Hooray for Michael Bay. In a sea of action movies that are full of grit-toothed heroes taking grim villains oh-so-seriously, the high-octane mind behind Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, and — my personal favorite — Pain & Gain is back to remind us popcorn movies can be unashamedly stupid fun. With Ambulance, Bay pairs up dashing leading men Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II for an adrenaline-fueled heist that is an absolute blast.
Based on the 2005 Danish film Ambulancen, Ambulance follows two brothers whose bank heist goes awry, forcing them to take hostages in an — you guessed it! — emergency vehicle.
Screenwriter Chris Fedak transports this story to modern-day Los Angeles, which gives Bay the perfect opportunity to relish in his deep love of the city. Drone shots zip up and down the exteriors of skyscrapers, excitedly leering at their curves as if they’re Megan Fox in the Transformers movies. High-speed chases pull audiences down freeways, into parking garages, onto the LA River and through a barrage of burst-able obstacles. And the cinematography of Roberto De Angelis relishes every moment, painting the city in flashing emergency lights or Bay’s signature orange glow of magic-hour magnificence. Yet this rapturous race around Los Angeles is far from the most thrilling bit of Ambulance.
Credit: Universal Pictures
Michael Bay at his best
Bay has long been obsessed with heroes in uniform and charismatic criminals. Here, they collide in nearly every frame. Like the villains of The Rock, Will Sharp (Abdul-Mateen) is a Marine fallen on hard times, essentially betrayed by the nation he defended with his life. Desperate for money, he turns to his dashing but dastardly brother Danny Sharp (Gyllenhaal), who swiftly sets him up on a bank heist that’s supposed to be a piece of cake. But in a Bay movie, even cakes explode.
Hijacking an ambulance that contains a critically wounded cop (Jackson White) and a brave EMT who takes no shit (Eiza González), the LA-born-and-raised brothers take to the streets to flee a flood of cops, snipers, and FBI agents who are all determined to bring them down. In classic Bay fashion, the whole fleet of crooks and cops are filled with quirky characters, oft-played by captivating character actors. Standouts in Ambulance include Olivia Stambouliah as a sharp-tongued lieutenant with a dirty mind and Garret Dillahunt as the police captain whose appreciation for sass is only outmatched by his love for his big gassy mastiff (who — in another Bay signature — is played by the director’s beloved dog, Nitro Zeus.)
How is the action in Ambulance? Fittingly frenetic
Car chases, explosions, and gun fights might be expected in Bay movies. And while these sometimes are flung onto screen in a frenzy that is occasionally incoherent, that plays well with the film’s mood, which is thrillingly chaotic. Debris of twisted metal, baskets of flowers, and even quinceañera dresses go flying, and our hearts flutter with excitement. Then Bay takes things to an extreme that is so outrageous it’s genuinely hilarious: surgery in the back of the ambulance during a high-speed chase. It’s not just a sequence with gross-out gore and shocking situations. The editing team masterfully slices from the booming panic in the ambulance to the tranquility of a golf course, where two baffled surgeons get called in to consult over FaceTime. Like the last Fast and Furious entry, F9, this Ambulance sequence plays with sound and silence, mayhem and muteness, to knowingly hysterical effect.
That’s the thing about Bay. He can bring in big drama and earnest themes of brotherhood and betrayal along with snarling men of action, but he refuses to lose his sense of humor. Power struggles between cops and the feds are exhibited as exhilaratingly irreverent dick-measuring contests. Amid a life-or-death chase, his featured fraternity will take a moment to sing along to a classic slow jam. These moments not only give us a break to take a breath amid all the action, but they also bring fresh life to stock characters we’ve seen bunches before, from the rookie cop to the tough broad to the crook with an honor code. Speaking of…
Credit: Universal Pictures
Jake Gyllenhaal is dynamite
With a mournful look and a grounded delivery, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II brings the heart to this heist. With a bold presence and a steely gaze, Eiza González brings the hard-nosed opposition to the cowboy antics of her captors. Together, they and Gyllenhaal make a trifecta of riveting conflict on every stretch of this action-packed journey. But make no mistake, Gyllenhaal owns this movie.
Bringing the energy of a coked-up douchebro, Gyllenhaal embodies the tone of a Michael Bay movie, making every moment he’s onscreen explosive. Perhaps this is why Bay pushes into close-ups of Gyllenhaal’s face so tight that you might swear you can smell his breath. Or maybe Bay’s just enchanted by those chiseled features and lush eyelashes. Either way, I’m not complaining. The movie star who’s made his name with charged performances delivers one of his all-time best as a control freak out of control. Throughout Ambulance, Gyllenhaal’s body radiates anxiety, rage, and purpose, while his mouth shoots one-liners — abundant, hilarious, and seemingly spontaneous. It’s like watching fireworks, fun because of the fiery razzle-dazzle and because you’re never quite sure when they’ll go off.
Credit: Universal Pictures
Michael Bay could back off a bit, though
For all the indulgences of Michael Bay that make for spectacular entertainment in Ambulance, there are a few that are a bit of a buzz kill. For instance, hooray for Bay: He has left behind his leering over his leading ladies, instead regarding González as a badass on par with her male co-stars. She’s not scantily clad in an objectifying costume, but suited up in a uniform that is professional and form-fitting. And the shots that capture her regard her with the same blend of awe and appreciation they do for Gyllenhaal or the Bad Boys before her. She’s hot, sure, but she’s getting the hero treatment of hotness here.
However, not all representation in Ambulance is so mindfully modern. The “nagging wife” of Bay movies past has been swapped for a “nagging gay husband” in a scene meant to humanize an FBI agent while waving a big pride flag about his sexual orientation. Similarly cringe is the inclusion of a Latino gang whose chief attributes are their ethnic identity and being bloodthirsty. Beyond being reckless and regressive representation, these scenes actually slow down a movie that is at its best racing.
At two hours and 16 minutes, Ambulance feels overlong. Its epic exhilaration is occasionally bogged down by regrettable tangents, like those above as well as sentimental flashbacks to the Sharps as boys, which, while earnest, feel like afterthoughts. But the clunkiest bit is a climax that should be ruthlessly thrilling. Instead, it’s snarled in melodrama, location changes, and Bay’s struggle to say goodbye. So, a third act becomes a fourth and a fifth, hurting the movie’s overall momentum.
Ambulance kicks ass
Even with its rough spots, Ambulance is a raucous thrill ride with streaks of Bay brilliance. Its massive cast collides with charisma and conflict. Gyllenhaal dazzles as a dashing bastard. Action sequences range from brutal to absolutely bonkers, but never lose the thread of fun. For all his indulgences, for better or worst, Bay proves once more to be an absolute master of action excellence.
Ambulance opens in theaters on April 8.
