Michael Bay

• Transformers 1-3 Box Set | DVD | (28/11/2011) from £12.00  |  Saving you £17.99 (60.00%)  |  RRP £29.99

  Titles Comprise:Transformers: Their war, our world...Dueling alien races, the Autobots and the Decepticons, bring their battle to Earth, leaving the future of humankind hanging in the balance.Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen: When Sam's college experience sours amidst nerdy roommates (Ramon Rodriguez), sexy stalkers (Isabel Lucas) and strange, unexplainable visions, he seeks to understand what the Decepticons know only too well. A normal life will have to wait, because an ancient enemy is on its way to destroy Earth! Can Sam, Optimus and co. save the day in the ultimate battle of good vs. evil?Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon: The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and learn its secrets, which could turn the tide in the Transformers' final battle.

• Transformers: Dark of the Moon | DVD | (28/11/2011) from £4.67  |  Saving you £15.32 (76.60%)  |  RRP £19.99

  A mysterious event from Earth's past threatens to ignite a war so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save the planet. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and the Autobots must fight against the darkness to defend our world from the Decepticons all-consuming evil in the smash hit from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg.

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (1-Disc) | DVD | (30/11/2009) from £3.41  |  Saving you £16.58 (82.90%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen starring Megan Fox and Shia LeBouef will transform your Christmas with its robot-busting action. Join Sam Prime and the gang in a heart-stopping thrill-ride across several continents to save the Earth from an ancient Decepticon foe. Play.com Review Revenge is coming DreamWorks and Paramount reunites the cast and crew of the 2007 summer blockbuster in Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. With executive producer Steven Spielberg on board performances from Shia LeBouef Megan Fox and John Turturro plus Star Trek script-writing team Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman this sci-fi action spectacular marks 25 years since the original animated television show Transformers: The Series graced our screens. Two years have passed since Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBouef) Optimus Prime (voiced by Transformers: The Series' Peter Cullen) and the Autobots saved the planet from Megatron (voiced by The Matrix Trilogy's Hugo Weaving) and the Decepticons. Despite Sam's extreme heroics the battle of Mission City has become an urban legend believed only by conspiracy theorists. Now he's preparing for the biggest challenge in his life: Leaving home for college. What will happen to his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) and his robot protector Bumblebee? Meanwhile the Autobots work with the US military Major Lennox ((Josh Duhamel) and USAF Master Sergeant Epps (Tyrese Gibson) to track down the remaining Decepticon forces on Earth although Nantional Security Advisor Theodore Galloway (John Benjamin Hickey) has other ideas when it comes to the safety of the human race. When Sam's college experience sours amidst nerdy roommates (Ramon Rodriguez) sexy stalkers (Isabel Lucas) and strange unexplainable visions he seeks to understand what the Decepticons know only too well. A normal life will have to wait because an ancient enemy is on its way to destroy Earth! Can Sam Optimus and co. save the day in the ultimate battle of good vs. evil? The second highest opening day gross of all-time behind The Dark Knight Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is currently the highest grossing film of 2009. With giant robots huge explosions awesome vehicles a myriad of locations a classic tale of good vs. bad and plenty of Megan Fox fan service this is the perfect summer blockbuster. We urge you to transform your life and check out Revenge Of The Fallen as soon as you can.

• Transformers (2007) | DVD | (03/12/2007) from £2.99  |  Saving you £16.99 (85.00%)  |  RRP £19.99

  As sci-fi action blockbusters go, they don't come much bigger than Transformers. Maybe it's because of the subject matter: it's based on a toy line from the 1980s, concerning giant robots from outer space engaged in a civil war that pits the heroic Autobots against the evil Decepticons. They have the ability to disguise themselves as vehicles and other mechanical objects, transforming back into robots when it's time to stomp each other senseless. As a premise, it's rather silly. But it's also very simple, and that's why it works. The heroes are truly heroic: the noble and powerful Autobot leader Optimus Prime is one of the most iconic characters of the 1980s, and getting the original voice actor (Peter Cullen) to give him life was a stroke of genius. The villains, meanwhile, are just plain evil: Decepticon leader Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving) is motivated by absolute power, and his soldiers are not above a bit of wanton destruction to achieve their goals. Mix in a bit of mysticism in the form of the Allspark, the source of life for all Transformers, and the result is pure cinematic magic. It's not a perfect film: there are some characters and sub-plots that are unnecessary and which go nowhere, and at almost three hours, it's a lot of movie. But the Transformers themselves, rendered in CGI, have a very realistic size and weight on screen, and look particularly good as they switch from one mode to the other. Moreover, director Michael Bay is smart enough to realise that appealing to kids doesn't mean pandering to them--the cutest robot on screen is a manic little psychotic killer with the apt name Frenzy. The humans in the film, meanwhile, keep the film grounded, whilst never detracting from the real robot stars. Unlike The Matrix trilogy, which tried to be too clever, or The Lord of the Rings films, which were too clever, Transformers is probably the best science fiction epic since the original Star Wars trilogy. --Robert Burrow

