And finally another Clive Owen short film that promotes the BMW brand. The director here is Joe Carnahan ("The Grey"), who also wrote the script based on David Fincher's work. The story is about a priceless suitcase this time and The Driver has to protect it and also Don Cheadle's character. As you know by now, this is another star-studded cast for a film under 10 minutes. Also in here are F. Murray Abraham ("Amadeus") and Ray Liotta ("Goodfellas"). And the score comes from Darren Aronofsky's pal Clint Mansell. Unfortunately, the final result does not look as great as the cast and crew list. It's probably not the worst of these shorts, but it's also nowhere near being the best. The ending actually elevates the whole thing. Pretty good idea with what actually was in the suitcase. But not enough to make up for the uninteresting parts before that. Not recommended.

This is the final film of BMW's "The Hire" series of short films that I have reviewed. I stumbled upon one of these odd little films a few day ago and was instantly hooked--and NEEDED to see them all. It seems in 2001 and 2002, BMW had tons of money and decided to fund a series of short films in which their cars are featured. What made this really unusual is that Clive Owen stars in them all and BMW assembled some of the world's finest directors--with huge budgets as well. Amazingly, they managed to hire, among others, John Frankenheimer (one of the greatest living directors at the time), John Woo, Ang Lee, Wong Kar Wai. While I would never consider him nearly in the same league, surprisingly, Guy Richie might have actually made the best of the eight films.This one featured one of the least experienced or famous of the directors, Joe Carnahan. However, like the other films, this one is top-notch from start to finish. And, like many of the other films, this one features a lot of famous actors. Don Cheadle, F. Murray Abraham and Ray Liotta (who, oddly, is unbilled) are there to support Clive in yet another exciting and action-packed installment. It begins with Cheadle being rescued by Owen. Something Owen has in an odd looking briefcase is so important that an army of baddies are chasing him--trying to stop him from delivering whatever it is. In the process of avoiding these killers, Owen is actually able to maneuver a helicopter into crashing--a very spectacular stunt, indeed! What the package turns out to be is something you'll just have to see for yourself. I just don't want to spoil the suspense...but I thought the payoff for this was very good and a bit touching. Overall, it plays like an entire movie crammed into less than 10 minutes--and it's pretty amazing.

TICKER is the short film out of the famous "The Hire" series, that I liked best. Why? It has a great opening shot taking you right into the action filled chase of the Z4. Soon the reason of this chase is revealed up to a point where you still don't really know anything for sure. And the story stays tense until the final scene, revealing what's actually in the case Don Cheadle was so worried about throughout the short film.It's great story-telling combined with good acting, surprise cameos by e.g. Ray Liotta, well choreographed action and good camera work, but you should see for yourself (once you know the ending, watching the film will not be the same, so enjoy the first time!)

Ticker (2002) keeps me coming back for a re-viewing. This dramatic action short film is fast, exciting, riveting, suspenseful, and ultimately thoughtful. It is one of a series of short films. I recommend action enthusiasts give this film their attention. Also, have a look at The Hostage (2002) and Beat The Devil (2002).