Rating: 3.5 / 5
Finally again Michael Bay in the cinema! A little escapism is good for all of us these days, and with Jake Gyllenhaal in a fast-paced 136-minute street spectacle Ambulance really something for all action fans. The film never gets boring and shows that the 57-year-old director still has what it takes.
Ambulance Critique
Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), ex-soldier, desperately tries to arrange life-saving surgery for his seriously ill wife. Abandoned by insurance, he turns to his wealthy adoptive brother Danny (Gyllenhaal), who convinces him to commit a risky bank robbery that will end up with a whopping $32 million. But first things turn out differently and secondly than you think: The almost perfect plan gets out of hand – and so they both find themselves on the run in an ambulance, together with a shot police officer (Jackson White) and the experienced paramedic Cam (Eiza Gonzalez)…
Like a sponge we have Ambulance absorbed! Not because the new film by action icon Michael Bay is an eye-opener that has never been seen, but it still manages to leave hardly any time to take a deep breath and tells the whole story in a very cool way. Whether heli scenes over the city or in the Los Angeles River (salute to Terminator 2 – Judgment Day and many other gems of the scene), rapid catch-up chases, stunts and drone flights of the camera, Bay knows his profession and uses the means at his disposal ingeniously. The action doesn’t distract from certain moments of action, it is the core of the whole thing and is really fun here in over two hours of running time.
As a spectator, you quickly sense what is coming, and in Ambulance there is always something going on. The quiet debut, which is supposed to pick us all up, is quickly followed by recruitment and then things really get going. It’s exciting to see how one coincidence sometimes mixes with another and thus pushes a plan in a completely different direction or destroys it directly. Remember, keep an eye out when choosing your helpers: Crazy people are never an asset (attentive observers have known that since Die Hard), and crazy people in Birkenstock sandals are no real help.
Let it be said that with such a meticulously planned action, in which perfect team play is required, something like this can happen and no new player is hired just a few minutes before the start. Driving experience and family ties aside. But somehow works Ambulance still not totally far-fetched, because Gyllenhaal and Abdul-Mateen II confidently play the brothers on their way to the mission. It’s fun to follow the dynamic between the two from start to finish, but it’s often Eiza González who steals the show as paramedic Cam.
Naturally beautiful and still as painted after a long, stressful day, but González loves the camera, which shows a wonderful naturalness. After two years of Corona, one cannot avoid thinking of the countless helpers in hospitals and in the emergency services who are trying to save human lives by using inhuman forces and are there for all of us.
As much as we like the background music and action scenes in Ambulance love, sensitive viewers could suffer so much from the shaky camera work and the rapid cuts. However, if you are addicted to action-packed cinema entertainment and the roar of the engines, this declaration of love from Bay to his city is perfect for you!
Reveal value: 80%
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