Ambulance

"It’s kind of like a mashup of Speed and that movie Armored. Similar to most Michael Bay movies, there’s a lot of jokes that are awkward and don’t really land…there are plenty of firework-laden explosions and a lot of unnecessary macho yelling that, I’ll be honest, made me enjoy the movie even more because at this point when I go to see a Michael Bay movie, I kind of expect it and even hope for it a little bit. And like I said, a mid-budget action movie with a plot like this is stuff that I would like to see more of from Hollywood."

- Chris Stuckmann

Ambulance is a 2022 American action thriller film directed and produced by Michael Bay. A co-production between New Republic Pictures, Bay Films, Endeavor Content, and Project X Entertainment, it is based on the 2005 Danish film of the same name [da] by Laurits Munch-Petersen and Lars Andreas Pedersen. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Eiza González. The film premiered in Paris, France, on March 20, 2022, and was theatrically released internationally on March 23, and in the United States on April 8.

Plot
Needing money to cover his wife's medical bills, a decorated veteran teams up with his adoptive brother to steal $32 million from a Los Angeles bank. However, when their getaway goes spectacularly wrong, the desperate thieves hijack an ambulance that's 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.

Good Qualities

 * 1) It marked as Michael Bay's welcoming return to form as director, as it was Michael Bay's first two films to hold a "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside The Rock.
 * 2) Jake Gyllenhaal proves once again that he is perfect for playing a lovable douchebag as Danny, is a charming yet psychopathic career criminal, who can seamlessly switch between casual small talk and threatening to blow someone's head off. His performance is by far the highlight of the film and often steals the show everytime he appears.
 * 3) *Yahya Abdul-Mateen II also plays Will, the 'good' criminal who reluctantly went on the heist plays off his wife's surgery. He does a good job playing a man who is good at heart. He wants to keep the cop and EMT alive because he never meant to hurt anyone. He did a good job.
 * 4) Action and stunts are booming and fun that some beautifully choreographed action set pieces and they certainly pack a punch the likes of Heat and Terminator 2, especially the car chase scene. The fact that the movie makes complete use of the premise to further enhance the adrenaline.
 * 5) Michael Bay does an very good job at directing, which is surprising, that it improved the critical flops, such as mh:awfulmovies:Transformers: The Last Knight and 6 Underground. Its safe to say that he can do anything, like he payed tribute to the emergency services (which involves blowing several of them up).
 * 6) Lorne Balfe's musical score is great, who is known for being Michael Bay's recurring composer.
 * 7) Despite being 136 minutes long, the movie does not feel like it as much like the ambulance itself, it does not stop as the pacing works well, the characters are always moving planning, and fighting. However, the movie is still able to introduce each character and their motivation so the plot never feels confusing, even if its clichéd.
 * 8) The idea of the hijacking of an ambulance with a live patient is a mostly original with the potential for thrills that the movie executes to the fullest.
 * 9) The camera is consistently taking a step back to swoop in and re-contextualize the chaos. It makes the frantic editing all the more complex and fluid.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The story is rather clichéd.
 * 2) Some of the dramatic scenes are a bit too melodramatic.

Reception
Although Ambulance received mixed reviews from critics, it received positive reviews from audiences alike who criticized the story but saw the film as a return to form for Bay. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 69% of 204 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.80/10. The verified audience approval rating is at 87%, with an average rating of 4.30/5 from over 500 ratings. The website's critical consensus reads, "At top speed and with sirens wailing, Ambulance comes riding to the rescue for audiences facing an emergency shortage of Michael Bay action thrills.", while audiences consensus reads, "If you're looking for an action-packed movie that doesn't rely on deep dialogue, complex characters, or even a story that makes a ton of sense, Ambulance absolutely delivers.". It is one of two Bay-directed films to hold a "fresh" rating on the site, alongside The Rock (1996). Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The average user score is 6.8/10 from 18 ratings, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an 77% positive score, with 61% saying they would definitely recommend it. According to IMDb and Letterboxd, the film collected score of 6.5/10 and 3.2/5 ratings.

Videos
7NU-STboFeI tFWOyZNHjX8 xQvFngTc9OU SwsQigvVR8o mn2lO9mgv3g