Jake Gyllenhaal’s really been loving Danish cop-centric action remakes as of late, with Michael Bay’s Ambulance next up on the docket after he starred in The Guilty, which premiered on Netflix earlier this month. Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II lead Bay’s next feature, an action-packed heist film featuring lots of explosions, car crashes, and helicopter shots.
Candyman’s Abdul-Mateen stars in Ambulance as decorated veteran Will Sharp, who’s desperate for money to cover his wife’s medical bills. You know, because we have a terrible healthcare system and lack support for veterans once they return home. Sharp eventually finds himself asking for help from the one person he knows he shouldn’t—his adoptive brother Danny (Gyllenhaal).
A charismatic career criminal, Danny instead offers him an even better score: a fat $32 million. All it requires is his help to pull off a massive but easy peasy bank heist, which, of course, could not go worse.
Echoing Keanu Reeves’ action feature Speed, the two hijack an ambulance in an effort to evade law enforcement, rushing it through the streets and highways of Los Angeles.
In addition to getting home, the brothers’ main concern becomes saving the wounded cop on board of the emergency vehicle, because for some reason they really make a point to not kill cops amongst all their crime. They take EMT Cam Thompson (Eiza González) as their hostage, who makes it clear she won’t be held without a fight.
Both Abdul-Mateen and Gyllenhaal have proven they can give stellar, nail-biting performances, which even shine in the trailer despite the underwhelming plot.
The screenplay is by Chris Fedak (Prodigal Son, Chuck), and based on the original story and screenplay for the 2005 Danish thriller Ambulancen by Laurits Munch-Petersen and Lars Andreas Pedersen.
Ambulance debuts in theaters on February 18.