Ambulance (2022) Review: Bay is Back!

Directed by Michael Bay, Ambulance is a 2022 action-thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role, alongside Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eiza Gonzalez. The story of the film begins when a decorated veteran in need of money teams up with his brother to steal $32 million from an LA bank. But, when their getaway goes spectacularly wrong, the desperate thieves hijack an ambulance that is carrying a severely wounded cop and an EMT worker. Caught in a high-speed chase, the two siblings must figure out a way to outrun the law while keeping their hostages alive.

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In the words of Martin Scorsese, “This is big-screen cinema.” For real though, Michael Bay is quite possibly my favorite “studio director” ever (said no one ever, unfortunately), and I’ve been excited for Ambulance ever since the premise was released. You can tell when watching this movie that it was done by a master of his craft that is having a lot of fun, and in turn, you have fun watching it play out; and boy does Michael Bay love his drone shots.

When it comes to acting in Ambulance, Jake Gyllenhaal, as the leading man gives an ace performance and is clearly having a great time with it and his chemistry with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is fantastic. On that note, this is definitely my favorite performance from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, he is in full force and more than holds his own alongside his veteran co-star. Eiza Gonzalez brings way more to this flick than I thought she would, she is spectacular, and you care about her just as much as you care about her captors.

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People tend to hate Michael Bay scripts, but I love them, and this one is no exception. You are genuinely rooting for the brothers to escape, knowing full well that they are the bad guys in this situation. This feature is essentially one long action sequence and the action is handled well and in a surprisingly realistic way. I will say that I am a fan of Michael Bay’s humor, but this motion picture does have some awkward humor that doesn’t really land, but most of it is confined to the first act, so it doesn’t really detract from the film as a whole. I’m so glad Michael Bay is back.

‘Ambulance’ Rating – 4/5

Review by Carder Galluzzo (@the_screen_scholar)

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