6 Underground (Michael Bay, Netflix)

[Irish]

There's no way I'd see this in the theater but it's on Netflix so why not?

[Skitch]

Sure I'll give this a thumbs up. I'd tell Bay the same thing I'd tell Scorcese, "do what you're good at".

Scorcese is good at mob and crime movies. Do that.
Bay is good at Bayhem. JUST DO THAT. Embrace it. And boy does he in this flick. I can appreciate that. I dont need every film to be Schindlers List, I need some Commandos.

Side note...I know special effects are always growing but the "cgi guy that bounces off a car and flails through the air" seems to have been perfectly refined in this flick. Damn did a lot of peeps die via car in this movie.

[Dukefrukem]

but it's on Netflix so why not?

They got you so good.

[Skitch]

They got you so good.

I think "its on Netflix so why not?" would be the tagline on their business model.

[Irish]

They got you so good.

lol, they did! They've impressed me over the last month: Dolemite is My Name, Irishman, Marriage Story, 6 Underground, I Lost My Body, The Atlantics.

Still feels weird that you can watch a trailer and then 30 days later ... there's the movie on TV. I'm so used to waiting ~3 mos to have a conversation about anything.

[Irish]

Nobody else watched this over the weekend?

Film's okay I guess since everybody knows what to expect going in. There's a nice visual chaos in the first 20 minutes and the last 20 minutes (including one genuinely great idea that Bay doesn't exploit nearly enough.)

In between tho his choppy edits and quick shot approach can't hide that this is another guys-on-a-mission movie and a pretty dull one at that. Some good energy from the performers, most of whom aren't give much to do other than watch their stunt doubles jump away from explosions and machine gun fire.

Also thought this take from @wildpalmcity was good: https://letterboxd.com/campbart/film/6-underground/

Scorcese is good at mob and crime movies. Do that.
Bay is good at Bayhem. JUST DO THAT.

No, Skitch, no! Bad Skitch! Bad!

[Skitch]

No, Skitch, no! Bad Skitch! Bad!

BUT I WANT THINGS! Okay, I'll retract my Scorsese comment. Hes good at other things too.

[Dukefrukem]

This was shit. The editing was so bad I lost interest even before the main plot began (that was right around Franco Jr dying). This is a really bad take on Ocean's 11(which is even alluded to once the credits start rolling). Why exactly did they need to be dead to pull off that mission? The character specialties were pointless. The doctor is used in the car chase, and then never again. The sniper is used for a single mission and never again. The free-running douche kid was recruited why? So he can constantly be chased around and beaten? Is he supposed to be a less useful version of GPS where he can tell the car which roads to take because he can see from the top of the highest building in the city? There's a scene at the end where they tell him to sabotage the anchor; he's shown diving in the water, climbing up the anchor... and then never seen again until 20 minutes later he's revealed to finally have climbed up the anchor and immediately seen by the bad guys.

I'd say this is close to unwatchable; Bay's worst.

[Irish]

I think my favorite was THE HITMAN, who ran around killing people in exactly the same manner as everyone else.

Even the parkour kid committed violent murder, so wtf?? How was that one guy a "hitman" and why was it necessary for the audience to know that? lol

[DavidSeven]

I turned it off after 40 minutes. I was in the mood for something dumb and mindless, not something boring and indecipherably edited.

[Skitch]

It's like you guys have never watched a Bay film before lol

[Peng]

Heard often about how the opening 20-minute action scene (and also the closing one I think?) is the best part, and when near 10 minutes in I felt NOTHING at all, I turned it off.

[Irish]

It's like you guys have never watched a Bay film before lol

Sorta? The arc of Bay's career is from "dumb fun" to "nearly incomprehensible."

His best stuff was when he worked with Bruckheimer ("The Rock," "Armageddon," "Bad Boys II"). Past that, he's mostly stuck to "Transformers" and had little success outside that franchise.

[Skitch]

Look I'm not defending his choices here. I'm just saying I think you could take any of the criticisms in this thread and plop them under any Bay movie and it would fit. Bay characters with incomplete arcs, who do inconsistent things....and illogical plotting. I'm sure everyone has their Bay movie they can point to as "the one that they actually like", but I'm saying his style is consistant, so you shouldn't be surprised. For better or worse, this is Bay.

[Dukefrukem]

It's like you guys have never watched a Bay film before lol

This is barely watchable, compare this to the Rock which is one of the best action films of the 90s... It's night and day.

What Irish said.

[Skitch]

While I totally dig The Rock, it sure has its fair share of the same kind of nonsense. But its fine. Like I said, I'm not defending any of Bay's nonsense. I just feel he's fairly consistent with it in all his films.

[Dukefrukem]

https://letterboxd.com/dukefrukem/li...s-best/detail/

[Skitch]

If I had a director with a 3 out of 14 record that achieved a three star, I wouldn't hit play on his movies. But you do you.

[Dukefrukem]

If I had a director with a 3 out of 14 record that achieved a three star, I wouldn't hit play on his movies. But you do you.

I mean, he also has several movies up for worst film of that year. But sure, a three star film is a watchable film.

[DavidSeven]

Look I'm not defending his choices here. I'm just saying I think you could take any of the criticisms in this thread and plop them under any Bay movie and it would fit. Bay characters with incomplete arcs, who do inconsistent things....and illogical plotting. I'm sure everyone has their Bay movie they can point to as "the one that they actually like", but I'm saying his style is consistant, so you shouldn't be surprised. For better or worse, this is Bay.

I don’t know. I think Irish may be onto something. It’s not clear that Bay can even put together a watchable movie without the aid of a producer who has a grasp of basic story. This is consistent with Netflix’s biggest weakness, IMO. They appear to have no one in-house with enough instincts or authority to nudge filmmakers in the right direction. Occasionally, they’ll happen upon a project that benefits from that freedom, but for the most part, they are letting these guys indulge in their worst impulses.

[Skitch]

I do not disagree with that at all.

[MadMan]

I will still eagerly defend Pain and Gain, but yeah Transformers seems to be mostly where Bay is at these days. I'll probably watch this flick though.