• Armageddon | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £3.15  |  Saving you £14.82 (82.40%)  |  RRP £17.99

• Armageddon | DVD | (01/02/2010) from £3.99  |  Saving you £14.00 (77.80%)  |  RRP £17.99

  This 1998 testosterone-saturated blow-'em-up from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay (The Rock, Bad Boys) continued Hollywood's millennium-fuelled fascination with the destruction of our planet. There's no arguing that the successful duo understand what mainstream audiences want in their blockbuster movies--loads of loud, eye-popping special effects, rapid-fire pacing, and patriotic flag waving. Bay's protagonists--the eight crude, lewd, oversexed (but, of course, lovable) oil drillers summoned to save the world from a Texas-sized meteor hurling toward the earth--are not flawless heroes, but common men with whom all can relate. In this huge Western-in-space soap opera, they're American cowboys turned astronauts. Sci-fi buffs will appreciate Bay's fetishising of technology, even though it's apparent he doesn't understand it as anything more than flashing lights and shiny gadgets. Smartly, the duo also try to lure the art-house crowd, raiding the local indie acting stable to populate the film with guys like Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson, and Michael Duncan, all adding needed touches of humour and charisma. When Bay applies his sledgehammer aesthetics to the action portions of the film, it's mindless fun; it's only when Armageddon tackles humanity that it becomes truly offensive. Not since Mississippi Burning have racial and cultural stereotypes been substituted for characters so blatantly--African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Scottish, Samoans, Muslims, French ... if it's not white and American, Bay simplifies it. Or, make that white male America; the film features only three notable female characters--four if you count the meteor, who's constantly referred to as a "bitch that needs drillin'". Sadly, she's a hell of a lot more developed and unpredictable than all the other women characters combined. Sure, Bay's film creates some tension and contains some visceral moments, but if he can't create any redeemable characters outside of those in space, what's the point of saving the planet? --Dave McCoy

• The Rock | DVD | (01/02/2010) from £3.12  |  Saving you £14.87 (82.70%)  |  RRP £17.99

  Between his high-octane debut, Bad Boys, and 1998's wannabe blockbuster Armageddon, hotshot director Michael Bay forged his dubious reputation with this crowd-pleasing action extravaganza. In Rock, a psychotically disgruntled war hero (Ed Harris) seizes the island prison of Alcatraz and threatens to wage chemical warfare against nearby San Francisco unless the government publicly recognises the men who were killed under Harris's top-secret command. Nicolas Cage plays the biochemist who teams up with the only man ever to have escaped from Alcatraz (Sean Connery) in an attempt to foil Harris's terrorist scheme. As one might expect, what follows is an action-packed barrage of bullets, bodies, and climactic confrontations, replete with enough plot contrivances to give even the most jaded action fan cause for alarm. It's a load of hooey, but the cast is obviously having a grand old time, and there's enough wit to make the recycled action sequences tolerable. --Jeff Shannon

• The Rock -- Two-Disc Special Edition | DVD | (24/06/2002) from £4.38  |  Saving you £12.70 (70.60%)  |  RRP £17.99

  In director Michael Bay's filmography, The Rock came between his high-octane debut Bad Boys and 1998's Armageddon, and consolidated his dubious reputation as the purveyor of crowd-pleasing action extravaganzas. Here, a psychotically disgruntled war hero (Ed Harris) seizes the island prison of Alcatraz and threatens to wage chemical warfare against nearby San Francisco unless the government publicly recognises the men who were killed under Harris' top-secret command. Nicolas Cage plays the biochemist who teams up with the only man ever to have escaped from Alcatraz (Sean Connery) in an attempt to foil Harris' terrorist scheme. As one might expect, what follows is an action-packed barrage of bullets, bodies and climactic confrontations, replete with enough plot contrivances to give even the most jaded action fan cause for alarm. It's a load of hooey, but the cast is obviously having a grand old time, and there's enough wit to make the recycled action sequences tolerable. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com On the DVD: The Rock special edition two-disc set presents the movie on Disc 1 with a selection of subtitles and a cut-and-paste group commentary with director Michael Bay, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, ex-Navy Seal Harry Humphries, Ed Harris and Nicolas Cage. The editing together of separate comments is a frustrating experience and the energy of conversation, which often enlivens a DVD commentary, is lost. Picture is anamorphic 2.35:1 and sound is vivid Dolby Digital 5.1. The special features are contained on Disc 2. "The Production Secrets" section includes an interview with the Navy Seal adviser on set, who demonstrates the correct way to shoot your gun, and special effects secrets. "The Secrets of Alcatraz" offers a short history of the infamous prison. There's also an interview with Jerry Bruckheimer which simply demonstrates how little he has to say. Storyboards, production designs and out-takes (including a stressed Ed Harris) are also included. But nothing here really excites or informs and most of it is very Americanised, making this a special edition that doesn't seem all that special. --Nikki Disney

