Director: Michael Bay
Screenplay: Chris Fedak
Minutes: 136
Year: 2022
Score: 8.00
Release: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
I watch a lot of movies so I would not be surprised when I completely forget a movie. What is surprising is that I have thought about scenes from AMBULANCE, several times since seeing it in the theater, and a second time on this Blu-ray.
From UHPE.com:
In this action thriller directed by Michael Bay, veteran Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Candyman), desperate for money, turns to his adoptive brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal, End of Watch) for help. A career criminal, Danny instead offers him a huge score. But when their heist goes awry, the desperate brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded cop and EMT (Eiza González, Baby Driver) onboard. Will and Danny must evade a city-wide law enforcement response, keep their hostages alive, and somehow try not to kill each other, all while executing the most insane escape LA has ever seen.
There is something very odd about this movie, or the viewer, it is difficult to say. When I walked out of the theater, I was mentally exhausted. Once Michael Bay gets his tempos up to his desired pace, he is very well capable of maintaining our higher heart rate until he chooses to relent. AMBULANCE does not relent until the credits roll.
I remember going to eat after the screening, my face looked glossed over. My attention wasn’t wandering as much as it was still trying to find its legs after a sea voyage. It is very possible that part of this unease is Bay’s use of drone camera work to whip you around Los Angeles in impossible trajectories. This is thanks to cameraperson Alex Vanover, the Drone Racing League world champion. Using drones for aerial photography is common these days but AMBULANCE is the first movie that I felt aware of the footage. Typically, camera work like this would be CG and would feel fake enough that it doesn’t turn my stomach, but the realism that Bay managed to capture may turn you green.
But is all of that in service to a good story? Not really, it feels a little gimmicky. However, I have never met someone who watches a Michael Bay film for a deep and meaningful story. A Michael Bay film is about a ridiculous situation that will take a, borderline, boring character, and bond you to their soul. I don’t like to admit this, but I think about ARMAGEDDON way more than it thinks about me, I suspect AMBULANCE will be the same.
So, does Mr. Bay do this? In spades he does. He takes a black veteran who starts the film navigating the VA, a take that if you haven’t managed it yourself you are very aware of how challenging it is. Add in his sociopathic, white, criminal brother. Then make the race difference irrelevant with humor while simultaneously making the viewer a third sibling. And they rob a bank to help the veteran brother pay for medical treatment. That’s it. A bad deed for a good cause. The rest of a car chase, perhaps the best car chase.
If AMBULANCE is not, at the very least, nominated for an Academy Award in Cinematography then the whole system is a joke (it is). I would also give Jake Gyllenhaal some nominations because he, as expected, gives an electric performance as the black veteran (;))
Special Features:
- Includes Blu-ray, DVD and a digital copy of Ambulance (Subject to expiration. Go to NBCUCodes.com for details.)
- Bayhem
- Pedal to the Metal
- Aerial Assault
- Finding Ambulance
- Chase Capital of the World
- A Tribute to First Responders
- Language & Audio: English Dolby Atmos / English DVS (Descriptive Video Services) / English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround / English Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
- Subtitles: English SDH / French Canadian / Latin Spanish
Director: 8 – Cinematography: 10 – Edit: 8 – Parity: 10 – Main performance: 10 – Else performance: 7 – Score: 8 – Sound: 10 – Story: 2 – Script: 8 – Effects: 10 – Design: 5 – Costumes: 5 – Keeps interest: 10 – Lasting: 10