What's the difference between Baysplosions and Emmoliations?
One has explosions, the other has character and heart behind it. The only Michael Bay movie that has come close for a very,
very long time is the first Transformers, although The Island was entertaining.
In the original Independence Day you have the scene with the President and his dying wife, the marriage scene, as well as the scene of a father giving his life to protect his children and the world. The film as a whole is family driven, divided by the disaster and having to find their way back to one another.
In The Day After Tomorrow the whole film is divided families having to find their way back to one another, with the nature disaster playing as an antagonist and obstacle to it.
Just two examples of said type of scenes in 'The Day After Tomorrow':
Bay it just seems is more "get from A to B to C with explosions here, there, and there!" except for the first Transformers, which I give more credit to Spielberg's involvement with it than Bay since most of the scenes in it are Amblin in nature and tone.
Basically to Bay explosions typically
are the film - to Emmerich they're a part of the film while surrounded by sentimentality and heart. Some Bay films are okay, they're entertaining - but I've always loved Emmerich films a lot more because he actually makes me care all the time about what happens to these characters.