Michael Bay Hates Ambulance’s CGI; Criticizes Newest Movie

To say that Michael Baey hates CGI would be a surprise. Many film-goers wouldn’t believe it; the Transformer director has been known for his heavy-handed use of the practice for years. That’s changed somewhat with his newest film, however. To say that Michael Bay’s newest film, Ambulance, is being criticized by the director is an understatement.

To put it bluntly, he says that it looks “sh1t.” Naturally, he’s unhappy with the heist film. It’s already too late to change anything about the movie, however; it’s already been released in the United Kingdom and is due out in the United States soon. It seems as though the often-polarizing director will have to swallow his pride with this one.

Michael Bay Hates CGI In His Film Ambulance

Ambulance focuses on a bank heist gone wrong. While the film doesn’t feature as much CGI as many of his other projects – particularly the Transformers franchise – there is a noticeable amount in it. In directing the film, Bay surprisingly aimed to keep as many of the effects as practical as possible.

It seems as though that may have made the non-practical effects more noticeable, however. The fact that Michael Bay hates CGI on the film should say it all; he’s never spoken up about the overabundant imagery used in his previous films. Film-goers who haven’t seen the film yet may not like the news. To hear that Michael Bay criticizes Ambulance – his own film – for its CGI wouldn’t be encouraging to anybody.

Michael Bay’s Newest Film Gets Criticized By Director

Speaking to Les Cinemas Pathe Gourmet, the director notes that many of the effects in Ambulance are practical. These are naturally juxtaposed with plenty of CGI shots, although Bay doesn’t feel as though the latter category matches up to the rest of the imagery. As he told the publication:

“All those explosions and cars flipping, that’s all real. That’s all live, real, ratchets, whatever. It looks very dangerous, it could be very dangerous if you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. But most of it is all real stunts. There’s very few blue-screen shots on the movie. There’s not a lot of CGI. Some of the CGI is shit in this movie. There’s a couple shots that I wasn’t happy with, okay? Alright.”

That isn’t going to be a sign of encouragement for many people looking forward to the film. Anybody sitting on the fence of seeing Michael Bay’s newest film might simply give it a skip. The same could be said for many of the Transformer films, however.

Michael Bay’s Ambulance is already out in UK theaters, although it’s not due out in the U.S. until April 8. It stars Eiza Gonzalez, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Yahya Abduel-Mateen II.

What do you think of the fact that Michael Bay hates CGI on Ambulance? Did you expect it from the Transformers director? Do you think the director’s right for how Michael Bay criticizes Ambulance? Are you looking forward to Michael Bay’s newest film? Let us know in the comments!

Featured image via Universal Pictures.

A passionate gamer and dedicated writer, Luke Luby has been covering video games and pop culture for multiple years.