THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Desperation and adrenaline can make you do crazy things. You really don’t think so? Watch Ambulance.
PLOT
Based on the 2005 Danish film Ambulancen, the film follows Marine veteran Will Sharp who needs $231,000 to pay for an experimental cancer surgery his wife Amy (Moses Ingram) needs. Desperate, he reaches out to his adoptive brother Danny who is a life long criminal. He agrees to give him money only if he takes part in a $32 million bank heist. The said heist almost becomes a success until an officer named Zach Parker enters the bank to ask out a bank teller. When he deduces the situation, Danny decides to hold him hostage. Outside the bank, one of Danny’s partners gets killed in a shootout against Zach’s partner Mark (Cedric Sanders). The SIS lead by Captain Monroe (Garret Dillahunt), having been tracking down Danny’s team, would intervene and execute the remaining team except the Sharps. Both brothers head to the garage to find an exit, but Zach tries to escape which leads to him being shot twice by Will. When they leave the cop for dead, the Sharps head to the back of the building but find the cops surrounding that exit. So they decide to hijack an ambulance with paramedic Cam Thompson on board treating Zach. They incapacitate her partner Scott (Colin Woodell) and kick him out of the vehicle before leaving. When he recovers, he warns Mark of what they’ve done, beginning a manhunt. Cam does try to escape in the middle of an alleyway, but Danny threatens to kill her if she tries. She chooses to stay as a hostage, knowing that Zach still needs to be tended to. With helicopters chasing after them, Danny calls a fellow criminal ally named Papi (A Martinez) to help him lose the police in exchange of paying him $8 million. Mark does briefly catch up but not only does Danny threaten to shoot Cam if he keeps following, he eventually stands down when realizing he unknowingly had Monroe’s dog in the car. When Zach starts bleeding out, Cam has to perform surgery for the first time. She calls her ex boyfriend Colin (Andy Favreau) and two other surgeons to guide her and despite the battery dying on her, her surgery is deemed a success. Since the battery died on her end, Colin calls Monroe that the surgery could have failed. Believing Zach has died, he intends to have the Sharps sniped. With FBI agent Anson Clark (Keir O'Donnell) on the case as well, due to a past friendship with Danny, he warns Cam in advance of SIS’ intentions. Wanting to save Zach, she chooses to warn the brothers as well, which they narrowly avoid. Enraged of almost dying, Danny almost kills her but Will stops him from doing so. When they pass the LA River, they then get on the opposite lane of the interstate that causes multiple accidents. Papi’s son Roberto (Jesse Garcia) would attack the cops by driving towards them in an empty ambulance filled with explosives. He even sends a car with a machine gun which wounds Monroe in the process. Roberto is able to avoid the crossfire until getting killed by Mark. The Sharps reach Papi’s hideout and give him the money as promised, but he gets understandably upset upon hearing the loss of his son. Because of this, he demands to leave Zach and Cam to be dealt with. When Will refuses, he and Danny shoot their way out. During the chaos, Cam would accidentally shoot Will with Zach’s gun, lying to Danny by saying one of Papi’s goons did it. When they get cornered at the closest hospital, Danny would find the gun and confront Cam about it. Livid that his brother got hurt, he threatens to Clark that he’ll shoot the paramedic on live television, along with himself. Having no other choice, Will shoots Danny from behind. When the former gets arrested, his brother apologizes for his actions before drawing his last breath. Cam would then do right by him by escorting him inside the hospital to ensure recovery and secretly gives his wife the money for her surgery. The film would end with Zach telling the questioning officers that Will saved his life.
