Star

"Star" is a short film made for BMW by Guy Ritchie, who also directed two other reasonably good movies, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch." Although she isn't credited as the star, Ritchie's wife Madonna plays what seems to be the lead role in this film, a stuck-up celebrity rock star. Clive Owen plays the driver who grants Madonna's wish to escape her bodyguards by taking her on the ride of her life. The scenes where the BMW car is speeding around town are more than exciting to watch and the soundtrack in the background, mostly "Song 2" by Blur is an excellent addition to the intense atmosphere. I recommend to anyone who enjoyed Ritchie's other work or even to Madonna fans to log onto bmwfilms.com and check out this 7 minute thrill ride.

Guy Ritchie is one helluva director, as was apparent in both "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch." He shows his directing prowess in short films as well with Star, featuring the freakin AWESOME actor of understatement Clive Owen and the "surprise" addition of Madonna playing the famous personna from hell. Cool dialogue, INCREDIBLE cinematography, and of course, awesome direction. How'd they lock the camera down to the car when it's 30 feet away? Amazing! If BMW doesn't release these films on DVD, they're crazy. If Clive Owen isn't starring in a ton of great films in the next few years because of these films, hollywood is crazy. If Guy Ritchie ever makes a bad film, I'm crazy.

If you've got the CPU power and harddrive space, I'd totally recommend downloading BMW's propriatary movie player from their site so you can watch the films in nice high-resolution and director commentary, just like a DVD! Looking forward to the Making Of and Powderkeg.

BMW: Please release a DVD of these films! Please! Please! Now! Thanks.

This was pretty cool. I am impressed at how each film in this series has been able to take an entirely different spin on the car chase, considering Hollywood's been making these scenes for decades. These shorts should feel repetitive, but the films are short and each director has a very unique style. Here, Clive Owen has a good time talking about how hot Madonna is (a not-too-subtle hint by director and boyfriend Guy Ritchie reminding the audience that he gets to sleep with her) just before tossing her around like a ragdoll in the backseat of a BMW M5. The chase is very cool, although it's more about looking slick and having fun than getting away from any pursuers. And can somebody come up with a new rock song to use in movies other than Blur's "Song 2"? I'm getting tired of hearing it whenever the filmmakers want the audience to get pumped up. Anyway, check it out.

Please note, at the time I'm writing this, the final BMW film "Powder Keg" hasn't been released yet. So far, however, this is the best short film of the series. Great action and driving along with some great laughs make for a truly enjoyable time. The acting by both "the Driver" and "the Star" are top notch even though it only lasts a couple of minutes. I hope to see Clive Owen in a feature film soon.

Oh my, this is by far the most exhilarating of the BMW films... Clive Owen's antics are just amazing, especially since he's always behind the wheel... One thing I've noticed, that a lot of people have missed out, is that Glen, the spineless manager, obviously hired the Driver to do all these stunts... just listen carefully to their phone conversation... breakfast, lunch and dinner... Even though Song 2 is a bit old and overused, it's just so appropriate for this video... the way it comes back on the chorus just as the car lands is just perfect :)

Anyway... Gotta love BMW's M5, truly a rather frightening car, which yet looks so unassuming.. :p I suggest you look up the british TV show Top Gear's review of it... Gotta start saving up for one ;)

As for the person wondering how they did some of the filming from the angle of the car with a fixed camera at a distance, the camera is fixed to the car, you can see that in the "making of", I guess they just camouflage the mounting hardware, most likely digitally. Anyway it gives a seriously impressive (yet videogame-y) effect.

Anyway I give it a hearty and well deserved 10/10, and shall now attempt to perfect my handbrake-turning skills :D