• Pearl Harbor | DVD | (01/10/2007) from £4.15  |  Saving you £13.84 (76.90%)  |  RRP £17.99

  Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) are childhood friends who both dream of flying. As the world becomes embroiled in World War II in the early 1940's Rafe and Danny sign on with the United States armed forces although America is still in an isolationist position. Eager to participate in combat Rafe is compelled to join the British air fight against the Nazis leaving his girlfriend beautiful army nurse Evelyn Stewart (Kate Beckinsale) behind. When Evelyn and Danny are transferred to the military base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii they hear the news that Rafe has been shot down and killed. Hoping to move on after grieving Danny and Evelyn find themselves in love. When Rafe returns alive the three find themselves in an uncomfortable personal situation that is soon engulfed by the massive surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Putting aside their differences Rafe and Danny join the desperate fight against the enemy invaders. The film's epic sweep intertwines Rafe and Danny's stories with the heroic efforts of such characters as ""Dorrie"" Miller (Cuba Gooding Jr.) a ship's cook turned fighter Earl (Tom Sizemore) a courageous base mechanic and Jimmy Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) the visionary pilot who would lead one of America's most famous counterattacks of the war. Dan Aykroyd also appears as the code breaking Captain Thurman and Jon Voight as President Franklin Roosevelt.

• Bad Boys 1 and 2 Double Pack | DVD | (17/10/2011) from £7.38  |  Saving you £5.32 (41.00%)  |  RRP £12.99

  Titles Comprise: Bad Boys: When $100 million of seized heroin is stolen from the Miami Police lockup, Detectives Lowrey (Will Smith) and Burnett (Martin Lawrence), Miami's most mismatched cops, are called upon to solve the case before the FBI close their department. Julie (Tea Leoni) is their only lead to the case, but will only speak to Lowrey. As he is not around when she calls, Burnett impersonates his cool, slick partner. A hilarious role reversal begins in order to retain her trust. From then on, it's a race against time as the trio dodge the mob, and retain their charade while putting pressure on every low-life in Miami's underworld to track down their man.Bad Boys 2: Narcotics detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) have been assigned to a high-tech task force investigating the flow of designer ecstasy into Miami. Their inquiries inadvertently lead them to a major conspiracy involving a vicious kingpin (Jordi Molla), whose ambitions to take over the city's drug trade have ignited a bloody turf war. But Mike and Marcus' friendship and working relationship is threatened when Mike begins to develop feelings for Marcus' sister Syd!

• Transformers 1-3 Box Set | Blu Ray | (28/11/2011) from £19.99  |  Saving you £20.00 (50.00%)  |  RRP £39.99

  Transformers: Dueling alien races, the Autobots and the Decepticons, bring their battle to Earth, leaving the future of humankind hanging in the balance.Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen: When Sam's college experience sours amidst nerdy roommates (Ramon Rodriguez), sexy stalkers (Isabel Lucas) and strange, unexplainable visions, he seeks to understand what the Decepticons know only too well. A normal life will have to wait, because an ancient enemy is on its way to destroy Earth! Can Sam, Optimus and co. save the day in the ultimate battle of good vs. evil?Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon: The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and learn its secrets, which could turn the tide in the Transformers' final battle.

• Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Triple Play (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) | Blu Ray | (28/11/2011) from £4.98  |  Saving you £23.01 (82.20%)  |  RRP £27.99

  A mysterious event from Earth's past threatens to ignite a war so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save the planet. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and the Autobots must fight against the darkness to defend our world from the Decepticons all-consuming evil in the smash hit from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg.

• Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) | Blu Ray | (13/02/2012) from £19.97  |  Saving you £10.02 (33.40%)  |  RRP £29.99

  A mysterious event from Earth's past threatens to ignite a war so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save the planet. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and the Autobots must fight against the darkness to defend our world from the Decepticons all-consuming evil in the smash hit from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg.

