Ambulance: Will Give You A “Rush” (Free on Amazon Prime)

Director Michael Bay is well known for his big-budget, over-the-top action movies, such as the "Transformers" series, and "Ambulance" is no exception.  It's a non-stop action film, with incredible chase scenes, but what raises this film above the level of the typical action movie is the character development and the occasional humorous banter between the three leads. Danny Sharp (played by Gyllenhall) and his adopted brother, Will (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), were very close as boys, but have gone their separate ways as adults.  Will is an ex-Marine war hero who has a wife and infant.  Unfortunately, his wife has cancer.  There is an experimental treatment that might save her that costs about $200,000, but his health insurance refuses to cover it.  Their father being a notorious bank robber, Danny is also a rich and a very successful bank robber who's kept himself free from jail.  Will goes to Danny to borrow the money for his wife's treatment, but Danny pressures him into joining his crew for a bank robbery, which is about to start in about 30 minutes, with an eight-million-dollar haul! Unfortunately, a cop is shot during the robbery and all hell breaks loose!  Danny and Will then hi-jack the ambulance with the wounded cop.  At first, the police don't realize they are in the ambulance, but they soon figure this out.  Also in the ambulance is the best EMT in NYC, Cam Thompson, played by Eiza Gonzalez.  The rest of the movie consists of Will driving like a mad-man to escape seemingly hundreds of police cars, some Swat helicopters, and multiple surveillance trucks.  The police and the FBI are both hot on their trail!  In the ambulance, Cam is trying to keep the cop alive and Danny is trying to figure out an escape plan.  They talk to each other along the way, and have various choices to make, which flesh out their characters very well. The acting is excellent and there is some comic relief, as the three banter with each other to ease the considerable tension.  At 136 minutes, it's too long, since it's about 90 minutes of chase scenes.  It would have been better 30 minutes shorter. The film works fine on the TV and it's free on Amazon Prime, so there is no need to see it at the theater.  Further, you won't have to run any red lights if you think you will be late for showtime!