his flop, The Island,  Michael Bay came back with a vengeance with Transformers.  The movie had all sorts of awesomeness!  Great special effects, exciting battles in the city and a bad ass scene with  Josh Duhammel and Tyrese as they battle Scorponok.  My favorite part of the sequence is when the military scrambles and they show the Warthogs.  As Marcus Burrnett from Bad Boys 2  would say “shit just got real.”

]I’d also like to share what youtube member, Irongut12345 had to say about the scene when compared to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2:

2:33: “our uav is online” – UAV
3:56: “friendly airstrike inbound” – PRECISION AIRSTRIKE
4:22: “our friendly ac 130 is in the air” – AC-130

Modern Warfare inspired by Michael Bay?  Can’t be…..

2) Armageddon – Launch

Bruce Willis and company make their farewell walk before blowing up a steroid in space.  Just like in The Rock and Pearl Harbor, the president makes a speech as we are shown a montage.  But this one is unique because our heroes walk through a red carpet as people cheer, it’s just like a Hollywood premiere! I also like how Bay portrays April O’Neil as a gold digger. At first, she didn’t want her kid to know his dad. But once she sees him on tv, she tells her kid “that man isn’t a salesman, that’s your daddy.” You disappoint me April!

Renny Harlin’s version from Driven.  Serious business!

1) The Rock – Green Flares

I must admit, I was disapointed when I first saw this movie.  After the SEAL’s got killed off, I bitched because they went down too easily.  It was a cheap way to get rid of Michael Biehn and crew.  But after watching it the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and millionth time, I’ve come to the conclusion that The Rock is a great action movie. The best scene is the “green flares’ at the end of the movie.  Nicolas Cage is about to get blown up by F-16’s and the only way to stop it, is to pop the flares.  So Cage does what every nerd would do, go into a symbolic Jesus pose ala Willem Dafoe in Platoon and wave the flares around.

I’m officially convinced that MW 2 creators are also Michael Bay fans, fast forward to 9:25!

One quick note, these youtube videos don’t do the scenes justice. I suggest watching it on a big screen and turning up your surround sound, especially during the explosions. I’m sure this is the only way Bay recommends watching his movies!

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