Ticker

Great actors. Exciting car chase scenes. Good stories. Cool BMW commercial.

Joe 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.

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).

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!)

After 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