Ambulance

In the movie industry, there are certain names that will always be known for making a big impression. It could be a director, or producer, who is well known for spending a lot of money to make sure the films looks great, feels majestic, and is made for people worldwide who loves powerful film making. One of those names is without a doubt Michael Bay, who have given us so many action films over the years. When you walk into a Michael Bay film, you know he will give 200% of everything. With films such as Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, The Island, Transformers and many more, he have made sure that movie tickets have been sold in big numbers. I do enjoy some of his films, and then there are films i may not enjoy for different reasons, where he is the producer ( i am especially thinking about the 2014 film version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, since i prefer the 1990 film ). But in 2016 he actually released a film that i did enjoy, that did not get a lot of attention. And that is the film known as 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi. This is a film based on the book by the same name, of author Mitchell Zuckoff, that tells the story the terrorist attack by Islamist militants at the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya on September 12, 2012. Since this is a Michael Bay film, there are some really big action scenes in 13 Hours. But the biggest reason why i enjoy this particular film, is that he actually tried a different kind of action film, that does not include a lot of CGI effects. To be honest, i did not know much at all about this tragedy in Libya, so i do think this film manage to tell the story in a effective way. The acting may not be great from the whole cast, but overall i would recommend you to check this film out. During the pandemic director Michael Bay decided to work on a film called Ambulance, that may be the lowest budget he have ever made on a big studio film ( only 40 million dollars ). This is something you don´t see everyday, since Michael Bay is known for spending lots of money on his films. I did not see this film in cinema, but decided to pick up a Blu Ray copy to give this film a chance. Is this one of the better Michael Bay films in recent years, or should he have left this project to another director?

War veteran Will Sharp ( Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, desperately need 231.000 U.S. dollars for his wife Amy Sharp´s ( Moses Ingram ) surgery. Since he have no other way out, he asks his adoptive brother Danny Sharp ( Jake Gyllenhaal ) for the money. The only way Danny can help Will out, is if Will agree to do a bank robbery, wich will guarantee a lot more mony than he asked for. Will see no other option but to accept the offer, even though he knows this could destroy his future with his wife and child, if anything goes wrong.

I will be honest and say that i had no idea that this film is sort of a remake of the 2005 Danish film by the same name. I never saw the 2005 Danish film Ambulance, so i have no idea if that film is good. So i am just going to give my opinion about this American version instead, so you know i won´t compare these films. If you grew up watching a lot of Michael Bay films, you know he is really good at making American patriotic films. And this goes for Ambulance as well, but i will say this, at least this film is not as patriotic as Transformers, and feels more realistic instead. Since he easily can spend around 200 million dollars on one film, it is nice to see him do something smaller, that actually have a plot. Ambulance may not bring anything new to the table, but since this is a Michael Bay film you know what you are getting. Bright colors, a lot of speed, wide shots over L.A. and of course good looking people. The best part of Ambulance is actually when we are inside the ambulance, after the robbers take over the vehicle and we follow their journey across the city. I can´t remember that i have seen a heist action film that includes an ambulance, so this is actually a positive detail, that they tried a different approach in this genre. I especially think it is interesting to think about, how do you handle a patient in an ambulance, knowing that you could possibly be killed by bank robbers? Do you sacrifice your own life for the patient, or do you just try to get out, no matter what it takes to save yourself? The characters in this film helps the plot become interesting, and especially actress Eliza Gonzaléz ( who i really enjoyed in the TV series From Dusk Till Dawn ) as the character Cam Thompson. She is tough, is really good at her job, and she knows how to handle everything professionally. You can feel that Eliza took this role seriously, and she does a great job with her portrait of Cam. Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II ( who i actually enjoyed in the 2021 horror remake Candyman, worth checking out ) gives us a realistc portrait, and a solid performance as the struggling family father Will Sharp. Jake Gyllenhaal deliver the best acting performance in this film is hijacker Danny. He is so good at getting into a character, no matter what the genre is. So anything bad about Ambulance? Since this film have nothing original to offer, you might feel that you have seen similar films like this one before and loose interest. And i can understand if you feel this way, because this genre really need a face lift, where they try something different in a heist story. Overall, if you just want an heist action film that is well made, Ambulance do work for the most part. Michael Bay may never win any Oscars in the future, but he does know how to make action films. And for that i am thankful, as long as he make them good. Ambulance is actually one of his better releases i have seen since 13 Soldiers in 2016, so if you are just looking for a descent action film, this one should do the trick.

Rating: DDD