THOUGHTS
I was up in the air with this film due to my mixed feelings for Director Michael Bay. I have a soft spot for the likes of The Rock, Bad Boys and Armageddon, but I can’t say the same for 6 Underground, Pearl Harbor or any Transformers sequel that came out after 2007. However, I told myself to go in with a positive mindset and I luckily got to enjoy it. Bay definitely stepped it up in making something that was quite amusing. You want to call it preposterous, but it's edited so well it's hard to feel that way. Because of the editing, every chase and every shootout sucks you in. Normally, practical explosions can be over the top in typical Bay fashion, but this one of those times were it's earned. Every time it happened, I was caught off guard and remained invested in what would happen next. And that is the magic of movies that I love so much. As I look back, I think the reason this film has a particular effect goes to its bold way to say how precious life can be and how you must take care of it before it's over. I would've not been able to catch on to this had it not been for a unique ensemble. The majority of my connection goes to the polar opposites of Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Adbul Mateen II who have insane chemistry as the Sharp brothers. We root for Yahya as Will because he is the only one that wants do something for a greater good. He wanted to provide for his wife and child but can't even afford doing so, thus desperately choosing his last resort. Jake quickly makes us dislike Danny because despite the pure love he has for his brother, he is addicted to the thrill. He's too smart to give it up and knows it. Will couldn't help going to him because he appreciated being there for him in their childhood when no one else would. The past was almost pleasant for Will that he couldn't let go of the one good thing he had in his life before adulthood. However once he saw how far Danny was willing to go for himself by threatening to kill Cam, he knew he had to go back to the morals that made him a good man. It is a tough moment to see Danny die because although he had his own motives, he still wanted to look out for his brother, hence apologizing before he died. When seeing this brotherhood fall apart, it would be crazy that one would gain an ally along the way. Enter Eiza Gonzalez who was indeed a scene stealer as Cam. She left a good impression due to having her own journey that changes her for the better. At the beginning, she never really saw how important her job was until the Sharps entered her life. Seeing how sudden things happened for her had her realize hat she can't take anything for granted and appreciate how important it is to contribute in society, especially in her line of work. She did the right thing when helping Will to the hospital because deep down, the job is never really over when you say it is. And it was logical for her to still give the money to Amy even she understood she needed it more than anyone. Realizing this, there is more of a guarantee that after this eventful day, she'll maintain her newfound appreciation of what she has done and will keep on doing. Just with a little bit of conscious screen time, Jackson White steals our hearts as Zach. He was living one day at a time and got caught in a very rotten pickle. He does the right thing trying to intervene, but it doesn't exactly work out the way he plans. What I liked the most about him is that he shows respect to those who look out for him. Due to allowing Cam to do her job, he trusted her and from there, he trusted the truth that Will saved him via being a helping hand in the surgery. Had he not trusted her from the start, Will would not be a free man by the end of it. Since Zach is recovering as well by the end of it, I hope he scores a date with the girl he likes. This was quite fine of a movie, but even ones as decent as this had a fair share of issues. For example, why the hell did Monroe think it was a good idea to bring his dog to work? It was funny for Nitro to be in Mark's car, but that should've not happened. Bringing your dog to a dangerous field of work is like asking for trouble. Personally, I think Will should've finished off Zach after Danny had already shot him. If he really wanted to tie up a loose end, that would've done it. With that being said, they should've ditched the ambulance in the alleyway and steal another car. And if he really wanted to avoid suspicion at first, he should've shut the blinds whether or not he knew cops would be near. Of all the mistakes that Cam makes, it ain't shooting WIll, but it's not removing Zach's vest to look for further wounds. She would've saved him sooner had she done that. That reminds me on how Danny didn't even check if he still had a gun on him. Yes Mark stashed it for his partner after Danny took the original, but he should've double checked if he wanted to remain in control. Will makes mistakes for sure, but his biggest one has to be joining Danny's heist at the last minute. We know he's desperate but he had no idea what the plan would be and he was wasting time if Danny wasn't gonna give him any money upfront. And the heist became doomed once Danny opened the door for Zach. I know he was trying to avoid suspicion, but he could've made a better argument to keep him out. That was worse than having an unreliable truck. His plan is just overall unclear since he waits until Zach gets shot to wear a mask, when he should've put one on the second he entered the bank. I even wonder how come he didn't take back the half after he killed Papi? He easily could've done it after he was done shooting up the place. I then have to ask how did Cam still have pressure on Zach when Will did a 180 early on in the chase? I would've lost my grip and fall during that chaos. And how did no one question Cam when she took the bag? Yes it wasn't the same the Sharps had, but the cops should've been a little curious on what she was doing after steeping in to save David. And let's be honest, there had to have been some point for any of the cop cars to be low on gas during the chase. The Sharps get to swap ambulances, so they get one excuse, but the cops really don't because they don't get to stop. I even thought it was dumb for Papi to not kill the brothers immediately after Will refused to leave Cam & Zach behind. There's no reason to give them an advantage when you're the bad guys. Other than that, I still enjoyed myself. Overall, Ambulance is a solid action film that knew exactly how to get on the edge of your seat. If action is your go-to genre, this one is totally worthwhile.
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