There are several things I expect from a Michael Bay movie: intense action and chase sequences, sweaty
lead actors, sweeping and circular camera movements, and ‘splosions. You know, general Bay-hem. AmbuLAnce delivers exactly what is expected
of it.
Set in L.A., to the point that the city functions as a character,
veteran Will is struggling to get the money he needs for his wife’s medical
treatments. He is not getting the benefits he should as a soldier returned
home, and they have just had a baby. He is frustrated and desperate, and all of
that is conveyed swiftly as the movie opens while we watch him make several phone
calls. He heads out to meet up with his
brother, Danny, promising his wife he will get it solved. Danny offers him a position in a bank heist
he is putting together, promising it will be quick, easy and no one will get
hurt. Will, feeling like he has no other
option, agrees.
The bank heist goes wrong in several ways, mainly due to a cop showing up to flirt with a teller and the feds being outside, having known about the heist and waiting to catch the crew when they exit the bank. Everything goes sideways, ending with Danny and Will taking the young cop and Cam, an EMT hostage in an ambulance as they attempt to make a run for it. Over the course of several hours, they attempt to avoid cops, feds, gangsters, and Los Angeles traffic.
If you like Michael Bay movies, I think you’ll enjoy this
one. It’s nothing new, but it doesn’t need to be. As with all Bay movies – it looks amazing. He
makes the absolute best-looking action movies. What I found interesting is that it seems to
be very pandemic-safe. It is a remake of
a French movie and lends itself to keeping the cast socially distanced as much
of the movie takes place in separate moving vehicles communicating over phone or
radio. Even the sequences with several cast members together were sparsely populated.
It is a clever way to make it safely and I really appreciated that aspect.
It also seems that Bay has either discovered or rediscovered
drones for this movie. There are so many rapidly sweeping drone camera shots
which really help drive home the space between the separate vehicles and where
they are in the city. The cast is less of
a factor in this movie as the real stars is the city and the car chases.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Danny and Will
are great and believable as brothers.
They throw in enough ‘my-family-took-you-in’ and flashes of the two of
them playing together as children to cement the relationship. Will knows that
Danny is a loose cannon, but he is his brother and he will do what he can to
keep them both safe.
What I appreciated even more over the course of the movie is
the slow reveal that Eiza Gonzalez as Cam was the true ‘hero’ and lead of the
movie. Because the opening and marketing
of the movie made it feel like Danny and Will are the heroes, it was
interesting to see that slow shift over the course of the story. She was great, and a good Bay star, trying to
keep a cool head and do her job to keep everyone alive in an insane ambulance
chase across the city.
Garret Dillahunt plays Captain Monroe, who comes in to coordinate the police response and brought his dog (Played by Bay’s dog). He doesn’t have much to do but has a good time holding together various different sequences.
Keir O’Donnell plays Agent Clark who steps in midway because he went to school with Danny and has some insight as to how he thinks and acts. I’m not sure why Dillahunt’s character could not have also covered this aspect. I could have used more back and forth between the two of them. They seem to represent two different mindsets in chasing down the duo.
A Martinez shows up to play Papi, a crime kingpin that Danny goes to for assistance partway through the chase. It does not go as well as he planned.
Overall, the movie is predictable and delivers as
expected. Fantastic looking with some
great action sequences. It is perfect for kicking back, turning off your brain,
and enjoying your popcorn.
6 out of 10
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