You can read our full thoughts on Michael Bay's Ambulance in our review of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray HERE.
Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Universal Studios Home Entertainment brings Michael Bay's Ambulance to Blu-ray as a two-disc combo pack with a Digital Copy code. The Region Free BD50 disc sits comfortably opposite a DVD-9 copy, and both come inside a blue, eco-elite case with a slipcover. After several skippable trailers, viewers are taken to a static menu with music playing in the background.
The pulse-pounding action thriller races to Blu-ray with an exceptionally gorgeous, reference-quality 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode. The freshly-minted digital transfer comes with razor-sharp details from start to finish, exposing every nook and cranny inside the ambulance and in the streets of Los Angeles. The only issue worth noting, keeping it from a perfect score, are a couple of instances of minor aliasing in the windows of buildings during aerial long shots, but they are also easy to overlook and don't distract. Aside from that, facial complexions are highly revealing with natural skin tones, showing every pore, wrinkle and distinct whisker. Bay's signature style is also on full display as the orange-teal photography bathes the action in sumptuous primaries with richly animated reds, energetic blues and lively greens. Secondary hues are equally striking, igniting the screen with a vivid, dynamic variety of warm fiery yellows and various neon colors. All the while, the visuals are saturated in inky black levels throughout and midnight shadows that penetrate deep into the screen without ever sacrificing the finer details, providing the 2.39:1 image with appreciable depth. At the same time, the contrast balance is on point and right on the money, furnishing clean, bright whites and crisp, radiant highlights. (Video Rating: 96/100)
The Bayhem spectacular crashes into home theaters with the same near-reference Dolby Atmos soundtrack enjoyed on the 4K Ultra HD edition. For a more in-depth take on the audio quality, you can read our review of the 4K Ultra HD HERE. (Dolby Atmos Audio Rating: 98/100)
Michael Bay's latest rowdy spectacle Ambulance is ultimately the filmmaker's usual bombastically garish display of trivial style over hollow substance, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González. Amazingly, whatever its shortcomings and failure to capture the heartfelt drama at the plot's core, Bay nonetheless delivers a fun, mindless popcorn spectacular with lots of white-knuckle thrills that feels reminiscent of earlier works. The action flick crashes into Blu-ray with an outstanding, reference-quality HD video and an awesome, demo-worthy Dobly Atmos soundtrack. In spite of a disappointingly small collection of bonuses, the overall package is worth a look and recommended for action fans.
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