Ambulance

Michael Bay’s latest action-thriller is arguably his best film for years – a taut, claustrophobic and surprisingly character-driven heist-gone-wrong movie, powered by charismatic performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eiza González.

Premise: Desperate to pay for his wife’s medical expenses, war veteran Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) turns to his brother, career criminal Danny Sharp (Jake Gyllenhaal), for help. Soon he’s embroiled in an armed robbery gone wrong, and the brothers are forced to take an EMT (Eiza González) and her patient, an injured cop, hostage in a hijacked ambulance, while Captain Monroe (Garret Dillahunt) leads the LAPD’s pursuit.

Review:

Although 2019’s 6 Underground had a “so-bad-it's-almost-good" ridiculous quality about it, the last Michael Bay film that I thought was genuinely great was the character-driven, blackly comic crime thriller Pain & Gain in 2013. So perhaps it’s fitting that his return to form is with Ambulance, another character-driven, blackly comic crime thriller. That’s not to say that the similarities between Pain & Gain and Ambulance run any deeper than that, as Pain & Gain leaned more heavily into its dark comedy tone, whereas Ambulance is arguably more of a straight-up thriller, albeit one peppered with flashes of humour.

Ambulance is primarily a character-driven thriller, and while there are some great supporting actors (including the always reliable character actor Garret Dillahunt), the film is essentially a three-hander between Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eiza González, and each of them are excellent in their roles.

“…the complexities & nuances of relationship between the brothers is one of the highlights of the film…”

The film opens by focusing on Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Will, the quintessential “good man” pushed into doing “bad things” by circumstances. While it may feel (especially to non-American viewers) that the set-up is a bit cliched, it’s arguably a sad indictment of America that it still rings true to show (a) how veterans are often abandoned by society when they return from war, and (b) how the eye-watering cost of medical care in America means that many are left to face impossible choices. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is great as Will Sharp, capturing the character’s inner conflict between his sense of morality and his desperation, and he brings a sense of quiet dignity and stillness to Will, which contrasts nicely against Jake Gyllenhaal’s Danny.

Jake Gyllenhaal definitely gets the flashier role, with Danny Sharp being a much more gregarious extrovert in comparison to his brother Will. On that point, it’s nice that the film takes the time to stress, in a number of scenes, that although Will is adopted, Danny and Will are a close as any “real” brothers. Their relationship, including all of its complexities and nuances, is one of the highlights of the film, and arguably its driving force as well.

“…Jake Gyllenhaal gets to turn his performance all the way up to 10…”

Whereas Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has to play the more stoic role, Jake Gyllenhaal really gets to embrace his more theatrical side, turning his performance all the way up to 10. When he needs to be, Danny is a smooth-talking charmer, but as the day unfolds, Jake Gyllenhaal gets to play up Danny’s borderline sociopathic elements. Jake Gyllenhaal has said in interviews that a lot of Danny’s lines were improvised, where Michael Bay pushed him to go even further, and most of the film’s black humour comes from Danny’s (largely inappropriate) reactions to events.

Rounding out the main cast is Eiza González as the EMT Cam Thompson, who is taken hostage by the brothers. I’ve long been a fan of Eiza González, and especially enjoyed her supporting character work in Baby Driver and I Care a Lot, but it’s great to see her finally get a leading role in a relatively big Hollywood film (especially after being relegated to minor roles in Kong vs Godzilla and Hobbs & Shaw). Eiza González brings the necessary emotional depth to Cam, and does a lot with what could have potentially been a somewhat underwritten role.

“…a gripping, non-stop locomotive of an action thriller…”

Of course, although the three leads are all great in their roles, Ambulance is still unquestionably a Michael Bay film first and foremost. All of his trademarks are present and correct – frenetic camerawork, practical action scenes full of over-the-top destruction, low camera angles, militarised police units, and a seemingly never-ending golden hour. Not only that, but Michael Bay seems to have been determined to take his camerawork to the next level, with drone shots plummeting off buildings and through underpasses, helicopter shots swooping over speeding cars, and handheld shots capturing the cramped action set inside the ambulance itself. Some may feel that his directorial exuberance is distracting, but for me, it was part of the film’s identity. Ambulance is, after all, a remake of a 2005 Danish film, but I can’t imagine that the original was nearly as idiosyncratic or individual as Michael Bay’s interpretation of the concept.

Ultimately, Ambulance won’t be for everyone, and some might not be able to get over what they see as a simple premise stretched too far into a 2-hour car chase, a plot and characters that feel very familiar, or a directing style that’s as exhausting as it is entertaining. But then again, Michael Bay has never been a filmmaker who’s trying to appeal to all of the people all of the time, and for what it is, Ambulance is a gripping, non-stop locomotive of an action thriller.