Michael Bay Defiant Over Transformers Criticism

Filmmaker Michael Bay has hit back at critics who have panned his latest movie, Transformers: Age Of Extinction.

The action movie has been hit by a series of negative reviews - but has still stormed to a $100m opening weekend.

And Bay declared that he only cares about what his paying punters think.

"With Transformers, you're trying to make a ride for the audience. What ways are there to enthrall the audience?" he told a Berlin press conference.

"I've been a very fortunate director in terms of box office. It feels good, but it seems like you've got to take it as it comes - you gotta look for the next one.

"I work as hard as I can and I'm glad that people are liking the movie besides the critics, let's just forget the critics. The people in the audience are liking the movies - that's what I make movies for."

He also had a novel suggestion for a change to the way films are reviewed.

"I think that they should make it mandatory for reviewers that they sit in the audience - just by themselves surrounded by a real audience," he said.

"That's how you should watch movies, because right now I might have seen this movie 25 times with audiences.

"They applaud, they laugh, they cheer. I don't know what movie (the critics are) reviewing. People walked out happy, that's what we're trying to do. We're just entertainers."

The movie hits UK cinemas this weekend.