Some guy organizing some bank job in LA recruits his reluctant brother from different parents. Elsewhere the universe's best paramedic is training some rookie. Elsewhere, an FBI bank robbery expert and his partner are getting therapy. Elsewhere, two ridiculous cops are busy worrying about, what else, chicks. So one cop convinces the other to ask a bank teller on a date. But the bank is closed...because of the heist in progress. No problem, guy just lets the cop in. It all goes to heck of course. For some reason some other cops are sitting on the bank just waiting for our guys to come out. The escape driver has engine troubles and runs into the other cop waiting outside for his buddy. The geniuses plan en exiting through the front door with millions in duffel bags but outside cop recognized his friend in distress inside. A shootout ensues which sees the other cops waiting spring to action and kill all the cool robbers except for the two dumb brothers. The ambulance makes it into the parking lot as well because by now, romance cop has been shot. So our two guys decide to grab the ambulance and escape, with the injured cop and the greatest ever EMT inside. The rookie EMT gets kicked out.
Turns out that reluctant brother is also the best driver ever so he has no problem racing an ambulance around LA with dozens of cops unable to keep up. And that's what follows, 1 hour and a half of an ambulance police chase with dozens of cars getting destroyed in the process. FBI guy joins the chase with tough guy cop in charge. Turns out that FBI guy knows our guy because he too was in the FBI and took all these bank robbery training classes and then dropped out. He's responsible for a bunch of bank robberies, a skill he inherited from his dad. There's some business about saving the injured cop's life inside the ambulance while ambulance is drifting around LA streets.
Eventually the guys have an idea to unleash a bunch of identical ambulances to confuse the cops. They do that with their contacts in the underworld. And it works for a while. Except that in the process, the mobster helping them lost his son, so he isn't happy. They all have a falling out and the police finally catch up with them again.
So finally Bay gets to around to attempting an LA bank heist movie, except it isn't about the heist at all. Heists are exciting, they involve planning and careful execution which Bay can't handle. So none of it is shown on screen. Instead this movie turns into a wacky LA police chase with the expected Bay chaotic vehicle mayhem. It's all pretty stupid stuff frankly and I couldn't get myself to care about any of these people. Even adolescents these days deserve better films. The movie is also way too long for what it has to offer, and doesn't want to end. Typical for a Bay film, there are occasional out of place beautiful shots, and plenty of melodramatic junk. There was material here for a decent heist/escape movie but that would require a maturity Bay lacks. So instead we get uninspired car crashes that come across as tastelessly anachronistic.
Turns out that reluctant brother is also the best driver ever so he has no problem racing an ambulance around LA with dozens of cops unable to keep up. And that's what follows, 1 hour and a half of an ambulance police chase with dozens of cars getting destroyed in the process. FBI guy joins the chase with tough guy cop in charge. Turns out that FBI guy knows our guy because he too was in the FBI and took all these bank robbery training classes and then dropped out. He's responsible for a bunch of bank robberies, a skill he inherited from his dad. There's some business about saving the injured cop's life inside the ambulance while ambulance is drifting around LA streets.
Eventually the guys have an idea to unleash a bunch of identical ambulances to confuse the cops. They do that with their contacts in the underworld. And it works for a while. Except that in the process, the mobster helping them lost his son, so he isn't happy. They all have a falling out and the police finally catch up with them again.
So finally Bay gets to around to attempting an LA bank heist movie, except it isn't about the heist at all. Heists are exciting, they involve planning and careful execution which Bay can't handle. So none of it is shown on screen. Instead this movie turns into a wacky LA police chase with the expected Bay chaotic vehicle mayhem. It's all pretty stupid stuff frankly and I couldn't get myself to care about any of these people. Even adolescents these days deserve better films. The movie is also way too long for what it has to offer, and doesn't want to end. Typical for a Bay film, there are occasional out of place beautiful shots, and plenty of melodramatic junk. There was material here for a decent heist/escape movie but that would require a maturity Bay lacks. So instead we get uninspired car crashes that come across as tastelessly anachronistic.