I have to admit that I get tired of the excuse, “It’s a Michael Bay movie, what do you expect?”

I found that Ambulance was available to rent on Vudu this weekend. I had actually considered heading to the theater tomorrow to see it, but now I did not have to. I could watch it at home.

I’m not a fan of Michael Bay, but there have been a select few movies of his that I have liked and with a talent such as Jake Gyllenhaal in the film, I had some hope.

Did I mention that it is a Michael Bay movie?

Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) was desperate. His wife needed a surgery, but the insurance would not cover it. So he went to his adoptive brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) for help. Unfortunately, Danny is getting ready to rob a bank and needed his brother’s help.

The robbery goes terribly wrong and Will, Danny a paramedic named Cam (Eiza González) and a cop that Will had shot (Jackson White) wind up inside an ambulance being chased by the police.

This is very much a Michael Bay movie. It is loud, stupid, has characters of little to no substance, dialogue that is laughable at times and a plot that makes little sense.

Sure, there are a few scenes of action that can be exciting, if you do not let yourself think about what is happening, because it rarely makes sense.

Jake Gyllenhaal is doing his best, but even he is too over the top. One of the issues is that none of these characters are worth rooting for. They are horrible and, despite the film trying its best, I just could not find anything redeeming about them. Even the heroic Cam is anything but likeable. Even if you could like her, she does some things that are just not possible or that make any sense at all. Cam’s last few scenes almost make her bearable. Almost.

By the way, I found the driving and pounding score to the film to be obnoxious and loud.

Some people will be happy with this. It is nothing more than ridiculous action with explosions and gunfire and car crashes. It had a minimal story with a group of actors giving what they had despite there not being much. Some will say that it is okay since it is just a “Michael Bay movie and why would you expect more?”.

2.4 stars