“Hostage”, directed by John Woo, is particularly interesting as it brings back the Hong Kong action director to what he does best: guns, dirty money and betrayal all wrapped in a dramatic manner.  Here, Clive Owen drives a BMW Z4 3.0i and has to find a kidnapped executive before time runs out.  On the other hand, Tony Scott’s “Beat the Devil” brings the sporty roadster face to face in a do or die drag race on The Strip against The Devil.  In this case, Gary Oldman effectively plays the creepy evil incarnate, while James Brown and rocker Marilyn Manson play as themselves.  “Chosen”, helmed by Ang Lee, features a ballet-like parking lot chase sequence pitting the 540i versus a couple of DaimlerChrysler cars including an old Mercedes-Benz E-class.

For pure artistry, “The Follow” and “Power Keg” stand out.  In both episodes, foreign directors take control of the camera, Wong Kar-Wai and Alejandro Gonzàlez Iñárritu, respectively.  The look and feel of these two are completely polar, as the first film is slow with a very sensual nature, while the other is gritty and realistic.  “The Follow” is an especially good midway break if watching all eight films back-to-back is in order.

The overall conceptualization was done by a staff headed by David Finch, and although it’s indeed hard to cram a lot of events in just fifteen minutes, the treatment wasn’t too overwhelming to cover up the well thought-of plot (most having nice twists in the end) and excellent sets of characters.

Speaking of twists, will BMW’s gamble in plopping down money for these films do them any good?  It’s too early to tell, especially since these films were just recently completed.  Careful analysis may suggest that in the end, BMW was probably not after the publicity and the marketing.  Perhaps, it’s simply because BMW automobiles are good works of art.  As sculptures and paintings are best enjoyed in surroundings that suit them, the same is true for cars.  Seeing them in museums, showrooms and magazines are certainly nice, but in the end, showing what they can ultimately do truly makes them masterpieces.

The Films of The Hire

  • “Hostage” by John Woo

  • “Ticker” by Joe Carnahan

  • “Beat the Devil” by Tony Scott

  • “Ambush” by John Frankenheimer

  • “Chosen” by Ang Lee

  • “The Follow” by Wong Kar-Wai

  • “Star” by Guy Richie

  • “Power Keg”  by Alejandro Gonzàlez Iñárritu

Aside from the Z4 3.0i, several other BMW vehicles make appearances.  The BMW 750iL (top), M5 (middle) and X5 (bottom) all undergo extreme driving under Clive Owen.

Guess who? That's Madonna who stars opposite Clive Owen in a Guy Richie directed "The Star".

Whoever wins get the soul. The BMW Z4 3.0i goes against a deviled up Chevy Camaro, piloted by no one else, but the devil himself. In this episode though, he's played by Gary Oldman.

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