FORMAL FILM STUDY: Michael Bay
For my formal film study, I reviewed
the director Michael Bay. The three
films I chose by him are Transformers,
I Am Number Four, and Pain and Gain. All of these movies are action films, which
Michael Bay is known for. He is the type
of director that enjoys making big production movies. “A lot of directors don’t want the pressure
of a movie the size of Pearl Harbor. But
I love it. I thrive on it,” says Michael
Bay (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/michael_bay.html#MhmzOxCGFqV6w30o.99). The three movies have many similarities but
also many differences. For them all to
be from the same genre, Michael Bay does a good job of creating different
experiences for each movie. In each
movie, the style is very colorful and has a lot of special effects. Transformers
and I Am Number Four both have
elements in the movie that are unrealistic.
For example, there are talking robots in Transformers and alien creatures in I Am Number Four. In the
movie Pain and Gain, there really isn’t
any sort of Sci-Fi feature. However, Bay
does use color to make the movie have more special effects and style.
The
cinematography and technology in all three movies is very impressive. After reviewing how movies were back in the
day, I can really tell the technology in movies has come a long way. In Transformers,
the talking/transforming robots were obviously a big aspect in the film. Throughout the entire movie, the robots were
present. There was also this big fight
scene in the end where the robots were fighting, but real people were also
fighting along-side them. The technology
and special effects really enhanced the film and made the fighting more realistic. In Pain
and Gain, there was a lot of guns and violence used. It kind of surprised me because it was
definitely more graphic than the other two movies. The technology and cinematography with the
guns added to the film also. Audience
members actually got to see people getting shot. In I Am
Number Four, there were a lot of explosions and fire bursts. To film this, I know that the director had to
use advanced technology. It seems that
in a lot of action movies nowadays, they can’t really be made without using
high technology because otherwise the action wouldn’t seem interesting or
believable.
The
culture element in each movie was different.
In Pain and Gain, there was an
antihero as the main character. He was
actually the bad guy in the situation, which was cool to watch because it gave
a whole new perspective on the plot. What
the movie was trying to say though was that Americans are huge social climbers,
and how sometimes in life, we all do what we need to do in order to achieve
wants and desires. For Transformers and I Am Number Four, the messages were somewhat related. Both movies had hero-like main characters
that saved the world. In one the hero
was working along-side robots, where in the other the hero had special
abilities. Both movies had humans
working with aliens. Because of this, it
displayed the message of different people coming together for a good
cause.
There
was a lot of cool camera work in all three movies. In all of the movies, there were many long
shots taken where you saw the main character fighting or running from
something/someone. For example, in both Pain and Gain and Transformers, the main characters had a long, drawn-out scene of
running in slow motion. It provided a
different feel during intense battle or fight parts of the movie. Also, there were many times in the movies
where the camera would follow someone who was in action. For example, there was this scene in Transformers where a soldier had to
shoot up at a robot from the ground. As
the soldier slid on the ground shooting up, the camera panned out on the shot
and followed the movement of the soldier.
It was a useful technique.
One
main discovery I found with all of the movies was that Michael Bay really incorporated
and emphasized the use of narration.
Each movie began with some sort of monologue or narration from a main
character. The narration sort of set the
scene for the movie and gave an introduction to the plot. I thought this was great because it added
style to the film, while also explaining details to the audience. Each movie had a complex storyline, therefore
it was a good idea to include the narrations to simplify and explain what was
to happen. Then also at the end, a
speech in the form of a voice over/narration was given. This was effective because it acted as a
conclusion for the movie but left the audience hanging for a sequel. The narration aspect in each movie allowed
for the audience to get the feel that the story was being told from the main
character’s perspective. Instead of
being a bystander in the story, the narration let the audience become part of
the film. I think more films should
include the element of narration.
Other
small discoveries I made dealt with jump cutting. Director Michael Bay used jump cuts during
the major fight scenes. His reasoning
for using this technique was to show what the main character was doing during
the big battles. For example, in Transformers, the major fight scene in
the end would jump from showing the soldiers fighting the robots to the main
character (Sam) running with a very important object known as the cube. The jump cuts were effective because it
allowed for the audience to gain some perspective on where everything was. There was clearly a lot going on in every
fight/action scene, and so the audience was able to see each thing that was happening. All in all, I really enjoyed each of the
three films I watched. They were all
unique in their own way. Michael Bay, in
my opinion, is a good director when it comes to action films. His story lines are complex but
interesting. They always keep the
audience intrigued. Below are some
trailers of the three films I watched.
Check them out if you are interested at all!
Pain and Gain
Transformers
I Am Number Four
Hey Katherine, really good job here. Nice, detailed review with a lot of good specifics. Very thorough--you did a great job analyzing the connections between these films.
ReplyDelete