‘Ambulance’ Is Bay’s Best In Years (Movie Review)
Looking past his Netflix venture, 6 Underground, Ambulance marks director Michael Bay’s first true return to the big screen since 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight. No longer partnered up with Optimus Prime, this action-thriller is a remake of a Danish film that clocked in around 90 minutes. True to form, Bay’s version is over two hours to make room for some much-needed Bayhem. Set in Los Angeles concerning two bank robbers and an unlikely paramedic, the film features high octane thrills, real-life stunts, and impressive camerawork with Bay’s latest gizmo: drones. Does the native Angeleno’s return to the City of Angels mean more of the same, or does the hands-on blockbuster auteur have new tricks up his explosive, kinetically-edited sleeves? Did I mention he has drones now?
When post-war vet Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) realizes his VA medical insurance won’t cover his wife’s (Moses Ingram) costly life-saving procedure, he begrudgingly asks his estranged criminal brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) for a hefty loan of 260K. Danny just happens to need an additional member for his latest bank heist scheme. The payday could be a whopping 30 million.
In another part of LA, “Cam” Thompson (Eiza González), an overworked paramedic, believes she can handle the “people saving” stress as long as it’s compartmentalized within quick twenty-minute increments. Soon enough, all three are in an ambulance with a wounded cop, millions of dollars, and the full force of the LAPD and FBI on their trail.
This is precisely the kind of hyper-real high concept that ruled the box office in the 90s and early 00s. I haven’t seen the original 2004 Danish film, but the release window tracks. OG Bay fans will appreciate the level of craft and energy on display from the 57-year-old filmmaker. Ambulance may lack the goofy sentiment of the Fast films, but it’s driving down the same streets and usually at top speed.
I’ve lived in LA for over two decades, getting to know the various small and large areas: from Hollywood to DTLA and the valley. For the bulk of Ambulance, we are simply watching the titular emergency vehicle being pursued by cop cars, helicopters, you name it. Adding to that, though, is each area having a personality. The verticality of DTLA, the confining landscape of the LA river, and all the small neighborhood quirks like in Echo Park.
A typical film will have the narrative dictate the composition and editing. Bay rarely rolls like that. Suddenly we’re swooping around a moving vehicle as a chopper zips under a bridge. It’s all in real-time, and it’s all (for the most part) real. It’s been said a million times by various movie fans that real cars and other large objects tossed about, crashing into pavement, have the kind of weight computer-generated FX can’t replicate. Bay’s use of drones gets us in and out of frame so potently we feel light or tense depending on the mood of the scene. It’s darn exciting. That the film was made for a modest (for this kind of production) 40 million is remarkable.
The script by Chris Fedak is pretty boilerplate. Regardless if you’ve actually seen the French original, you’ve witnessed this kind of popcorn flick many times. Thankfully, along with strong lead performances, the story interjects plenty of moments with the LAPD and FBI agents who aim to stop that ambulance a la Speed. Bay excels at using barebones characters who are amplified by Bay’s outlandish photography and the big stars inhabiting them.
A part of me assumes Bay must be excellent at pitching his ideas to his cast. How else to explain Frances McDormand in a Transformers sequel (Beyond the obvious payday, I mean)? Watching this latest city-wide action spectacle, I think it’s because good character actors like taking parts they can tinker with. The film’s main foil, Danny, gets to monologue, shoot an automatic rifle out of a moving vehicle, and much more. An actor like Gyllenhaal probably appreciates being able to just have fun being so intense in this kind of role. I know I would.
As good as Abdul-Mateen II and González are, they’re saddled with the less showy parts, at least at first. The second hour does afford the two trying more chances to keep up with Gyllenhaal’s antics. Like McDormand or Turturro in the Transformers flicks, veteran actors Garret Dillahunt and Kier O’Donnell have moments to shine in smaller roles. While talking tough and sharing playful banter throughout much of the film, Dillahunt also spends a few scenes in a cop car with a giant pooch who ends up serving more of a purpose. That had to be fun.
It’s worth noting that while I certainly wouldn’t call Bay a “woke” filmmaker, he’s, thankfully, toned done the need to over-sexualize the women in his cast. González, like Megan Fox in Transformers, is in many ways the smartest, most capable person in Ambulance. Bay, working with cinematographer Robert De Angelis, would never make any of his stars not look incredible as everyone onscreen is stunning and practically runway ready. Yet, I appreciate González’s Cam not being lensed like the film is made for teen boys in the 90s, unlike Fox’s Michaela in Transformers.
Not everything is so progressive. A Mexican drug cartel leaves a lot to be desired. Moses Ingram’s character isn’t much beyond a “concerned wife” who doesn’t go anywhere without her baby prop. Yet, on the whole, Michael Bay seems at least aware that the egregious stereotypes of the 00s should be shelved.
Ambulance is the kind of money-on-the-screen offering I expect from Michael Bay. The set pieces are intense, and the pacing rarely dulls over its two-hour run time. As the weather is starting to heat up, a film like this is meant to be experienced on the biggest screen possible with terrific AC. Given all the thrills and dazzling spectacle (made on a lower budget for Bay), you’ll have plenty of reasons to want to cool down.