• The Island | DVD | (09/01/2006) from £1.99  |  Saving you £16.39 (86.30%)  |  RRP £18.99

  They don't want you to know what you are. Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility in the mid 21st Century. Like all the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to 'The Island' - reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet - until he makes a terrible discovery that everything about his existence is a lie and that he is actually more valuable dead than alive. Together with a

• Bad Boys / Bad Boys 2 | DVD | (23/02/2004) from £6.00  |  Saving you £20.06 (66.90%)  |  RRP £29.99

  Bad Boys: When $100 million of seized heroin is stolen from the Miami Police lockup Detectives Lowrey (Will Smith) and Burnett (Martin Lawrence) Miami's most mismatched cops are called upon to solve the case before the FBI close their department. Julie (Tea Leoni) is their only lead to the case but will only speak to Lowrey. As he is not around when she calls Burnett impersonates his cool slick partner. A hilarious role reversal begins in order to retain her trust. From t

• Pearl Harbor DVD (2 Disc Set) | DVD | (03/12/2001) from £3.37  |  Saving you £16.62 (83.10%)  |  RRP £19.99

  A big summer blockbuster, Pearl Harbor is pitched as a romantic epic, but the story is essentially a frame for an impressive depiction of the Japanese attack on that "day of infamy", deploying all the modelwork, CGI, stunts and special effects necessary to trump previous screen re-enactments in Tora! Tora! Tora! and From Here to Eternity. At heart, it's another Top Gun-style exercise in heroically sublimated homosexuality as Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Dan (Josh Hartnett), lifelong buddies, fall out over a ridiculous contrivance that allows both decently to fallin love with a nurse (Kate Beckinsale) but forget all their differences when the fighting starts--as expected, their big climax comes in each other's arms, with Kate left behind as one wounded buddy extracts a promise from the other to look after his unborn child. Historical snippets are interleaved, with Mako and Jon Voigt stiff under the prosthetics asAdmiral Yamamoto and Franklin Roosevelt, and a lot of detail is given about things like the wooden rudders on the new Japanese torpedoes, the chaos in the understaffed hospital as the heroine is forced to make lipstick triage marks on wounded men's foreheads and the terrible effects of strafing. A surprisingly bright little performance from Dan Aykroyd (a sole reminder of 1941) as an intelligence analyst is balanced by an insufferably smug one from Cuba Gooding Jr as a token black supporting hero. It's the first film of the George W Bush era: aggressive and dumb as a rock, utterly uninterested in period--no one in this WWII-era army smokes, swears or uses racial abuse (Gooding's boxing opponent sneers at him because he's a cook)--and awkwardly straddles a dignified treatment of the Japanese and America's actual spasm of hatred after the attack (one soldier refuses to be treated by a Japanese doctor, but that's it). When Pearl Harbour is bombed, we see endangered dogs, drowning men and dead women, but when Tokyo gets blasted in payback only buildings are destroyed and in long-shot. Michael Bay (Armageddon) remains a jittery director, a great second-unit man who can't deal with people or stories. It borrows from Titanic and Saving Private Ryan, but tidies the war of the latter up so it can still haul in a broad audience and therefore misses the real tragic sense of the former.--Kim NewmanOn the DVD: Considering there are two discs in the special edition of this special effects homage, the second DVD is woefully short of extras. There is a 45-minute featurette on the highs and lows of bringing Michael Bay's magnum opus to the screen which, along with the usual interviews with cast and crew, features the more compelling eyewitness testimony bringing the events of December 7, 1941 to life. The irony of the second disc focussing on the research and quest for historical accuracy is a little difficult to swallow, considering that the film is little more than a paper thin, overly romanticised muddle of history and fantasy, but for those wanting to experience the real events on that fateful day rather than the Hollywood version, this is an excellent antidote. The movie has been THX digitally mastered for superior sound and picture quality improving those big-bang special effects and is presented in anamorphic widescreen with 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Unlike the Region 1 release, there's no DTS track but the 5.1 Dolby Digital sound is more than up to the challenge of the effects laden assault, with different elements of the Japanese attack rumbling between the speakers and making you feel you're in the thick of things. -- Kristen Bowditch

• Bad Boys 2 | DVD | (23/02/2004) from £2.30  |  Saving you £21.99 (88.00%)  |  RRP £24.99

