Ambulance is the latest action-thriller from the master of Bayhem – Michael Bay, and easily his best film since the first Transformers. I’ll say it’s the hungriest his work behind the camera has looked since his 90s heyday of Bad Boys, The Rock, and Armageddon. I liked this film more than I expected as I wasn’t too big on the trailers. However, it features all the good things you come to expect from a Bay film, with not too much of the bad.
Ambulance is set during one day in Los Angeles. It follows a working-class guy who desperately needs $231,000 for his wife’s surgery. He reaches out to his criminal brother, who talks him into taking part in a $32 million bank heist. Unfortunately, the robbery goes wrong when the two shoot an LAPD officer, and they are soon on the run in an ambulance with an EMT and the dying officer as their prisoners.
I feel Bay does so much better with these smaller-scale films that, while still featuring his signature Bayhem, have more to them than just the action scenes. Ambulance had a lot more heart than I expected. While not similar in tone, it reminded me of Pain & Gain, a smaller film that also cared about its characters besides delivering some good action. However, when you watch a Bay film, you come for the action, and he doesn’t disappoint.
The bank robbery shootout was crazy and had me smiling and pumping my fist. It doesn’t come close to Heat, but it’s one of the better ones we’ve gotten since 1995. After that, we get a few more shootout sequences, which are just as good, featuring the kinetic style and slow-motion sequences that have served as his bread and butter since Bad Boys. Finally, the chase sequence that is pretty much the last hour and change of the film is excellent and intense.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II are two of the best actors working right now, and they help elevate this film above the standard Bay material. They are surprisingly believable as brothers, having great chemistry, and the film’s heart comes from their bond and backstory. Gyllenhaal is very charismatic in the role, which is a trait I love a bank robber in a movie having. He is having a great time being the bad guy and letting loose with the outburst he displays.
Chris Fedak, who is best known for creating the hit series Chuck wrote the script, and he gave Bay a better hand than he usually works with. Ambulance had a lot more character development than you’d ever expect a Bay film to have, which worked so well for the emotional bears of the film. The Rock is my favorite Bay film, and I love that Fedak with a VERY meta decision had a character quote the funniest line from that film, basically saying that in the world of Ambulance, that film exists as directed by Bay himself. I hope others catch that because it’s a fantastic moment.
This is Eiza Gonzalez’s best performance and character since Baby Driver, and I’m glad she wasn’t used as eye candy as she usually is. This allowed her to show some range. This character could have been very one-note, being the typical hostage who barely gets anything to do and not given any reason for us to care for her. Thankfully her character got a backstory, which got us to care for her and also be interested in where her story went. Her character is fearless, which helps that matter a lot. I knew Wale would be making his acting debut, but I was shocked by how much screen time he was given. His character had legit importance in the plot as he is part of the team. It’s nothing out of this world, but being a fan of his music, I’m glad it wasn’t a mere cameo.
One of my most significant issues with Michael Bay films, even the ones I like, is that they tend to be too long. This film is 136 minutes, and it didn’t need to be. I was never bored, but this could have worked better as a tighter 100-minute film. In addition, some side characters could have had some of their screen time cut down for better pacing, and the film had 2-3 endings. While I enjoyed the first two acts a lot. I won’t lie, despite my enjoyment, the film’s final stretch wasn’t as strong as the action slowed down a bit, and it got too predictable. While it has some excellent action scenes, this is also Bayhem at its most excessive, with a plethora of aerial shots that became too much. It got to a point where I started laughing every time a new one happened.
Ambulance features the Michael Bay style I love, and if you’re a fan of his work, definitely check it out once it arrives in theaters on April 8th because I feel you won’t be disappointed.
