It’s not a Michael Bay movie until something gets blown to smithereens.
And for a while, I actually wondered if ‘Ambulance’ was gonna go there; it’s an action thriller with Bay’s usual manic energy, but smarter than his typical two hour + chunk of adrenaline. Predictable, sure….but smarter, nonetheless. But when you’re Michael Bay, and you’re behind the camera, and you have a budget to spend on fun stuff that goes boom….well, kid meet candy store.
The good news for those who are a little, shall we say, ‘Transformers’-like exhausted (i.e. CGI tricks giving you a migraine?), is that ‘Ambulance’ is powered by old school stunts – car chases, shootouts…y’know, the good stuff. Add a colourfully unbalanced superstar leading the parade, and you’ve got a wonderful afternoon diversion that’s only missing a bag of popcorn. And make it a large one.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen (‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’) plays Will, a veteran who has been denied insurance coverage for an experimental procedure for his wife. With her health in decline and a young child to look after, he’s in desperate need of financial assistance. His adopted brother Danny, played with indescribable zest by Jake Gyllenhaal, has been known to come up with money… unfortunately, as a notorious bank robber, he never earns it ethically. Danny is willing to help Will, but says his current cash flow is tied up in a new heist, which he describes as an easy job. Nothing can go wrong.
Uh-huh. Sure.
When things DO go south on the job, Danny and Will are forced to hjack an ambulance, one that comes included with an EMT (Eiza Gonzales) and an injured police officer (Jackson White). The majority of the LAPD and feds eventually join the hunt for the criminals, making for the wildest southern California pursuit since a certain Ford Bronco went……well, you know.
Again, ‘Ambulance’ is a rare Michael Bay film that doesn’t skimp on pace or energy, but doesn’t sacrifice intelligence to entertain. I’m not sure how good it would’ve been without Gyllenhaal’s antagonist; more overdosed on confidence and ego than outright pyschotic, the role gives Jake a chance to show off his dramatic finess AND have a ton of fun doing it.
