If you really want to ventilate your upstairs room again, you should of course not opt for refined arthouse fare, but rather treat yourself to an lavish spectacle. Michael Bay is certainly always a good place to go in that regard, because hardly any other director offers such megalomaniac action, which increasingly demands to outdo itself from scene to scene. The result is not just some brutal explosions, explosive gunfights or pure CGI overkill. Under the leadership of Michael Bay, a lot of cars have to believe in it.
Like a study of Michael Bay is officially the absolute terror of every car: Over the course of his career, Bay has converted 354 (!) vehicles into wrecks. This means: In the 15 films Bay has directed so far, an average (!) of 24 cars have broken down. Of course, it should be noted that each individual “Transformers” thriller features significantly more cars disassembled into their individual parts than in “Pain & Gain” or “Armageddon.”
This once again underlines the destructive reputation of Michael Bay, for whose orgies of destruction a separate term (“Bayhem”) was even invented. When you also consider how far Michael Bay is at the top of the list of screen car destroyers (way ahead of Justin Lin, who directed several “Fast & Furious” episodes), it becomes particularly clear that Just book DER is:
- Michael Bay (354)
- Justin Lin (135)
- Johannes Landis (120)
- Christopher Nolan (83)
- Joe & Anthony Russo (80)
- John Woo (77)
- Richard Donner (61)
- Steven Spielberg (60)
- Paul Groengras (51)
- Lana And Lilly Wachowski (45)
Regardless, Michael Bay is a true exception in current action cinema. Not only because his unique style is recognizable every second (but his staging gestures are simply too mannered for that). But also because Bay stands up without any false shame for a cinema that is fully committed to a very adolescent audience. This can often be condemned, but Michael Bay is almost unique in his through-composed desire for destruction.