The Cinemawala

Michael Bay has been the target of much scornful film criticism over the last few years because his movies have, frankly, sucked. Though he is a master technician, capable of creating stunning action sequences, massive bits of chaos onscreen, and overwhelming visual effects, character development has never graced his films. There are always some small surprises in his early films, the grisly reminder of what the nurses and hospitals endured on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, in his film ‘Pearl Harbor’ (2001) was a shocking wake up call, the startling bits of humanity on ‘Armageddon’ (1998) that elevated the film far above anything it had a right to be, but the last ten years his career has nosedived into five ‘Transformers’ films, God help us all, and ‘The Island’ (2005) a dumbass thriller that lacked a single thrilling moment. When his name is mentioned, it is never with Oscar potential or even good reviews, we have all but given up on him.

Let us be fair, ‘Armageddon’ was a terrific ride, with a commanding Bruce Willis in the lead and some of the best character actors in the business having some fun, Steve Buscemi most of all. Billy Bob Thornton was noble and unshakable on earth as the NASA chief hoping his motley group of drillers do their job in destroying a meteor speeding to earth which will obliterate planet earth and every living thing on it. ‘Armageddon’ is a guilty pleasure of mine and so beautifully put together you are willing to forgive the inconsistencies in the story, you strap in and have fun with it. Though ‘Pearl Harbor’ was met with brutal reviews and a ridiculous final half-hour, and that simply stupid scene of Roosevelt (Jon Voight) miraculously rising out of his wheelchair (cue tears), the sequences of the actual attack were visceral and astounding, the honesty in what the men went through that day haunting, and the scenes of the nurses bathed in blood, revelatory. But ‘Transformers’ movies??? Brutal, it seems Bay was taking his career into the depths of hell from where he would never emerge.

Until now.

His new film is a wild ride, bolstered by fine performances (yep I said that), a believable premise (well, with a wink), crazy wild action sequences and a pulse-pounding, straightforward narrative that makes this one of the best action films in years. Remember that giddy feeling we got watching ‘Speed’ (1994) for the first time? Dennis Hopper’s villain, the premise that if the bus slowed below 50 mph it would explode, the intense focus of Keanu Reeves and the glorious Sandra Bullock?? It was an action flick that was fun, in which the performances, Hopper and Bullock especially worked, and the cinematography, sound and editing were drop-dead brilliant. Not Bay’s film, but a similar film to this.

The smartest thing to do when a director is faced with a light screenplay, one that could go either way is to cast well, find actors audiences like, who can act and sell the story. Remember the great Jon Voight in ‘Anaconda’ (1997)? He knew the screenplay was dreadful, that the writer had left them with no one to play, that the premise of the film was stupid beyond words so he decided to give a huge, broad performance and have a blast with it. His eyes gleam with mischief throughout the film because while the rest of the actors are flailing their way through the mess, he is having a ball. His iconic moment comes when after being ingested by the massive snake, he is spat out, his body broken from being constricted, and he winks at us. HE WINKS!!!! That is Voight tell us all, I get it, this is terrible, but go with it. Turn your actors loose when the script fails you, which Bay does. 

It might be the smartest move of his career. 

Will Sharp (Yahya Abdul-Mateen III) is a decorated war veteran struggling to pay his bills and faced with a massive hospital debt that he cannot afford for an operation to save his wife’s life. Without it, she will die very soon, but his insurance will not pay for the life-saving surgery despite his service to his country. After exhausting every avenue to get the money he reaches out to his adopted, estranged brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhall) hoping for a loan, but Danny has other plans. He will give Will the money he needs if his brother takes part in a bank robbery, helping Danny and his crew steal $32 million. Danny you see is a bad guy, a criminal and one very bad dude if pushed. What can Will do but accept?? His cut will be more than enough to pay for the operation and a new lifestyle for his family. His wife wants him nowhere near his brother and has no idea Will has gone to see him. Seeing no other way, not willing to lose his wife, Will is in.

The film moves along through the introductions nicely, but when Gyllenhall shows up, he takes it to a different level with a Nicolas Cage-Esque performance that walks a fine line between being brilliant and dangerous to almost a cartoon he goes so far over the top. But Gyllenhall is far too good an actor to ruin the film with an overacted performance, he knows just when to pull back. His Danny is a dangerous guy, no question, but he is not stupid and when the robbery goes wrong he is there with answers and ideas as to how to get out. The bank robbery should have gone easily enough, but when it did not bodies started piling up, Will and Danny commandeer an ambulance complete with an EMT worker trying to save a cop the men have shot. They speed off into the busy streets of Los Angeles with the police in hot pursuit and all too visible in the ambulance. 

As the young EMT, Cam (Eiza Gonzalez) works frantically to keep the cop alive, improvising with the tools she has onboard the emergency vehicle, the ambulance tears through the streets avoiding the police at all costs. Both Danny and Will are painfully aware if they stop, they are dead and neither wants that outcome, so their mantra becomes “We don’t stop!”. The great strengths of the film are the acting, direction, cinematography and editing which combine to give the audience a wild ride and a great rush of adventure. It has been a very long time since Bay toned down what he had on-screen and worked with basics, which he does here, giving us his best film since ‘Armageddon’. 

The performances are terrific, perfectly in tune with the film, especially Gyllenhall’s Danny who can be speaking calmly and with rationality for one second but suddenly go mad, with vein bulging temper tantrums that should scare anyone near him. It is a fine performance, Danny is a dark guy, and Gyllenhall finds the perfect tone to portray the character within Bay’s vision. Abdul-Mateen III is equally fine as Will, a man driven to a desperate act out of love for his wife. Every bone in his body knows it is wrong, everything in him screams stay away from Danny, but out of love, he goes along with it. We can feel and see the regret in him onboard the ambulance and it is heartbreaking. What will he say to his wife if they survive? Will they survive? Gonzalez spends almost the entire film working on the wounded cop, in some state of motion or panic throughout, a difficult kind of emotion to maintain. That she does it so well is a credit to her an as actress.

In the end, the film belongs to Bay and he does not disappoint. See it. Take your brain out, store it in the fridge and settle back for a kick-ass ride that will knock your socks off.