Ambulance Film Review

Michael Bay turns up the heat on the early Summer blockbuster season with Ambulance, a literal white-knuckle ride wherein an emergency nurse fights to keep a rookie cop alive while Jake Gyllenhaal points a gun at her head. So how does the director of Transformers elevate this? By setting essentially the entirety of the running time in a hijacked ambulance tailed by a convoy of police and FBI officers.

Bay is surprisingly restrained form here, with the only telltale signs of his trademark bombastic style manifesting in a bizarre third-act set piece that feels strangely out of place until his name appears on the closing credits and it all suddenly makes sense. Fortunately for viewers this is the tip of the iceberg, with the remainder of the twists and turns employed for tension rather than instant gratification; a ruptured spleen, a dynamic blood transfusion and novel use of a hair grip amongst others keep the film’s overlong runtime sufficiently bearable.

Gyllenhaal evokes Nicolas Cage, at his peak, as serial bank robber Danny, revealing increasing shades to his psychopathy as the heist escalates and the odds of him succeeding grow ever more unlikely the more desperate he becomes. His partner and brother Will - a war veteran in desperate need of money for medical aid for his wife - plants the seeds for a timely commentary on the American healthcare system and citizenship, but sadly none bear fruit as Bay neglects the opportunity to follow through, leaving viewers with a hollow ending that is perfectly serviceable, but instantly forgettable. The highlight comes in the form of Eiza González with an endearing turn as the hostage nurse, matching the testosterone with a fighting spirit that shows Bay is capable of giving his female characters the respect they deserve, and demonstrating some personal growth from the man who sexualised Megan Fox’s film career by having her bend over the hood of a car.

A solid cast and a consistently engaging premise render Ambulance an entertaining film once, even if it won’t be remembered for anything other than its place in Bay and Gyllenhaal’s filmography. Still, it’s perfectly good popcorn fodder to get multiplex seats warm for the first Summer of blockbusters since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. And like other films of its ilk, that’s just fine.