Ambulance

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza Gonzalez, Garret Dillahunt, Keir O'Donnell, Jackson White, Olivia Stambouliah, Moses Ingram, Colin Woodell, Cedric Sanders, A Martinez
Directed by: Michael Bay
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Drama
2022

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two brothers (Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) evade police in an ambulance after a botched bank robbery.

Review:

Tim: I've been interested in seeing what Michael Bay does, now that the Transformers era of his career is (hopefully) over. His first film since wrapping that disappointing franchise was the flawed but entertaining 6 Underground. I'd hope that suggested Bay would retain some of his sensibilities, but show a bit more restraint. Despite being excited, Ambulance is even a step back from his previous movie. It has some strengths, but the flaws outweigh these. This is a decent movie, but one with so many problems. The days of Armageddon and The Rock feel very far away.

In some ways, I enjoyed the simplicity of the story. Two bank robbers escape in an ambulance. Easy. The script adds much-needed detail- the bank robbers are brothers. One of them doesn't really want to be there and has a baby on the way. The paramedic in the ambulance always saves her patients, but she always stays removed and detached. We even get to know a bit about the police trying to bring these brothers to justice. It didn't surprise me to learn this was a remake of a Danish action thriller. It has a decent foundation. There's more than a few issues with the American remake, however. First off, the dialogue was often atrocious. It's just not believable in the least and I was cringing throughout the film. It was especially bad. And then, Bay approaching the subject matter with zero restraint. By dialing everything up to 10, the action and suspense quickly lose their effectiveness. As I said, this is still a decent movie- the underlying story is effective, it's just Bay's sensibilities end up hurting the film and prevent it from realizing its full potential.

Now, I know everyone talks about Bay and explosions in the same sentence. It's a lazy way of saying the director has an eye for action sequences, but never lets reality or believability limit his vision. There's more than a few ridiculous moments in this film, but the action sequences are all strong. There's no brilliant scene, no moment that feels iconic or especially memorable, but the movie is often thrilling and intense. You might not care deeply about the characters, but car chases and destruction is fun to watch on screen. Mindless action is another term thrown around, and yes, you get that here. The problem is that so much of it didn't need to be mindless.

Bay never seems overly interested in the characters. It felt like this film tried harder than normal to establish characters we'd sympathize and care about. It doesn't quite succeed, but the efforts are obvious. I love Jake Gyllenhaal and I know he was so excited to do a Michael Bay movie. His performance feels exactly like that- that he's having great fun and just hamming it up. The problem is that as great of an actor as Gyllenhaal is (he's one of my favorites), restraint matters for his performance. He's best when high intensity, but it's boiling beneath the surface (see Nightcrawler for an example). So, I love that he had fun going so over-the-top, but it hurts his performance. His character's needless screaming throughout the film got old quickly. For fans of the actor, it was a bit disappointing.

As much as I like Gyllenhaal, I feel torn with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. I thought he was really bad in Aquaman and I hated his performance in Watchmen. On the other hand, he showed some brilliance in The Trial of the Chicago 7. I would say his performance was on the stronger side here. He shows more restraint than Gyllenhaal, so while his acting wasn't always great, he at least seemed more grounded and believable. I think they could have cast better actors here, but Abdul-Mateen II was decent at least. I thought Eiza Gonzalez was solid in her role. Her character was a bit too thinly developed, but she puts a lot of energy into the role. She definitely made the movie better. I love Garret Dillahunt and I was so excited to see him here. He's a terrific supporting actor and he elevates his character significantly. I also loved seeing Moses Ingram- I think she's a truly fantastic actress. She's relegated to "the girlfriend" role here, which is disappointing, but her few scenes are among the most emotional and memorable of the film. The movie would have benefited with Ingram having a larger role.

As I think about Ambulance, it's a perfectly decent movie. You more or less know exactly what to expect and Bay delivers that. There's maybe a few fewer explosions than normal, as this is more of a chase movie. But, there's loud action, fast cuts, ridiculous sequences that manage to entertain. It's not a bad movie ever, but it's never a film I'll feel any desire to return to. I've seen it and it left me wishing it was better. So, Bay might be "free" of the Transformers franchise, but since then, he delivered a flawed but good film and then this flawed and slightly worse film. That doesn't give me tons of confidence in him moving forward.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: 6 Underground, 13 Hours, Bad Boys, Brothers