Hostage (2002)

Best movie of this year hands down!

A Disappointing Continuation

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Wow. This is yet another of the series of 8 brilliant short films commissioned by BMW that were released on the internet in 2001 and 2002. Apparently, somebody at the car maker had a butt-load of money and spent it assembling some of the top directors in the world (such as John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee and Wong Kar Wai) and gave them HUGE budgets and often top acting talent to make these shorts. Not surprisingly, a BMW is featured prominently in each short--in this case the tiny Z4. In addition, playing a James Bond-like hero (and anti-hero in one) is Clive Owen in all eight films! This one was directed by John Woo and I almost gave it a 10--it sure came darn close! Why was I so impressed? Well, because although all the films are great, this one is more like an entire full-length film shoved into only about 8 minutes! It manages to convey a heck of a lot and provide lots of twists in this tiny time frame. Tense, ironic and heart-pounding--this is definitely a must-see.

You can almost always rely on John Woo to deliver great action... Face/Off and those of his films that were made before he went Hollywood, especially those featuring Chow Yun-Fat(or so I've heard; have only seen Face/Off myself) are great and popular for his unique brand of cool, stylish action. His use of slow-motion in action sequences are especially popular; here, he delivers as well... but one can't help but think about whether or not Woo(or anyone else, for that matter) actually read the script. There are quite an impressive amount of glaringly obvious plot holes for such a short action flick... but I suppose what we're supposed to pay attention to is the car(this is a commercial, after all) and its capabilities... though I think many of them are exaggerated, at least slightly, in this. The acting isn't particularly good, but Clive Owen is still great as The Driver... not that one would expect anything else from him. The action is pretty cool, that I must admit. And it somehow manages to overshadow the numerous holes in the fairly thin plot. All in all, worth a single watch, for car freaks. But not much more. I recommend it to big fans of Woo and the commercials, as well as car fanatics. 7/10

I don't know who in BMW is responsible for the "Hire" series but this is the best advertising I've ever seen. No longer are we bombarded with logos and SELL SELL SELL BUY BUY BUY images. Rather, we get a nifty little story that really doesn't make much sense, but it's all in good fun. Other companies need to try this approach.

I've been a huge fan of the BMW Film Series "The Hire" since the first season that was produced by David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club). These latest three episodes were produced by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator). It's a match made in movie-fan heaven: Hollywood's hottest directors, Britain's coolest actor, and Germany's most kick-ass cars!"Hostage" is directed by John Woo, the action virtuoso who brought us "The Killer," "A Better Tomorrow" and "Face/Off." Although John Woo is famous for his ballistic shootouts, he is also quite adept at doing drama. This short film showcases that to perfection, with flawed characters and a delicious surprise twist at the end.This short film rocks in the action department! You get to see The Driver do all sorts of cool maneuvers in this one, including a 180 then driving high-speed in reverse, a 12-foot-high car jump, and he even out-drives a fleet of police cars!For the best action in the "The Hire" series, I recommend "Hostage" along with "Ambush" and "Ticker." "Powder Keg" has the best drama and "Star" is the funniest one in the series. I can't wait for Tony Scott's "Beat the Devil" to come out!