3. Bad Boys
Bad Boys is a classic buddy cop movie that helped cement Will Smith as a bonafide 90s movie star, and also marked Bay out as an action director to watch. Again, it's the mixture of comedy and action that makes this one work; there's not really any of the goofy humour that so often derails Bay's films, and instead it focuses on the hilarious squabbling between Smith and Lawrence's cop characters. Who can forget the classic opening scene in which they're being car-jacked but
still can't find it in themselves to stop arguing? As Bay's feature debut, it established a lot of the tropes now associated with the filmmaker - fast cars, slick action, hot women, and the famous "rising up" shot - and while it certainly seemed fresh at the time, it has actually endured and aged pretty well. It might not pop visually as much as its sequel, but it's a far more together film, reining in the excess and actually telling a compelling story with interesting characters.