Ambulance Is Bayhem That's Entertaining A Surprising Amount Of Heart

    

      When it comes to film directors who can blow stuff up and create action movie mayhem, no one does it like Michael Bay. Since the latters directorial debut with 1995's Bad Boys, Bay has delivered some of the biggest blockbusters of all time with hits including The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and the Transformers franchise despite receiving critical disdain most of the time. Surprisingly with Ambulance, that isn't the case here with Bay's latest feature starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen ll, and Eliza Gonzalez, generating the best reviews of his career. Jam-packed with action from start to finish, Ambulance is thrilling Bayhem that embodies all of the directors most notable traits as an auteur action director, while possessing a surprising amount of heart. 

      Ambulance's plot centers around a decorated veteran (Yahya Abdul-Mateen ll), needing money to cover his wife's medical bills, teams up with his adoptive brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) to steal $32 million from a Los Angeles bank. When things go wrong, the desperate thieves steal an ambulance carrying a severely wounded cop and an EMT worker that places them in a high-speed chase with the police. Ambulance carries the look and feel of an action thriller that would've fit right at home in the mid 1990's when classics like Speed and Con Air were the standard norm for the genre. While its plot may not carry much in terms of depth, Bay takes what's essentially a generic heist premise and places his directorial stamp on it while providing a thrilling action-packed experience from start to finish.

      Along with Bay's trademark style of directing, he manages to generate some strong performances out of his cast with both Gyllenhaal and Mateen ll delivering intense and emotionally gripping performances while providing the stories pulse. Gyllenhaal is terrific as Danny, adoptive brother and life-long criminal who talks his brother into taking part in a $32 million bank heist. Gyllenhaal's performance here is one that's well-layered and shows a wide variety of emotions with him willing to go to the extreme in order to pull off the heist while showing loyalty to his brother. Mateen ll completely shines as War veteran Will Sharp with him believably conveying desperation in providing $231,000 for his wife's Amy's surgery. Gyllenhaal and Mateen ll are dynamic on screen together and convincingly portray that they're adoptive brothers with different paths who decide to do the unthinkable. Eliza Gonzalez impresses as EMT Cam Thompson whose taken hostage during the boys getaway in the ambulance. Gonzalez does well in providing the moral conscience of the trio, while showing devotion to her job by continuing to help her patient. The rest of Ambulance's supporting cast churn out serviceable performances including Garret Dillahunt as Police Captain Monroe, Keith O'Donnell as FBI Agent Anson Clark, Jackson White as Officer Zach, and Moses Ingram as Will's wife Amy Sharp. Despite the overall cast proving effective, it's the chemistry between the main trio that makes it extremely watchable. 

      With Bay at the helm, audiences know what to expect with the filmmakers distinctive directorial style that includes fast cutting shots, distinctive cinematography, and aggressive sound design. Anyone whose familiar with Bay's body of work knows that it comes with action sequences that appear as being both flashy and chaotic with Ambulance being no exception. The majority of the film plays as being one endless chase that keeps audiences at the edge of their seat for the duration of the films 136 minute running time. Along with Bay's crazed style of directing action, he incorporates moments of humor that's offbeat though ultimately appealing. With the films cinematography and rapid editing, the action is presented as being frantic with gory bits such as the performing of an operation in the ambulance during the chase, and a young female character shown to have a metal post protruding from her torso. With Ambulance, Bay glorifies the traditional style of action that's showcased in his previous films while making the most of the films plot with thoroughly satisfying results. 

      As far as Ambulance's writing goes, it helps that the characters are likable as well as being ones whom the audience can relate to and even sympathize with, most notably Will's character whose motivations for joining his brothers bank heist are made clear along with his frustration for not receiving the required assistance to help his wife despite his military service. Gyllenhaal's character is shown as being loving of his brother and not intending to hurt anyone during the heist, though audiences are left in suspense with what his character plans to do next as he becomes more desperate to evade the authorities. Danny is shown as sticking his nose into numerous amounts of trouble all across Los Angeles, whereas Will embodies the heart of the story. The distinction between the two main characters are made clear with the latter not approving of his brothers methods nor lifestyle despite participating in the heist. Thompson's character is shown as being focused and dedicated to her job despite the mayhem surrounding her. The side characters are stereotypical character tropes with them mainly existing to further drive the story. Whereas Michael Bay films are generally hit-and-miss when it comes to both writing and characterization, Ambulance, while not perfect, takes the opportunity to introduce characters whom the audience can find relatability to. 

      Despite the film carrying a few issues of it own such as certain subplots taking a bit long to finally be executed (The planned distraction to help Gyllenhaal and Mateen's characters escape the police for example) with the overall running time feeling a tad longer than required and could've been better tightened, Ambulance largely surprises as being an above average Michael Bay flick with the latter showing strong care for telling the story. Although it isn't Bay's best directed feature (The Rock still wears that crown), it will surprise, entertain, and satisfy audiences and action fans with its effectiveness while showing Bay to be a master at creating mayhem like no other.

Final Verdict: For action, Michael Bay, and Jake Gyllenhaal fans, Ambulance is an riveting action-packed spectacle that's worth experiencing.    

Images Courtesy Of New Republic