Ambulance is a 2022 action thriller directed and produced by Michael Bay. Written by Chris Fedak, the film is based on the 2005 Danish film of the same name by Laurits Munch-Petersen.

Decorated veteran Will Sharp, desperate for money to cover his wife's medical bills, asks for help from the one person he knows he shouldn't--his adoptive brother Danny. A charismatic career criminal, Danny instead offers him a score: the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history: $32 million. With his wife's survival on the line, Will can't say no. But when their getaway goes spectacularly wrong, the desperate brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded cop clinging to life and ace EMT Cam Thompson onboard. In a high-speed pursuit that never stops, Will and Danny must evade a massive, city-wide law enforcement response, keep their hostages alive, and somehow try not to kill each other, all while executing the most insane escape L.A. has ever seen.

The cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González, Devan Long, and Wale.

The project was first announced in August 2015, before undergoing several changes at director before bringing on Michael Bay. Principal photography with cinematographer Roberto De Angelis began in January 2021, in Los Angeles, and concluded that March.

Ambulance made its debut in theaters on April 8th, courtesy of Universal Pictures.

THE GOOD

First and foremost, you can trash talk me all you want but I love me some Michael Bay. People like to say “oh all Michael Bay cares about is blowing stuff up blah blah”, which is certainly a known trademark of his, but the guy knows how to craft a movie theater experience. Some directors have certain tendencies, whether it be working with specific actors, genres, or just having a unique style, but you know when you are watching one of their movies. Aptly known for the money-making Transformers franchise, Michael Bay does enjoy an explosion or two, or three. However, I can think of far worse things people could say about a director, that is all I am saying. Also, an interesting factoid if you will, as I mentioned above the film is a remake of a Danish film, making it the 3rd Danish film remake actor Jake Gyllenhaal has been a part of. The first was Brothers, the drama from 2009, and the most recent was the Netflix original crime thriller The Guilty, which Andrew reviewed back in October (check out that full review here). So, is Bay’s latest movie style over substance, or something else entirely? Keep reading to find out!

Spoiler alert, all of Michael Bay’s movies are style over substance, and Ambulance is no different. But that’s okay! As they say, if you do something really well, keep on doing it. And with Ambulance, Bay sticks to what he knows. With that being said, I really enjoyed this movie, and I had that sought-after genuinely satisfied feeling as I collected my things and made my way out of the theater. Movies like Ambulance are the reason why we go to the movie theater in the first place, as it begs to be seen on the big screen so that you can take in the plethora of goodness for your eyes and your ears. I can’t even begin to say how relieved I am this movie didn’t go the streaming route at release, and my only regret is not driving the 40-minutes to the IMAX to really capture Bay’s vision. Unless you have the sickest setup known to man at home, no chance will this movie translate the way Bay wants it to. Back to the style over substance, the film opens with a solid overall storyline that is more or less expedited so that we can get to the action sooner. Before you know it, you are knee-deep in a heist thriller, which is exactly what the doctor ordered if you ask me. Basically, once the bullets start flying, which is very early on, things get ramped up to about 100 and never really drop from there until the end credits.

Even though the writing isn’t exactly taking center stage here, there are elements that I really enjoyed more than I expected to. The film is marketed as a gritty heist thriller, but Ambulance is actually much more versatile than you’d expect and has a bit of a quirky element to it. For me, it felt more like a Guy Ritchie film in terms of how the characters would banter during scenes that you’d expect to be very serious. Several moments during the film actually made me laugh out loud, which was a cool experience and helped to break things up. Gyllenhaal’s character provides the majority of the comedic undertones as he is seemingly a sociopath, at least on some level. Ambulance has many layers in terms of the overall storyline and how things come together which I thought was really cool, and made for a great chess match between the good guys and the bad guys, with the line between good and bad often blurred.

Considering the cast we have to touch on the acting, but in typical Michael Bay fashion, it takes a back seat to the action. The biggest name attached to the film, Jake Gyllenhaal of course, shows up and shows out as usual. I enjoyed his character and felt like he was given a great deal of depth all things considered. You learn more about him and his backstory throughout the film. The story is primarily centered around Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as he struggles to fund a surgery that his wife desperately needs. I thought he was great in this, building on his success from last year’s horror-thriller Candyman (our full review here). We quickly learn that his adoptive brother, Gyllenhaal, is a potential resource for him as far as financial help, but anything with him comes with dangerous strings attached due to the illegal enterprise he owns and operates. As the film progresses the complicated relationship between the two brothers is revealed, and I really liked that element of the film. By the end I felt like we had the level of investment we needed as far as a storyline because of the performances of these two leading men, adding that much more weight to the conclusion of the film.

Ambulance includes a ton of great supporting roles from some familiar faces, and one of my favorites was Garret Dillahunt who plays Captain Monroe, the man in charge of the task force attempting to bring down this notorious crew of bank robbers. Although not a big name especially compared to Gyllenhaal, he is a fantastic actor and has a great on-screen presence about him. I really enjoyed his role and the balance he brought to the chemistry of the characters. Dillahunt is set to play a role in the upcoming drama Where the Crawdads Sing and one of his best roles in my opinion was in the FX original series Justified. I still can’t get over how badass he was in that show. The California native is a good size dude as well at over 6 feet tall and tends to play intimidating characters very effectively. Eiza González plays a pivotal role as the paramedic who gets roped into this fiasco of a situation and I thought she added a ton of value to the film. Her character was believable and helped to make sure the storyline hit as hard as it needed to. It’s funny because as a very attractive actress with dark hair and a certain look to her starring in a Michael Bay film, I couldn’t help but think of Megan Fox from the earlier Transformers movies. Maybe she will appear in more of his movies going forward. I couldn’t quite place actor Devon Chandler Long who looked familiar initially, referred to only as Mel Gibson due to the obvious Braveheart likeness, but I soon realized he plays the Viking character in the comedy series Ghosts. He is a mountain of a man and was a nice addition to the cast as he is very believable as an ex-special ops sort of guy.