  Bad Boys II fulfils every audience expectation and then some: no-one goes to a movie directed by Michael Bay for delicacy and grace; you go because Bay (Armageddon, The Rock) knows how to make your bones rattle during a high-speed chase when a car flips over, spins through the air and smacks another car with a visceral crunch. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence may be mere puppets amid all this burning rubber and shrieking metal, but they actually provide a human core to the endless cascade of car wrecks and gunfights. Their easy rapport makes their personal problems--a running joke is Lawrence's attempts at anger management--as engaging as the sheer visual hullabaloo of bullets and explosions. The plot is recycled nonsense about drug lords and dead bodies being used to smuggle drugs, but the orchestration of violence is symphonic. If that's your thing, then this is for you. --Bret Fetzer

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (3-Disc) with Bonus Digital Copy | Blu Ray | (30/11/2009) from £7.82  |  Saving you £22.00 (73.40%)  |  RRP £29.99

  Pure. Popcorn. Entertainment. That's an exact classification of director Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The action is nonstop, with battles and explosions from start to finish. The camera (without any subtlety) exploits Megan Fox's hotness to the max. As if she weren't enough, a new sex kitten (Isabel Lucas) is thrown into the equation. Shia LaBeouf is as charismatic as ever, and fills the starring role with ease. And then there's the humour. Sam's parents (Kevin Dunn and Julie White)provided some semi-raunchy laugh-out-loud moments in the first movie, but now they take it to the next level. Sometimes it seems like they are trying a little too hard, but it is still hilarious. As far as the ?plot? goes, the writers didn't waste much time--it's really just a context for the giant-robot death matches and dramatic slow-mo sequences. The movie kicks off two years later where the Autobots have formed an alliance with the U.S. government, creating an elite team led by Major Lennox (Josh Duhamel), in an effort to snuff out any remaining Decepticons that show up. The bad guys keep coming, and it turns out that a much more menacing force than Megatron is out there--and it is looking for something on Earth that is tied to the very origin of the Transformers race. Fans of the franchise will be delighted by the addition of many new robot characters (there are well over 40 in the sequel, versus only 13 in the first). The second Transformers has shaped up to be one of the worst reviewed and most successful movies of all time. This strange pairing is really just an indication that this movie has one purpose: to entertain. The creators didn't want to waste time bogging down the action and drama with substance--which was arguably a good decision. --Jordan Thompson

• Armageddon | Blu Ray | (24/05/2010) from £9.95  |  Saving you £8.04 (44.70%)  |  RRP £17.99

  This 1998 testosterone-saturated blow-'em-up from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay (The Rock, Bad Boys) continued Hollywood's millennium-fuelled fascination with the destruction of our planet. There's no arguing that the successful duo understand what mainstream audiences want in their blockbuster movies--loads of loud, eye-popping special effects, rapid-fire pacing, and patriotic flag waving. Bay's protagonists--the eight crude, lewd, oversexed (but, of course, lovable) oil drillers summoned to save the world from a Texas-sized meteor hurling toward the earth--are not flawless heroes, but common men with whom all can relate. In this huge Western-in-space soap opera, they're American cowboys turned astronauts. Sci-fi buffs will appreciate Bay's fetishising of technology, even though it's apparent he doesn't understand it as anything more than flashing lights and shiny gadgets. Smartly, the duo also try to lure the art-house crowd, raiding the local indie acting stable to populate the film with guys like Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson, and Michael Duncan, all adding needed touches of humour and charisma. When Bay applies his sledgehammer aesthetics to the action portions of the film, it's mindless fun; it's only when Armageddon tackles humanity that it becomes truly offensive. Not since Mississippi Burning have racial and cultural stereotypes been substituted for characters so blatantly--African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Scottish, Samoans, Muslims, French ... if it's not white and American, Bay simplifies it. Or, make that white male America; the film features only three notable female characters--four if you count the meteor, who's constantly referred to as a "bitch that needs drillin'". Sadly, she's a hell of a lot more developed and unpredictable than all the other women characters combined. Sure, Bay's film creates some tension and contains some visceral moments, but if he can't create any redeemable characters outside of those in space, what's the point of saving the planet? --Dave McCoy

• The Rock | Blu Ray | (02/07/2007) from £9.19  |  Saving you £14.77 (61.60%)  |  RRP £23.99

  Two Academy Award-winners Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage star in the action adventure blockbuster that critics hailed as a drop-dead thrill ride. Millions of lives hang in the balance after a military madman seizes control of the island prison Alcatraz and threatens to launch deadly poison gas missiles at San Francisco. With time ticking away a chemical weapons expert and a cunning federal prisoner who happens to be the only man ever to escape from Alcatraz must now break in and disarm the missiles. From the hot film making team that brought you 'Crimson Tide' and 'Bad Boys' The Rock delivers hard-hitting action and suspense you'll never forget!