The Netflix streaming charts are often dominated by new titles and originals, which makes sense when considering the exciting prospect of watching a new release you can talk about with others. Yet, every once in a while, a classic film climbs the charts, given a second life, with many discovering it for the first time on streaming. Recently, 2022’s Ambulance has popped up at the top, currently sitting at #6 of 10, in the top movie streaming category.
While its title may seem a bit ambiguous, the movie is one of the most explosive action movies of the 2020s and is undoubtedly deserving of a spot on the charts. Ambulance was a theatrical flop on release, but the movie now stands out as one of Michael Bay’s best and most exciting. Here is why you need to give the high-octane, non-stop car chase of Ambulance a watch now that it is on Netflix.
What is ‘Ambulance’ and What Did Fans and Critics Think?
Ex-military vet Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is struggling to pay his wife’s medical expenses, feeling let down by the country he fought for. With the situation becoming dire, he reaches out to his adoptive brother, Danny Sharp (Jake Gyllenhaal), and the two conspire to rob a Los Angeles bank. When the job quickly goes awry, the duo, in a bid to escape, hijack an ambulance, driven by Cam Thompson (Eiza González), who is caring for a wounded police officer hostage. Taking them hostage, Will and Danny’s heist sparks a high-octane chase across the streets of LA.
Action does not always get its due in critical reception, particularly when films focus more on creating pulse-pounding scenes from start to finish rather than establishing an engaging narrative. Ambulance is no exception, with critical reviews giving it a modest 68% from 255 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. The familiar critiques pop up, including suggestions that Ambulance has a lack of substance and believability in the story, as well as a reliance on familiar action tropes. Still, others gave the film a great score, including Angelica Jade Bastién of Vulture, who called it “This (Ambulance) is precisely the kind of ridiculousness I can get behind.”
That said, action fans know the genre is for them, not the critics, and on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has an 87% score on the popcorn meter. With one reviewer stating, “Michael Bay’s Ambulance is one of those action thrillers that grabs you from the opening moments and refuses to let go, delivering a relentless two-hour ride driven by chaos, desperation, and tightly wound character dynamics.” Of course, one of the keys here is that it is a Michael Bay movie, and even if the viewer has some expectations or reservations, there is still a case to be made for the film.
Michael Bay is a Divisive Director, but ‘Ambulance’ is Among His Best
Michael Bay is one of those directors that fans either love or love to hate. Indeed, no other director working today puts spectacle before everything else, including coherent plots. Still, even among Bay’s works, there are better works, and ones that don’t quite elicit the same disdain as some others do. Yes, a lot of his work is far removed from what many consider a classic, as in 1996’s The Rock, but titles like Bad Boys II and the first Transformers movie have undeniable charms that even most naysayers will admit to. On the other hand, films like Transformers: The Last Knight and Pearl Harbor are generally seen as messy affairs, even though the latter became a box-office titan.
Ambulance delivers that popcorn action that fans of Bay have come to adore.
Even comparing Ambulance to Bay’s previous film, 6 Underground (2019), one can see how the director’s films differ in quality. 6 Underground remains one of the director’s lesser-regarded works, with the action not landing as consistently as Ambulance and with an even more disjointed plot. Ambulance is undoubtedly full of ‘Bay-isms,’ but the movie manages to pull it all together in an explosive way that makes it quintessential ‘Bayhem,’ which helps hide the film’s shortcomings in its story. Notably, the long-drawn-out car chase is expertly crafted from an action standpoint, from the camerawork to the stunts; it features some of the director’s best action sequences.
Ambulance delivers that popcorn action that fans of Bay have come to adore. The story, while seldom a strong suit of a Bay-led production, also remains as one of his most emotionally engaging works. All this makes it a delightful spectacle that is worth checking out on Netflix.
‘Ambulance’ Embodies the Best Action of the Past and Present
Action Fans Need to Add it to Their Watch List Now That it is Streaming on Netflix
Listen, we get it, Michael Bay’s films can be indulgent, even here. Ambulance marks the first time the director learned he could use a drone, as the movie admittedly has way too many shots using it; it becomes almost comical after a bit. Still, what makes Ambulance extra fun for classic action fans is how much it embodies the spirit of the ’90s, with new tech being overused ad nauseam. It is packed with explosions, car chases, and stunts, all with modern cinematography, but definitely more grounded in the types of movies you would get back in the golden era of action. There is a lot of fun to be had with this one, and action fans should certainly be adding it to their watchlist now that it has landed on Netflix.
- Release Date
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April 8, 2022
- Runtime
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136 minutes