Ambulance

I am not a big fan of Michael Bay (a major understatement) but I thought the trailer for his latest movie, Ambulance, looked intriguing and I heard enough positive word of mouth to warrant seeing it last night.  I didn't hate it.  In fact, I liked it more than I thought I would!  Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a decorated combat veteran who is trying desperately to find the money for an experimental surgery that his wife needs.  He turns to his estranged brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal), a notorious bank robber, for a loan but gets drawn into his latest heist.  The job goes awry when an officer (Jackson White), spurred on by his partner (Cedric Sanders), enters the bank in order to make a date with one of the tellers and is shot by Will.  There is a dramatic shoot-out with the police and Danny and Will are the only members of the crew to make it out alive.  They hijack the ambulance transporting the injured officer and take Cam Thompson (Eiza Gonzalez), the cynical EMT treating him, hostage as they lead police, led by SIS Agent Monroe (Garrett Dillahunt) and FBI Agent Clark (Keir O'Donnell), on a high speed chase through rush hour traffic on the streets of Los Angeles.  Their escape is complicated by the need to keep the officer alive and by the involvement of one of Danny's criminal associates (A Martinez).  The action sequences are as chaotic as you would expect from Michael Bay (I saw it in IMAX and found all of the angles and fast cuts to be quite disorienting at times) but the story is surprisingly compelling with high stakes and characters that you actually care about.  I was especially invested in Will's fate and I was actually dreading what I imagined would be the inevitable conclusion (it was not what I was expecting).  Fans of the director are sure to enjoy this but I would also recommend it to anyone who enjoys action thrillers because it is a wild ride, especially on a Saturday night with a big tub of popcorn.