The Two Michaels – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Public Enemies

I know the comparison seems a bit arbitrary (the directors have the same first name and they have new movies out around the same time), but having seen Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Public Enemies within a few days of each other, I can’t help but contrast the two works and their creators.  For those unaware, Michael Bay is responsible for TROTF, as well as such doozies as Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Pearl Harbor, The Island, and who could forget, Armageddon.  Michael Mann’s Public Enemies is the latest work from the man who has given us Thief, Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, Ali, Collateral, and Miami Vice.  Both directors specialize in glossy style (indeed, they both have backgrounds in advertising), and both have a notorious reputation for being nearly impossible to work with on set.  Bay tends to get a significantly higher amount of financing from the studios, but Mann has recently commanded budgets that hover around the $100 million range, and according to some reports, that number is significantly higher in actuality.  As you can tell from the films listed, one has churned out some of the worst blockbusters seen in the modern era, and the other boasts a CV of some of the finest films Hollywood has produced in the last three decades.