"It was supposed to be a simple heist."
Decorated veteran Will Sharp, desperate for money to cover his wife's medical bills, asks for help from his adoptive brother Danny. A charismatic career criminal, Danny instead offers him a score: the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history: $32 million.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Danny Sharp
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Will Sharp
Eiza González
Cam Thompson
Garret Dillahunt
Captain Monroe
Keir O'Donnell
FBI Agent Anson Clark
Jackson White
Officer Zach
Olivia Stambouliah
Lieutenant Dhazghig
Moses Ingram
Amy Sharp
Colin Woodell
EMT Scott
Decorated veteran Will Sharp, desperate for money to cover his wife's medical bills, asks for help from his adoptive brother Danny. A charismatic career criminal, Danny instead offers him a score: the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history: $32 million.
6 out of 10 for this waste of good actors. Garbage camera work, loud score, and anticlimactic ending that leaves the viewer just disappointed. Car chases and gun fights must have been directed by an action flick newbie, never even once is the cause and effect in the same frame. Looking at people shooting something off-screen and in the next scene seeing bullets hit another thing does nothing for me. Might as well read a book if I'm supposed to connect the dots myself. Similarly watching cars drive fast in close-ups or over hidden ramps is just boring. Dialogue wants to be clever so much and characters are overly colorful, not very believable on the whole. The movie is suspenseful though if nothing else and that is why my rating is relatively high.
I generally like Michael Bay movies, even when they go into stupid, inane territory. However, his latest, Ambulance is a 90-100 minute movie that is stretched to over two hours and got tedious pretty quickly, most notably the aerial/drone shots that did make me a tad nauseous. The writing also was pretty poor including the cringe "comedic" lines that didn't work, not to mention a few unnecessary scenes for the supporting characters. I guess on the plus side Jake Gyllenhaal can play psychotic pretty well and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has his moments. I also liked how Bay/composer Lorne Balfe recycled one of the themes from 13 Hours at the end. As a whole, this is not one I'll revisit. **1.75/5**
**If you want escapism action, you have come to the right place.** Ambulance is as Michael Bay as a movie could possibly be. There’s a total of maybe 10 minutes of story and plot development before jumping fully into all-out action. Who needs character development when you have a 2-hour car chase and shootout? Not me! It is a non-stop action romp with next-level camera work and stunt work. You should know what you’re getting if you watch a Michael Bay film, and this is everything you would expect at its very best. Peak Michael Bay action.
MORE SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS @ https://www.msbreviews.com/ "Ambulance is one of the most frenetic, literally non-stop action flicks of Michael Bay's entire career - which might be shocking to state. The cast is exceptional - curiously, it's Eiza González who stands out the most - and their interactions are far more hilarious than I anticipated. Choppy editing and inconsistently shaky camera work can be extremely frustrating, especially outside of the action sequences, but on the other hand, these elements also contribute to the unstoppable energy of an authentic blockbuster. Is it absurdly ridiculous? Undoubtedly. As silly as can be expected. But entertaining nonetheless." Rating: B-
I laughed, I cried, and now I think I need a nap. My second Bay movie. Jake Gyllenhaal, nitro dog, fantastic cinematography, great emotional core, etc. Excellent stuff.
This is a Michael Bay movie. I could probably stop the review here because that says all about the movie. Lots of special effects and a mediocre story at best. This Michael Bay movie is no different. The two stars I gave it is solely for the action and the special effects. The script is not even mediocre. It is rubbish. I think what grated on me the most is that there are two characters in the whole movie that are somewhat likable. The rest are either assholes or idiots. Mostly both. The actions of almost everyone are just annoyingly stupid and illogical. The constant bickering and shouting is frustrating. This “criminal mastermind”, Danny Sharp, is alternating between being a psychopath and just an idiot. His idiot comment towards the end that they were not the bad guys, they were just trying to get home was so braindead it was unbelievable. The police force is not really any better. The entire chase part is just so ridiculous most of the time and the constant shouting and arguing drags it down further. The idea of doing an operation, over the phone, during a high speed chase while taking 90 degree turns every two minutes or so is laughable. Then they had all this silly work up to where the baddies were going to assault the cops with their customized vehicles and the one time I expected Michael Bay to shine and even go a bit over the top it ended up being rather meh and mediocre. Normally I do not really care that much if the script is not top notch in these kind of movies as long as it is good enough to drive the action but this script was too ludicrous and devoid of intelligence even for me.
A cold and mysterious new security guard for a Los Angeles cash truck company surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman's ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score.
Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the other even though they are aware their cat-and-mouse game may end in violence.
On the run from a lethal assassin, a wily con artist devises a scheme to hide out inside a small-town police station. However, when the hit man turns up at the precinct, an unsuspecting rookie cop finds herself caught in the crosshairs.
As Los Angeles prepares for Halloween, mask-wearing armed robbers critically wound detective James Knight’s partner in a shootout following a heist. With Knight in hot pursuit, the bandits flee L.A. for New York, where the detective’s dark past collides with his present case and threatens to tear his world apart…unless redemption can claim Knight first.
Gang leader Tony pulls off a major diamond heist with his crew, but cop-turned-criminal Ling knows who has the loot and responds by kidnapping Tony's daughter and holding her for ransom. Unfortunately, Tony's lost the diamonds as well. As he frantically searches for his daughter and the jewels, Tony pairs with a high-kicking government agent who once worked with Ling and seeks revenge on him.
Big Nick is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie, who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world's largest diamond exchange.
Ex-car thief Randall Raines is forced out of retirement to save his brother Kip after a boost gone wrong. With the help of allies old and new, they race to meet the demands of notorious crime boss Raymond Calitri as the police are in hot pursuit.
Still recovering from a heart transplant, a retired FBI profiler returns to service when his own blood analysis offers clues to the identity of a serial killer.
The story of the Newton gang, the most successful bank robbers in history, owing to their good planning and minimal violence.
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.