Flashy director Michael Bay makes a return to the big screen in the white-knuckle thriller Ambulance from Universal Pictures. Decorated veteran Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), desperate for money to cover his wife’s medical bills, asks for help from the one person he knows he should not–his adoptive brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal). A charismatic career criminal, Danny instead offers him a job for the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history: $32 million.
Will cannot say no with his wife’s survival on the line. However, when their getaway goes spectacularly wrong, the desperate brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded cop clinging to life and ace EMT Cam Thompson (Eiza González) onboard. In a high-speed pursuit that never stops, Will and Danny must evade a massive, city-wide law enforcement response, keep their hostages alive, and somehow try not to kill each other, all while executing the most insane escape L.A. has ever seen.
Outside of his last two directorial efforts, the messy 6 Underground and the dreary Transformers: The Last Knight, I have never had a problem with Michael Bay and his filmmaking style. The initial trailer and premise for Ambulance caught my eye, not to mention two of my favorite actors, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jake Gyllenhaal, were the leads in the film. Chris Fedak pens the screenplay for Ambulance, an American remake of the 2005 Danish film of the same name.
One of the things I want to commend Fedak for is how he introduces us to the primary characters. Fedak wastes no time setting up the premise, which combines Bay’s visual style well. From the onset, we see how good Cam is at her job and the strength of the brotherly relationship between Will and Danny. There is also a great introduction to Officer Zach (Jackson White), Capitan Monroe (Garret Dillahunt), and FBI Agent Anson Clark (Keir O’Donnell), all of whom figure into the plot.
As this is a Michael Bay film, the editing is fast, and when the action sequences occur, I could not help but smile. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jake Gyllenhaal handle the action sequences nicely and avoid stereotypical action movie tropes. The chemistry between the two is genuine and honest, as are their interactions with Eiza González whom they share the Ambulance for most of the film’s duration. There’s also some great back and forth dialogue between Jake Gyllenhaal, Garret Dillahunt & Keir O’Donnell as men on opposite sides of the law.
For the most part, Ambulance kept my attention, although I do think maybe a cut of twenty would have helped the overall structure. Nevertheless, Bay set out to make a small film focusing on the tension between characters trapped in a claustrophobic setting. In that regard, Bay achieves his goal and creates an enjoyable nineties throwback-style popcorn flick.
Final Grade: B
Writer-director Lee Cronin made an impressive feature film debut in 2019 with “The Hole in the Ground” and followed it up with a fresh and gruesome installment in the “Evil Dead” franchise, “Evil Dead Rise”. However, due to adult responsibilities, I missed his third film in theaters. The mixed reviews and rumors of a troubled production have me concerned.
While TLC and SWV are often seen as the defining female trios of the 1990s, this week’s Slow Jam Saturday takes us back to 1998 to revisit a group that deserved more recognition than it received. Before label issues cut their career short, Divine made their debut with the single “Lately”—a heartfelt ballad that showcased beautiful harmonies, emotional honesty, and all the elements of what seemed to be a promising future.
When I first saw “Gail Daughtry’s and the Celebrity Sex Pass” at Sundance 2026, it quickly became one of my favorite films of the festival. I was elated when Sony Pictures Classics picked up the film for distribution.