IR Film Review: AMBULANCE [Universal]
The trajectory of a Michael Bay movie is an interesting amalgamation of the man and his work ethic. Giving a man 40 million to make an action movie versus 100 million might seem tricky but the beautiful thing is that it probably made Bay even hungrier. Like "13 Hours" (another interesting but different approach), "Ambulance" is Bay lean and mean but it would be a career highlight for any other person. The substance isn't overt but the attitide and the energy are non-stop. And visually he makes Los Angeles as frenetic as it has ever looked. "Ambulance" almost literally never stops and is R rated and despite a reduced budget the bedlam is insistent and Bay can push that envelope (like he did with "Pain & Gain"). The movie basically becomes a three hander between Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eiza Gonzalez. Keeping up this energy level and keeping any element of script continuity is a bear. Nobody has tried this with LA since "Speed" and this a different monster though not as memorable though it definitely likely has rewatch value. It is cheesy, the dialogue over the top but these actors in the lead really commit to it. Gyllenhaal is at his most mainstream and slick. He loves a good challenge and literally keeping up with Bay is a kind of Olympics in itself.
The action, especially the car stuff (seemingly they shot this mid pandemic) is pretty insane but this is Bay in quarantine mode which is funny in a way because when you think about the claustrophobia, no one else would have done it this way but the script actually makes it work. The standard dry Bay humor present in all his films is there though the sarcasm does feel a little 90s. There are some subtle dialogue references to "The Rock" and "Bad Boys" which is kind of fun because it is now the point where Bay is in the lexicon though he must be pushing at least 60. "Ambulance" does have some slightly deeper themes and the three lead actors (especially Jake) have the wherewithal to make it work, even over the top. "Ambulance" is movie that is a ride but still archetypal and classical in a Bay way: cinematic to a fault (the way he uses drones in a lower budget over LA is absolutely awesome -- he had spoken how the CGI enhancement weren't that good but whatever is wrong in his eyes is hardly noticeable). It is also ironic because Garrett Dillahunt plays a character that suspiciously looks like another Bay compatriot and initially in the trailer Eiza Gonzalez looked suspiciously like Ana de Armas. But again Bay is likely aware of all of this and just throws it into the blender and says " Let's go!" "Ambulance" is loud and fun and, while not too deep, is definitely solid enough. B+
By Tim Wassberg
