Ambulance

If you want to break it down, this movie can be easily analyzed regarding any logic it may have, and a Michael Bay movie is just that, a Michael Bay movie. As a complete no-brainer, it is very entertaining with impressive stunts. Unfortunately, his tokenistic camerawork and editing techniques are really freaking overused in this movie. He should at least cut back on the coke in the future. (30/03/2022)

A hard and fast guided tour of Los Angeles and a movie record of exactly the same bank robbery as we see in "Grand Theft Auto V"... the one the ambulance... enriched by the recycled screenplay of the Danish original (thank god for the Scandinavians) about two brothers who need some money. In addition to the very effective camera flybys (guaranteed to make you barf if you watch this at the IMAX), Bay unexpectedly looks into the motivations and the character traits of all the main protagonists. It wrings out all it can from the emotions. Everyone has his place and is important in some way. But character development takes nothing away from this being a heavy-caliber Bay movie with cars crashing into obstacles and automatic weapons firing in the background: artists on the wrong side of the law playing a concert. Gyllenhaal savors playing the looney Danny to the very last drop, whether he is ordering flamingos for a birthday party or persuading his brother to help him rob a bank which this very day happens to have millions of dollars lying in the safe. And you must admit, the rest do a very good job of being extras. Balfe’s frenetic music is full on. Is this movie dumb? Yes. And is it fun? Yes. "You shouldn't have worn fucking sandals, dude." (20/03/2022)

An unacknowledged adaptation of GTA V that rides the wave of "the good" Bay from the nineties. That is to say, it's far from overblown not only in terms of runtime, pathetic, B-movie, deliberately stupid (which is not a rule with Bay), but fun and flashy. Double shame about the superfluous final 20 minutes, otherwise satisfaction from the "turn off your brain, have a couple of beers, get the popcorn ready and tune in to your boyish self who likes to bump into Englishmen for no reason" drawer. (16/03/2022)

The characters get into a situation that started to really entertain me only in the last quarter of the film. Everything before that is trite routine, wrapped up in an attractive Bayhem form. And that’s not for everyone. Epileptics can’t help themselves. What I found most lacking in Ambulance is a more imaginative screenplay. The only way the film attempts to move the action-packed ambulance ride along in terms of plot is by gradually revealing the relationships between the characters (who knows whom from where and why). And these are in no way interesting and don’t bring anything important to the emotional drive of the film. Some emotion comes only in the final minutes, but it’s nothing more than traditional, slightly embarrassing Bay-esque sentiment. (30/03/2022)

After a botched robbery, Michael Bay has the two protagonists steal an ambulance and take a hostage, and a chase across L.A. begins. And it's Bay, full of slow motion, crazy explosions and stylish camera work. Only this time, the director tries to be unexpectedly serious at times and doesn't completely underestimate the character work. Unfortunately, what looks for a while like a serious action drama that might even work, ends up getting beaten to death by childish humour, overwrought action and the fact that he's just making what he's always made. So in the end, it's more or less exactly the kind of wildness one expects from Michael Bay. Whether that's a good or bad is for each to decide. (17/03/2022)