Michael Bay leaped into the cinematic consciousness of moviegoers in the late 1990s with action blockbusters Bad Boys, The Rock, and Armageddon. He gained notable critical (and commercial) acclaim with The Rock and Armageddon in particular, before veering off into Transformers hell for the better part of almost two decades. His newest film, Ambulance, now available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and DVD from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, is a return to form for Bay, and I am happy to say–his best film since that Rock/Armageddon combo in the 90s. Universal sent over a copy of the Ambulance Blu-Ray for Cherry the Geek TV to review.
In the action thriller, veteran Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), desperate for money to help with his infant son’s medical issues, turns to his adoptive brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) for help. A career criminal, Danny instead offers him a huge score. When their goes awry, the desperate brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded cop and a paramedic (Eiza González) onboard. Will and Danny must evade a city-wide law enforcement response, keep their hostages alive, and somehow try not to kill each other, all while executing the most insane escape LA has ever seen.
The film, based on a 2005 Danish film, is full of Bay’s trademark hyper-energy editing, camera shots, explosions, and while it falls a bit short of being as great as his best work from the late 90s, there is certainly much to love and be entertained by here.
The video and audio quality are top-notch. The picture contrast is pristine (While I saw the Blu-Ray–I can’t even imagine how great the 4K must look). The Dolby Atmos audio track is amazing. The sound mix is great and the audio helps give the viewer a completely immersive experience. Great stuff.
There are six short featurettes included as bonus material:
BAYHEM (6:14)– The cast and crew discuss what it’s like to work on a Michael Bay set as viewers watch Bay himself conduct the mayhem
PEDAL TO THE METAL (9:35)– A look at how Michael Bay took his car chase craft to a whole other level for Ambulance.
AERIAL ASSAULT (5:09)– Learn how the breath-taking, heart-stopping aerial images in Ambulance were captured.
FINDING AMBULANCE (5:35)– Filmmakers and cast discuss the genesis of Ambulance and what drew them to the project.
CHASE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD (3:59)– The cast and crew discuss how LA’s endless miles of highways and sprawling streets became a character in the film and the perfect location for Ambulance.
A TRIBUTE TO FIRST RESPONDERS (6:54)– Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González talk about their growing understanding, respect, and gratitude for first responders.
My two favorite featurettes were Aerial Assault and Finding Ambulance. Aerial Assault shows how camera drones were used to capture the spectacular shots in the film. Finding Ambulance talks about how the film was pitched as Heat meets Speed— and that’s exactly what the film feels like and plays a big part as to why it works so well. My complaint about the bonus features would be that they are too short and play more as fluff EPK press featurettes than as in-depth looks at the making of the film. I prefer more meat to my bonus features than what was included here. It’s a minor complaint, though. The film is fun, and the disc services the film well.
AMBULANCE BLU-RAY
The Film: B+
Blu-Ray Video Quality: A+
Blu-Ray Audio Quality: A+
Bonus Features: B-
Overall Value: A-
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