“Ambulance” - Film Review
Michael Bay’s Ambulance is the exact type of movie one would expect from the Transformers director. It is pure “Bayhem,” a high-octane chase through the streets of Los Angeles. The film is centered on Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), an ex-Marine living in Los Angeles with his wife, Amy (Moses Ingram), and their new baby. Amy needs a life-changing surgery that is considered experimental, and Will is having a hard time getting his veteran’s insurance to cover the procedure. He’s also been unlucky in his search for a well-paying job and they’re falling behind on bills.
Will calls his brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) in the hopes of getting a loan. Instead of giving Will the $200,000 loan he asks for, Danny gives him the opportunity to make millions. A bank in downtown Los Angeles has $32 million in its reserves, and Danny, having already successfully robbed 37 banks, has a plan to make off with all the money. Will’s desperation forces him to agree, but despite Danny’s promise that it would be an easy job, the heist goes sour fast. During their escape, Will shoots Zach (Jackson White), a cop, who is then picked up in an ambulance. Danny sees the ambulance as their ticket out and forces his way onboard, taking the wounded cop and Cam (Eiza González), the ambulance’s EMT, as hostages.
Ambulance’s motivation is muddled. On the one hand, the opening scene has Will on the phone with veteran services being given the runaround about insurance coverage. It seems like the film will be an indictment of the way veterans are treated, like Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” On the other hand, there is an intense fight to keep Zach alive simply because he’s a police officer. While recklessly driving through Los Angeles, numerous other police officers are run off the road in explosive crashes without fanfare, so the film has unclear priorities. Maybe expecting Bay to take a political stance in what is essentially a lengthy car chase is giving him too much credit.
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It’s the runtime that ultimately ruins Ambulance. Had the film been a tight 90-minute movie, instead of two hours and sixteen minutes, it would have been much more effective. It’s difficult to maintain a sense of tension over the course of a movie that long. It may seem entirely unrelated, but it was impossible to not be reminded of Shiva Baby while watching Ambulance. The sense of tension, dread, and anxiety in Shiva Baby is what Ambulance is surely going for, but never manages to maintain for longer than a few minutes at a time. The most intense moments of the film are when Cam is being coached through a surgery by doctors on FaceTime. The ambulance is still racing through the streets of LA and Cam’s whole arm is inside Zach’s body as she attempts to remove a bullet. It’s claustrophobic, and the only moment in the movie where the audience truly feels what’s at stake.
While the story may be thin, the choreography and stunt work involved are nothing short of a marvel and a true return to form for Bay. The sweeping drone shots are spectacular and really bring the audience close to the action. In IMAX, the explosions feel bigger, the interior of the ambulance feels tighter, and the soundtrack is pulsing. Ambulance is close to being a mindless, white-knuckle pursuit through LA, but unfortunately overstays its welcome.
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