Bayghazi Reveals Why “The Rock” Is Still Bay’s Best
Michael Bay’s militarism needs no further elaboration. It is as much a part of his palette as oversaturated colors. But it takes its most earnest — and, for me, most banal—form in 13 HOURS, one of the most explicitly anti-intellectual films I can remember.
“Intelligence” officers are cowardly and ineffectual; soldiers are brave and physically potent. But while the latter are the movie’s heroes, they have no nuance, no layers. They are cool under pressure, brutally efficient, wise to the world they live in. They don’t think, they act. Any flaws, any dimensions they might have—some latent misogyny, not so latent xenophobia—aren’t really meant as such. I can see why it works for certain audiences, but for me, it lacks any ambiguity to keep me interested.
But 13 HOURS, flawed as it is, helped me better appreciate what is generally regarded as Bay’s best movie, THE ROCK.
Because in THE ROCK, uniquely among Bay’s oeuvre as far as I know, soldiers are the villains. Yet, Bay still can’t help but fetishize them. They are fighting for what they believe is an honorable cause. They are trying to right a bureaucratic wrong, and Bay reviles nothing more than bureaucracy. And of course, they still possess the physicality that his camera is so well trained at capturing.
But in the end, we must root against them. They take hostages, an unforgivable act. They are also trying to kill characters that we feel far more attached to because they are far more likable (and portrayed by far more charismatic actors, all due respect to Ed Harris).
Nevertheless, that complexity—villains whom we understand and even respect, despite their flaws—adds something to THE ROCK that few other Bay films (and few other action blockbusters, frankly) have. There is a bittersweetness to the climax, when the good guys win and the bad guys lose. I’m not even sure if it’s intentional—it’s hard to imagine 2017’s Michael Bay making that movie—but it works wonderfully because it is distinct.
I love action flicks as much as the next man, but too many have nothing to surprise you. So I appreciate it when they give me something different.
Thanks to this marriage of its storyline and Bay’s militarism, THE ROCK has that extra something. I suspect that, whether we really think about it or not, is why it’s still so beloved.
(A note, since this site is still new: I expect most of my posts will take this form. Relatively quick takes about a particular element in a film or films. Not a review. I have a few long-form ideas, but those will be the exception. If you are still reading this, thanks for sticking with me.)
