Ambulance

Check your brain at the door.

It's a wild ride, that makes NO SENSE.

You have to keep remembering.... it's a Michael Bay film.

Oh... and he LOVES drone footage.

I truly don't understand why people watch action movies when they don't even like them? So that they can put 1 star "trash" review on IMDB? This movie is exactly what you expect when you read its description. Also - it's a Bay movie. I really enjoyed the "weird" angles of the camera that everyone's hating here, the cast is really good, it's tense the whole way until the very end. Predictable ending, yes, but it's defo a match for every action-movie lover. The dialogues could have been better, as at times it got a bit cringy and I agree with the fellow haters that at times also a bit stupid. But hey ho, who says action needs too many words? If you want some deep psychological analysis of characters, perhaps better watch something from Trier.

So if you took Money Train, mated it with The Island and let the child be raised by someone who watched Heat once in 7th grade and thought it was cool but couldn't quite remember everything about it, you'd get this movie. It's really predictable and still entertaining. As with most Mike Bay offerings the female lead manages to stay gorgeous throughout. The male leads either have or don't have a moral compass. And operators, everybody's an operator. JG spends the whole movie accurately pewning people with no red dot and his "flip up back up sights" down. Damn you Old Bay seasoning, you made me think these seasoned fries were crab fries like I'm back at Chickie and Pete's.

Michael Bay is a great action director but he's no story teller.

Stereotypical gunho cops who are outwitted by 2 criminals driving a heavy ambulance carrying 4 people ,even though they drive souped up Ford Mustangs.

Good start but it goes on way too long.

Also the camerawork made me go dizzy.

Stylishly directed, jam-packed with chases and keeping the fun aspect alive for the most part if not all the way, Ambulance moves into top gear relatively quick and never takes the foot off the pedal once it gets going but the road it takes to reach its destination ends up being longer than what the gas in the tank can handle, thus resulting in a ride that's running on fumes way before the end is in sight.

Directed by Michael Bay, the premise is simple, setup is quick & thrills are endless even if much of the narrative elements seem underdeveloped. Bay utilises his usual unabashed over-the-top approach that provide his standard blockbuster fares an explosive, extravagant flavour and he amplifies the nonstop action some more with kinetic camerawork, chaotic vibe, frenetic editing and wicked character interplay.

The energy & passion is evident in execution and the use of drones to film the chase sequences is undoubtedly inspiring but this would've been an even better action-thriller if it was trimmed to a tight & tense 90 mins ride. Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II & Eiza González remain in sync with the craziness on display. And while the interest & momentum isn't lost, one does start to feel its 136 mins runtime in the remaining half.

Overall, Ambulance is amusing, entertaining & preposterous in all the ways a Michael Bay film is expected to be but it is also a whole lot of fast fun & furious frivolity that manages to get plenty of mileage out of its barebone premise. The lack of restraint isn't an issue since it is one of the fine qualities of a Bayhem production but its overlong length does leave you feeling more exhausted than exhilarated in the end. In short, a gleeful & enjoyable delight.