It may seem absolutely unthinkable that I can support Michael Bay and tear down two of the three Batman movies. Or, it's thinkable, but the thought is just that I have ghastly taste. I'd like to offer a defense.
Movies do not owe you anything. You are not entitled to be moved, impressed, captivated, made to think, or even entertained by a film. That may be the director/writer/actor's intent for the end result, and it may happen, but you are not ever once guaranteed that will happen. Because they don't owe you shit.
You know who they owe? Two groups - the studio from whom they borrowed money and now need to repay plus profit so they can continue to have a job by getting another film backed, and/or the artistic elite who will hand them the awards that recognize and validate their art. They may be pleased that you went to see their movie; they may feel gratified, but the never once felt a duty or obligation that compelled them to make their film because you personally are entitled to watching a good movie.
To me, that's reasonable. I did nothing to earn the right to be given awesome films. The film industry knows we're not entitled to good movies, which is why we have Chris Rock singing about an afro - they don't care about our being enlightened through cinema any more than McDonald's cares about our health.
So, knowing that filmmakers don't owe us a good movie, and knowing they know that, we get down to honesty and transparency.
Michael Bay does not lie to us. At all. He doesn't say 'Transformers is really a metaphor for the transity of life, the idea that our hold on this earthly plane is tenuous at lest and that we are dangling precariously over Nietzsche's Abyss. Also, Megatron is supposed to be the incarnation of America's rape culture." No. He says 'BOOM'. And that's what you get. Do you think it's shit? Go ahead. I won't disagree. The dialogue's badly written, the plot makes no sense, the fight scenes gave me a headache because they were shot so crazily, the villain has zero on-screen presence and is boring as shit...
Oh, sorry. I forgot for a minute if I was describing Transformers or Batman Begins.
And there's my point, after all this rambling. I will defend a filmmaker who makes crap blockbusters, as long as there's transparency. I may still call it shit, and it may still be shit, but because I am not entitled to good movies, I'll support someone who has the self-awareness to deliver exactly what he was expected to deliver. Have you ever once had any question about what you're about to see when you walk into a Michael Bay film? No? Good on him, then. All that man wants is to blow shit up and make the US military look awesome. He does that every single time.
Transformers did not disappoint me. Begins and Rises absolutely did. I may not be entitled to good movies, but I was told the latter films were meant to be so. Nolan made them out to be outstanding cinema, and they are still the only two films I have ever wanted to walk out of. And I saw Warriors of Virtue in the theater, folks. So, I will defend Michael Bay because he makes shitty films that at least are totally benign and transparent. Begins and Rises are just shitty. So, SO shitty.
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