I love when someone unknown in the acting world is given an opportunity to take on a supporting role in a big-budget film, and with Ambulance that guy is rapper Wale, which is pronounced “wah-lay”. Born Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, Wale is known for having his tracks included in big films like Ryan Reynolds’ action-comedy Free Guy (our full review here), or the Fast and the Furious film Hobbs & Shaw. In his first feature-film role, Wale takes on the role of Castro, the seemingly oblivious to his surroundings nice guy who works for Gyllenhaal’s character. He may not get a ton of screen-time, but he makes the most of his opportunities, and I thought he was fantastic and just hilarious each and every time he made an appearance. One specific scene that involves pink flamingos had me cracking up. His chemistry with Gyllenhaal felt genuine as well. If he is the latest actor to make a smooth transition to film similar to Kid Cudi’ after his breakout role in the A24 horror-thriller X (our full review here), I would be more than okay with that. Although I may be putting the cart before the horse a bit as he is certainly not on his level yet.

As what I would assume is a surprise to literally nobody, the technical elements of Ambulance are on point. From the insane car chases to the adrenaline-inducing shootouts, this movie packs a real punch. In some ways, you can’t help but think about the 1994 Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock action-thriller classic Speed, mainly because the majority of the film is a car chase where this ambulance simply cannot stop, but for a different reason of course. And if you are shaking your head because you have never seen this movie I speak of, get your behind over to HBO Max where it is streaming right now. Such a great movie, and currently sitting at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes for a reason. Reeves and Bullock literally look like teenagers, it is crazy!

The star of the show was without a doubt the seemingly never-ending car chase as we watched an ambulance blaze through downtown Los Angeles with sirens blaring. It was a bit surreal watching cars pull over as an emergency vehicle approached, but instead of a convoy of police vehicles, this ambulance was on the wrong end of the pursuit. During the movie, I couldn’t help but think about how much of the film’s budget went into the 30+ car crashes throughout the film. And we aren’t talking about 1995 Corolla’s, nice vehicles were getting demolished left and right for the sake of quality cinema. It seemed like a police car was getting totaled every 5-minutes, and the film included enough variety as far as vehicles to satisfy the most hardcore Fast and the Furious fan. At one point a Nissan Skyline joins the fun, I guess we know where our tax dollars are going. But in all seriousness, Bay brings to the table something for everyone as the action is aplenty from start to finish.

I could sit here and talk about the technical elements of the film all day long, but all that really matters is the value they bring to the film. At the end of the day, it is all about adding value, and every action sequence does just that. Michael Bay loves to experiment with creative camera work with his films, and with Ambulance he was extra reliant on drone cameras which I thought actually worked pretty well. The aerial shots allowed viewers the opportunity to feel the overall scale of what was happening on-screen, and for me, it made for a captivating and engrossing experience. I also really enjoyed yet another Bay staple, which is an energetic soundtrack designed to work in tandem with the action sequences. Bay teams up with composer Lorne Balfe, who with 161 credits to date according to his IMDb filmography, has to be one of the hardest working guys in Hollywood. He just did Infinite Storm, The Tomorrow War, and Black Widow, to name a few, and has several projects either in post-production or currently filming, including two more Mission Impossible movies. Bottom line, Bay is a talented guy across all genres, and he helps to keep the energy high with Ambulance.

THE BAD

Ambulance is a difficult film to critique when you stop and think about what its end goal was. But, a few elements of the film certainly could have been better. First off, the overall backstory was definitely rushed in favor of getting to the action, at least initially. This is definitely one of those Michael Bay tendencies which may bother some people, and others may be more than okay with it. For me, I was initially annoyed by how rushed it felt considering it was an over 2-hour movie, but by the end I just didn’t care as much. The plot works and is continually built on throughout the film which makes it all feel worth it. Also with such a stellar cast, I expected a bit more overall oomph from the leads, but the action was the real star at the end of the day. Again, not necessarily a negative, just worth pointing out. Plus, the film has a few pretty graphic scenes which may be difficult for those of you who have a hard time with blood and it opens with a very intense scene that surely sets the tone for the film.

THE VERDICT

A non-stop heist thriller guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat, Michael Bay’s Ambulance is an adrenaline shot of car chases and shootouts featuring two of Hollywood’s hottest actors in Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. In many ways blending elements of 13 Hours and Den of Thieves, this movie was a blast to experience on the big screen. I really liked how it never seemed to slow down, and always had an intriguing element of storyline blended in with all of the action. This is just a damn good movie in terms of the overall experience, and the more I think about it the more I appreciate everything Bay was able to do. I also feel like it would be even better with a second viewing. Do yourself a favor and check out Ambulance in theaters.