MovieChat Forums > Ambulance (2022) Discussion > I enloyed it!

I enloyed it!

posted 2 years ago by Nifticus392 (36)
19 replies | jump to latest

Ambulance is a fun, old-school classic Michael Bay popcorn flick. The acting was above-average thanks to Jake G. (who's performance really elevates this movie), Eiza González, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (who I'd never seen in anything before) and Garret Dillahunt.

It was a typical Bay film: non-stop action and lots of wisecracks and dark humor from both the cops and criminals.

With a few exceptions (Bad Boys, The Rock, 13 Hours) I am not a big fan of Bay's movies but I realize now that I miss movies like this; they've been cast aside for Superhero and franchise movies or lower-budget made-for-streaming movies.

[–] AmericaILoveU (925) 2 years ago

Clearly Yabba Dabba Abdul 2 was the star of this film. The possibility to organise the cholos was a bit far fetched including the gatling gun 50cal cholo remote control car sequence.

[–] Leodicaprio (6426) 2 years ago

its a POS that will give someone seizures even if they dont have epilepsy.

I agree it was a typical bay film. poorly directed action scenes where I cant tell what's going on, bad acting, bad dialogue, a piss poor plot. overly drawn (2 hours?!?! why??!?). undeveloped characters who are simply vehicles to get to the next scene.

the Rock and bad boys stand out in that we have developed livable characters.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8468) 2 years ago

I have to completely disagree with nearly everything you said.

I actually think it's the fourth best Michael Bay film, after The Rock, Pain & Gain and 13 Hours, in that order.

I have no idea why you think the acting was bad. I thought the performances across the board were excellent, and I especially give a not to the supporting cast, which brought their A-Game. Gyllenhaal brought a lot to the film and Eiza Gonzalez I thought was great.

And it's strange to me that you criticize the characterization because I felt like was what was really the backbone of the film.

If I have a complaint, it's that the plot is thin, but that's like saying that the plot of Speed was thin. It's not a drama. It had all the plot it needed to orient the viewer, and keep the viewer engaged, and keep the action going.

I give it a 7.5.

[–] Leodicaprio (6426) 2 years ago

this thing was a POS through and through.

Gyllenhaal is always solid. the girl in the ambulance was bad. other random characters were bad. the character development was non existent. "I have kids" is the most lazy for of "character building"

this film was insulting and assaulting all my senses.. from the unfocused seizure inducing editing. to the bad sound design and loud music punching you in the face telling you to feel emotions. to the horribly written dialogue.

During the convo in the warehouse in the beginning (15 mins in). the camera is just nonstop moving around them and cutting while lens flaring. Does Bay honestly think more is better? if he uses as many things as he can and does as many cuts and adds more sense flares its "betterer". literally feeling physically ill.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8468) 2 years ago

I'll agree that he could settle down a bit with the camera and editing. But this film represented a significant improvement in that respect over his previous film, 6 Underground (which I couldn't even finish even though I tried twice).

Out of curiosity, have you enjoyed any of Bay's other movies?

[–] Leodicaprio (6426) 2 years ago

I disagree. its a massive step down from The rock and bad boys 1 and 2 which I enjoy

its all Bayisms, dialled up to an 11. the simping to authority. to crazy amounts of cuts. the sun flares and sun glare almost every other shot. taking you out of the film, ending your suspense of disbelief, and screaming "look its a film shot with a camera!"

the paper thin undeveloped characters. I mean what can I tell yo about our protagonist.. it was literally the most lazy "characterization" ive ever seen. he has a "family" and hes "the military". hes "noble" and doest want to hurt anyone, yet will mow down 6 people to save a lady who has betrayed him. wow. so stunning and brave

the cringe message of "ohh the military won't pay for medical care? thats fine!! you are a hero!! you are former military! omg dont worry!! be the soldier!! you have dignity you are military!" pretty sickening

it tried to be crash mixed with speed.

[–] Alex (1495) 2 years ago

Michael Bay be like:"I'll try spinning (the camera)! That's a goodtrick!"

