10 Epic Movie Trailers That Set The Bar Too High

Michael Bay's films rarely translate into critically successful ventures, but before Transformers became bloated and oversaturated, a little film called Pearl Harbour stood as his most hated production.

Blending a romantic tragedy with real events was a formula that delivered massive scale and even bigger profits. As Titanic had proven in 1997, audiences were willing to buy into the premise; Bay embraced the hype and went into production, putting out a rather dazzling trailer to build the anticipation.

Sweeping emotional beats and devastating destruction were placed front and centre, speaking of a grand epic that would chronicle America's battle with the Japanese in World War Two. The tone aimed to be inspiring and heart-wrenching in equal measure, falling in line with other greats such as Saving Private Ryan.

Unfortunately, Michael Bay was not the man for the job and these expectations fell very short.

Pearl Harbour, for all its drab dialogue and disrespect towards historical events, stands as a rather crafty marketing ploy. It took advantage of the highest grossing film of the time to pull audiences in - something that worked as this raked in three times its budget.

Critical response would quickly turn sour; many cried foul at its failings. It has its fans in places, but the film remains an unfortunate bait-and-switch.