Ambulance (2022)

Do any of you remember a few months back when I wanted to write about Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and my boss allowed me to only if I publicly endorsed my decision? Well here we are again.

My name is Tyler Clark and I think Michael Bay is one of the most important filmmakers of the 21st Century.

I have been pushing the narrative that Ambulance, the film in which two guys rob a bank, shoot a cop, and can only get away in an ambulance, is a good movie for months now, but nobody will listen to me (Except the editor! Hi, I’m Tom and I approve this message).

Well, now that I have you, please take a second to hear me out and explain why Michael Bay is important to cinema, why this film is good, and how it may just change how we make movies for the foreseeable future.

Michael Bay is obsessed with the technical aspects of filmmaking.

He’s known for his work with CGI artists and as a guy who is knowledgeable about visual effects and how they are produced. He is also an early innovator of Imax cameras and the reintroduction of 3D.

But let’s talk about Bay’s use of technology in Ambulance.

It feels like every movie has drone work in them nowadays and they all feel pretty stagnant and boring, just a cheap alternative to helicopter shots.

Well not in Ambulance! Bay hired Alex Vanover, a world champion drone pilot who is also basically a child (at the time of filming he was only 19 yrs old). Alex’s mastery of the drone allowed him to maneuver around the vehicles in exciting and never before seen ways.

Bay is also an economic filmmaker and likes to stretch a dollar. No matter how big the production he pushes the limits of his budget to make the end product feel even bigger. For example, Ambulance cost $40 million to make but looks and feels like it cost upwards of $100 million.

How Ambulance is Changing the Film Industry

So, we’ve established that the film is technically very impressive but we haven’t discussed how that is used in context.

Well, Bay is able to take all these tactics, from drone racing in the middle of action to applying his early commercial instincts to the form, and straight up redefine film language all together.

He’s using the camera like a weapon within the scene. As cars fly by, so does the camera. As you quick cut between images you learn to let go of control and just feel the motion and the unknown of what will come next. The geography is established only through a nose dive with the camera into the scene. From there it is up to you to pay close attention to the cacophony of violence in front of you; you’re in the scene, not merely as a spectator, but as a part of the action.

Guess Tomorrow’s Scene