If you were into cars around 2001, you probably remember how BMW commissioned famous directors and actor Clive Owen for The Hire, a series of action-packed web short films starring its cars. Fifteen years later, the BMW Films are back. This is “The Escape,” and it’s awesome.
The new movie just got added to YouTube and here it is:
BMW first put these movies out in the pre-YouTube early 2000s, and despite web video being a relatively new thing, they garnered more than 10 million views and produced a lasting legacy. Done any other way, those films would have been disposable and forgettable advertorial garbage. But BMW elevated the shorts by tapping only top talent to make them.
That’s the case this time too: Clive Owen is back, thank god, and District 9 director Neill Blomkamp is at the helm. Also starring are Dakota Fanning, Jon Bernthal from The Walking Dead and Daredevil, and Vera Farmiga from The Departed and The Conjuring. And since this film is from Blomkamp, it has a bit more of a sci-fi bent than we’re used to.
This time The Driver’s ride of choice is the all-new 2017 BMW 5 Series sedan. The car, designated G30 in BMW parlance, isn’t even out yet, but The Driver has one for this high-speed rescue mission. Dude must have good connections.
As a big fan of the original BMW Films, I’m happy to see them back, and also happy that it held to the high bar set by its predecessors. Hopefully it won’t be the last.