There seems to be a large portion of the population that hates Michael Bay. I’m not going to say that he’s the devil incarnate, but I haven’t particularly enjoyed his movies of late (I say of late because I loved The Rock) – TMNT and TMNT2 were a bit of a mess, and the continued amount of Transformer films fills me with dread (despite the fact I can’t help but be intrigued by the involvement of those like Anthony Hopkins). (Yes in case you’re wondering I do have two sets of parentheses in the same sentence – my bad for not following the traditional grammar rules – let’s just say I have more thoughts than I can get out like a normal person).

So, naturally, with my recent knowledge of his films, when I saw Directed by Michael Bay pop up on my television screen, I may or may not have let out a small groan. But sometimes, (ok, quite often) my initial thoughts or groans turn into a rapid excitement. Despite writing about movies daily, I never quite seem to be entirely right about movies until I watch them.

I’m not sure how I passed over The Island which somehow stars Ewan McGregor, Scarlet Johansson, Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi, and Djimon Hounsou. It tells the story of Lincoln Six Echo (McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (Johansson) as they strive to reach the mythical island. The entire first half of the film is filled with a scientific dread, and even before the twists that are revealed, there is a distinct sense of wrongness throughout. You know what it reminds me of? District 13 in The Hunger Games series – rationed food, everyone wearing the same clothes, controlled amounts of fun, etc.

Somewhere around the halfway point of the film, all plot considerations seem to just leave the movie behind. It devolves into a giant chase scene for the final hour or so of the film. If there is one thing that Mr. Bay knows, it’s chases and explosions, and both are featured heavily here. It’s actually extremely exhilarating, with our characters constantly figuring out new ways to survive in the chase.

I’ll be the first to come out and say that this is a movie that goes at a slapstick pace, constantly has humor hidden in different scenes and intonations, and has jokes hiding in the corners and crevices of the screen. For this very reason, I can’t recommend it to everyone, for the same reason that movies like Under the Skin or Manchester By the Sea aren’t for everyone – our tastes are very, very subjective in movies.

However, if you’re looking for a comedy (or a musical for that matter) that will find you laughing at least once within its running time (and probably more if you are someone like me that appreciates spoof humor), Young Frankenstein is one of the best out there. Allow me to shed some light onto why I think so.

First, spoof/parody humor hasn’t been around forever. I mean in some ways it has always been around – Charlie Chaplin was making films like The Tramp that capitalized on that type of humor in at least one way – but never to the degree that Mel Brooks started, where it is a complete and total spoof of a genre. This paved the way for the Scary Movie, Not Another Teen Movie, Epic Movie, Haunted House, Date Movie, etc. etc. movies (albeit, with some limited results there – talk about a formulaic movie trend!). In 1974, Mel Brooks released two movies in this vein, Blazing Saddles (which parodied the Westerns of the 50s) and Young Frankenstein (which parodied the horror movies of the 30s, 40s, and 50s, particularly the Universal Frankenstein series).

Let’s talk about one of the reasons I love this movie – the attention to detail is astounding. That’s because the actual set was developed using the original props from the Frankenstein series. Mel Brooks found the set designer, who just had the stuff lying in his basement. That’s amazing, and it shows. The reality of the spoof is entirely on Brooks, Wilder, and Feldman. Wilder and Feldman are so strong delivering lines with sincerity and humor that would easily cause fits to anyone on set (and audience members as well). I can’t picture anyone else in these roles, so it makes it a little harder when I see the musical on stage. I think arguably Ygor is one of my favorite movie characters, and that's just because Feldman really sells the role. So much of his humor was ad libbed it's ridiculous.

The only thing that could be conceived wrong with this film is the pacing at times. Most moments are fully realized, but there are some that go flat, and some that drag on. As you continue through the film, there are some moments that last much longer than they need to… but are almost always redeemed with humor. Take “Putting on the  Ritz” for example – it starts slower than necessary, but builds to a fun exciting climax.

Overall, I think this movie is classic comedy gold, and should be known as such. I’m giving it an “A-“.