Over and over and over and over and over. It was non-stop Insanity.

[–] Leodicaprio (6426) 2 years ago

hahahahahahahaha nice reference.

also "the more sense flairs the betterer a film is".

its what separates a true director/auteur who actually has skill, form a one trick mass manufacturing director for higher

[–] MillerJones (470) 2 years ago

He had to make up for the lack of CG he loves so much.

MB movies all feel the same now and the script/writing is so poor it feels like he is appealing to teenagers only.

[–] olioz (3403) 2 years ago

I enjoyed it too. Definitely one of Bays better movies. Behind Pain & Gain, 13 Hours and The Rock.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8468) 2 years ago

That is exactly how I feel. I enjoyed it and I'd put it as his #4 film of all time, behind The Rock, Pain & Gain and 13 Hours, in that order.

It's not quite on the level of those three movies, but it's still pretty well-made and a fun ride, and I really appreciate his old school approach with practical effects instead of just using a bunch of CGI. It's definitely one of the better movies in his filmography.

It's a shame it's not doing better at the box office because it's performance is going to discourage studios from greenlighting more original action films.

[–] acelesson (724) 2 years ago

Are you kidding me? This movie's CGI of a few of the crashes were so bad they looked like Playstation 2 graphics.

[–] olioz (3403) 2 years ago

For me it's Pain & Gain, 13 Hours, The Rock and then Ambulance. Pain & Gain is really underrated. I honestly think that it's a pretty much flawless movie.

I agree that it's a shame that Ambulance flopped. It's kind of weird that critics seem to like it more than audiences.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8468) 2 years ago

Pain & Gain and 13 Hours are both underrated, I'd say. Neither did well at the box office and it seems that it's mostly hardcore film types that have actually seen either film. And now Ambulance has totally bombed at the box office.

What a weird world we live in, where Bay's movies that are actually good receive little attention or acclaim, while his terrible Transformers films make billions.

The trailers for both P&G and 13 Hours--and Ambulance for that matter--were pretty good so I just don't get what the average moviegoer is looking for. Unless it was a matter of most people not actually encountering any of the marketing, I really have no clue what it takes these days to get a person interested in going to the movies.

It seems that if a film is not in some way connected to an existing franchise/property, then people just don't care. This is different from the 90s, when I was growing up. At that time, a film just needed to look cool and people will show up, which is why The Rock was such a big hit. It just looked like it was a fun movie.

[–] Nifticus392 (36) 2 years ago

Agreed!

[–] damocci (1504) 2 years ago

I'm about 45 minutes in and had to take short break from the Bayhem and Bayisms. This movie isn't great, but it's definitely one of Bay's better efforts. It's a popcorn flick and so far it's worth watching.

**edit**
I am now 1hr 5min in the use of drone cameras is excessively gratuitous. Why does every fourth or fifth shot have to be from a spinning racing drone? Why are these camera drones even spinning? It was kind of cool at first but it's too much now.

[–] SweetTooth43 (1874) 2 years ago

This is one of Bay's worst movies.
-Shaky cam
-Way too close camera zooms
-Stupid one liners
-Unlikeable characters
-Lame story
-Too long runtime
-Woke anti-white bullshit
-Forced gay agenda
I couldn't wait for it to end. And I like some of his movies: Transformers, Bad Boys, The Rock, The Island, 13 Hours, Armageddon even. But this movie sucked!!

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 2 years ago

For sure, probably one of his best movies since The Rock. Great action. Great performances from a fairly strong cast for this type of movie. And I honestly don't even like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. A plethora of supporting actors will nicely arranged narrative arcs.

It's a fast-hitting movie without the epileptic camera from the Bourne series with a lot of heart. Stylized and flashy...but I mean...this is like enjoying a fast and furious movie, except, I'd say Ambulance is objectively a good film.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (73816) 2 years ago

Me too. Lots of action, a wild performance by Gyllenhaal, dizzying drone shots throughout…this was a great silly action movie.