'Ticker' is yet another short film from The Hire-series and again it is not disappointing. Clive Owen as The Driver has to deliver a man (Don Cheadle) with a briefcase on all costs. A helicopter is flying above them, shooting at them. We see F. Murray Abraham, Ray Liotta and Robert Patrick as nice extras. This short looks more real than most other action movies. With a nice story and some good acting this is worth watching.
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TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews3 December 2004After watching all of the The Hire BMW commercials, I'm still considering the first, Ambush, my favorite. But I must say, this one comes damn close. It has great action, a pretty good plot and very good acting by all involved. The cameos by Ray Liotta and Robert Patrick are a nice touch. The only thing I didn't like in this was the twist... when we find out what's inside the suitcase. That is a little lame... and overly 'good guy', I think. Apart from that, though, the commercial is very cool and intense. I like the way the story was told, jumping a bit back and forth in time, throughout the entire thing... that worked exceptionally well. I haven't seen any other films by Joe Carnahan, but if any of them are as action-packed and intense as this one, I might have to check out some of his other work. While I can't say too much about his acting talent in general, I think Don Cheadle did a pretty good job in this. Clive Owen is, as usual, great as The Driver. F. Murray Abraham is charismatic as always. While this is not the best of the commercials, it is very good, and definitely worth watching. I recommend it to fans of the commercials and action films. 8/10
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stp432 January 2003This is among the best of BMW Films to date, a charged and emotional action short revolving around a mysterious suitcase. The Driver and the man who holds the suitcase are being chased by a helicopter whose passengers fire incessently to stop the delivery, and The Driver demands to know why it is so important that this suitcase be delivered. He gets his answer when blood drips from the package, and when he arrives at the delivery point, and sees an army, both a literal one and one of doctors.
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Nulpisot27 November 2002TICKER 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!) -
Boba_Fett113817 April 2005What makes this "The Hïre" short slightly better than most of the others is the very solid acting in this movie. Don Cheadle gives away a very solid performance.
Also the action is once more top-class! The Driver versus a helicopter is a very cool thing to watch.
I also love the way the story is told and it's edited well together by John Gilroy. Also the story itself is very solid and exciting and is very well constructed, completely with a solid and satisfying ending. Good job Joe Carnahan and Joe Sweet!
Also look for some small cameo's by F. Murray Abraham, Ray Liotta and Robert Patrick.
8/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/ -
I find the BMW Films series an amazing collection of short films - and Ticker the best. This film is an action-packed thriller that leaves you wishing they would make a full length picture. The story is told in an 'answers first, questions later' fashion that builds suspense and saves the revealing of the mystery for the end. Clive Owen and Don Cheadle shine in this production. Not to be missed.
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tayag4 December 2002Joe Carnahan is beginning to take his filmmaking seriously and it shows with this short film. The only thing is that it is too short and would make a great actual motion picture. BMW Films produces great films like this and I cannot wait for the third series.
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integramodder25 November 2002If you you have nothing to do and have a cable or DSL connection you should defiantly download all of the BMW films movies and watch them. These are great movies that appear to be based off of recent 007 films with the stunt driving that they have in them. Hopefully BMW will make larger movies so that they can get more plot into them. At around 8 or 9 minutes a piece, they end before you fully get into the scene.
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Daleknight8 December 2002All of the films in this series The Hire are exceptional outstanding work. My favorite so far has been Ride with the Devil. Ticker is good work buy all the actors and visually is well done. Mixing in a political agenda is a nice touch.
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Horst_In_Translation10 July 2015And 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.
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MaxiMeise24 November 2002This short film is amazing and brilliantly produced by BMWfilms. Joe Carnahan is going to be one of the most successful filmmakers of his generation. "First, Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane" and soon to be seen "Narc."
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Batkid14 November 2007The Plot: Clive Owen ( before he was in "The Bourne Identity," "King Arthur," "Elisabeth: The Golden Age," and "Sin CIty" ) plays a "hire" who drives people places they desperately need to go.
Often times, they are working for something "top secret" and can only give our protagonist limited information.
Also, this is meant to show off the BMW car and is executive-produced by Tony Scott, Ridley Scott and David Fincher ( Panic Room, Alien 3 ).
This one directed by Joe Carnahan ( Narc, Smokin Aces ), our hero must transport a agent ( Don Cheadle in a real dominating role ), carrying a mysterious suitcase, to some contacts ( Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert and Robert Patrick in brief uncredited cameos ) of his. However, someone who wants the case sends out a helicopter armed with a heavy gunner. It's up to our driver to outrun it and get both of them out in one piece!
This is my favorite due to the intense action and the I think the cameos in this one are even better! Enjoy. -
planktonrules16 April 2010This 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. -
Having just watched his work in The Grey, I was quite surprised and happy to see Joe Carnahan's name pop up as being the director of this second of the second series of BWM-produced short films. The story such as it is, begins with bullets pelting the roadway all around the Driver's BMW. His passenger has a briefcase that has to be delivered to its destination – a briefcase that just started leaking a flammable fluid and has begun a countdown sequence.
The story behind this starting point is played out quite nicely in flashbacks before the reveal at the end and, while it doesn't make a massive amount of sense, it does work for what it is – providing a decent conclusion but also mystery up till that point. Of course this all comes to nothing if the short can't deliver a certain amount of tension and pace and here on both fronts it does. The direction is good throughout and with the cinematography and (most importantly) the editing, it not only looks good but has energy and pace while also being able to retain that while cutting away to fill in the story. Gilroy is the one though – I thought it was edited perfectly to make everything work as well as it did, not easy considering telling the story is in the construct. Of course, having a score from someone like Clint Mansell does no harm either.
The cast are mixed. Owen is really good with his urgent delivery and good presence, while Cheadle is just as good while retaining the mystery of his character. What didn't work so well for me though was how many other faces are crammed into this very short film – particularly the ones that barely have a word to say. Abraham is probably not the worst of these as he is a key player at least, but it is just distracting and unnecessary to have Patrick, Haysbert and Liotta in there for no reason; their presence late on in the film distracted me with thoughts of what they were going to do (the answer is "nothing" by the way).
This gripe aside though, this is urgent and enjoyable with a decent plot and makes for one of the better of the BMW short films. -
doer-223 November 2002Ticker (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).