8 Subtle Ways Michael Bay's Movies Are Even Worse Than You Thought

4. Crazy Pop Culture References

People love getting references in films. It's reassurance that they are on the same level as the characters and as culturally aware as the person who's made the movie. But it can also be a rather cheap way to drum up audience support from nothing more than what that bloke down the pub can offer. Michael Bay isn't the typical person you'd expect to go all pop-culture-aware, but his movies are full of it. There's posters hanging everywhere and TVs blaring out vaguely connected film clips and jokes that reference obscurely popular quotes. Heck, Bumblebee was rendered mute for the live-action movies, no doubt just so Bay could shoehorn in ten references a minute by having him speak only through "radio". 13 Hours has possibly the most bizarre of the lot, with the soldiers for some reason watching Tropic Thunder and gleefully shouting along with Robert Downey, Jr. as he proclaims "I'm a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude." Erm... OK? That's a thing now, apparently. I can't call this the worst of Bay's traits, but his insistent usage clearly stems from an attempt to be mate-y with the audience that comes across false, like a robot trying to appear human.