There was a time, oh, let’s say back around 1996, that I thought Michael Bay showed some real promise of becoming an insanely talented feature film director. With Bad Boys and The Rock, Bay showed that he had a great knack for action, comedy and stunning visuals. With even better material and maybe a little restraint, I thought he could follow the same path as some of the great action directors of the day, like Richard Donner, John McTiernan or James Cameron.

Flash-forward to today with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in theaters and you can easily see that while Bay hasn’t exactly evolved as a filmmaker, he’s truly carved out a place for himself in cinematic history. Instead of any more attempts at hard-hitting, R-rated action (The Rock, Bad Boys), character-driven period pieces (Pearl Harbor) or lofty, high-concept science-fiction (The Island), Bay has whittled his craft down to what he does best–a simple premise, cheap thrills and stuff that moves fast and blows up real good.

I don’t want to go into a full-on review Revenge of the Fallen because it’s far from a great movie. There are problems with just about every aspect of the film, but I enjoyed the experience and was able to follow it just fine, despite numerous criticisms that the plot was either non-existent or conversely too complicated (really, how do critics come to totally opposite conclusions?). Just as with Transformers, I thought the visual effects were some of the best I’ve ever seen, but then again, show me a tentpole summer release these days that doesn’t have top-notch visuals. People will make their own decision on whether they enjoyed the movie or not and if the first was any indication, those looking for anything of substance won’t be too happy with it.

What I’m more interested in is that with both Transformers and its sequel, Bay has finally let his populist tendencies shine to their fullest. No gag is too lame, no explosion is too big, no camera shots are too fast and most importantly, no audience is too broad. Much like when I saw Transformers back in 2007, watching Revenge of the Fallen was a fun experience with a full crowd. When you’ve got 200-plus people laughing it up, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the set pieces and just enjoying whatever comes their way, it’s hard to try to intellectualize it all. The energy in the room tends to overpower any logic or reason. Never let it be said that Bay doesn’t know how to please a crowd.

Perhaps having Mr. Blockbuster himself Steven Spielberg as producer helped. Given Spielberg’s track record, that wouldn’t be surprising. Or perhaps it’s something that’s been in Bay’s movies all along, and only after seeing it applied to what amounts to a giant kids’ cartoon does it all finally make sense. Bay will show audiences exactly what they want and won’t ask them to think about what it all means, so long as they’re only looking for a good time and nothing more. After all, something we all learned from childhood is that being the kid with all the biggest, coolest toys does have its advantages…if you’re a kid.

* SPOILER ALERT *

For example, the idea has always been that these giant alien robots have come to our world as we know it and as incredible as that conceit is, Bay has discussed at length how every attempt was made to keep the robots mechanically realistic and the visual effects seamless. So much time and effort has been committed to making the audience believe that these robots could in fact exist right outside the theater door.

All that said, Bay’s Transformers saga finally shows its roots when Sam Witwicky dies about two hours into Revenge of the Fallen. It’s played as a heavy scene (with Kevin Dunn turning in the single poignant performance in the entire movie) and for a moment, the audience is unsure of where things are going to go. Could this movie franchise really lose its main human character? Of course not. And yet, Bay gives no obvious out for Sam. Then, in an out-of-body experience, Sam transcends death and somehow appears before the “ghosts” of the Primes (a group of ancient Transformer leaders) who reward his sacrifice with a second chance at life. Afterlife? Ghosts? Resurrection?

The scene was nothing I ever expected in a Michael Bay film. I was taken aback the entire time and only afterwards did it occur to me what I’d just seen. The man who’d made film after film of slick camera moves, fast cuts and crunching action had suddenly made a leap into the fantastic. It stood out from the rest of the film like a sore thumb, but it also shed a new light on what the Transformers movies are really all about–a childhood fantasy about giant alien robots.

* END SPOILERS *

Film critics will have you believe otherwise, but I don’t think that Bay’s films are truly that bad (OK, with the exception of Pearl Harbor and The Island). At the least, they’re enjoyable on a basic, visceral level and are always of the highest production value. Appealing to the lowest common denominator will always yield better than average results, and it’s just plain lazy, but the masses are willing to shell out money at the box office for it and that should speak for itself.

Instead, I came away from Revenge of the Fallen with the realization that, contrary to public opinion, Michael Bay (and Spielberg as well) understands exactly what he’s doing with Transformers franchise. These two movies aren’t so much about appealing to fans of the original cartoon or even action movie fans, but instead about building an audience for the future. One thing I’ve noticed is that even though they’re aimed at an older demographic, it’s kids under 13 that love these new Transformers movies just like I loved the cartoon when I was a kid in the ’80s.

Call it a my own personal coming to terms with Michael Bay’s work, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his legacy from here on out will revolve around Transformers in some form or another, similar to Steven Spielberg with Jurassic Park or James Cameron with Terminator. For the first time, he’s found a property that he has all the requisite skills to produce, is marketable to a massive worldwide audience and could potentially live on in sequels, whether he’s behind the camera or not.

I suppose it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Michael Bay became the Transformers director for the rest of his career, right? At least we know where he stands. Expect good-looking stars, big explosions and plenty of slick camera work and nothing more. Revenge of the who? And why? As long as you can come in from the summer heat and enjoy the ride for a couple of hours, maybe none of that really matters after all.

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