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A Major Disappointment

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

I didn't really know what to expect from this short film. It's an ad for a popular car brand and I have seen plenty of those. However, this one is a pleasant surprise - it's a car chase! And a break neck adrenaline fueled one at that. Complete with a skilled driver, a passenger and machine-gun totting villains wrecking hell on a highway late at night. Not the most probable scenario and definitely not one that BMW customers would like to get into, but this isn't really an ad as much as product placement in an action film, only this action film is a brisk 6 minutes. Knowing movie magic any car could do this, but the sleek design of the BMW fits very well with the fast pace of this film (and the others int he series) as well as Clive Owen's mysterious coolness as the Driver. So even if this is just an ad from the point of view of BMW's marketing division, it is a very creative one that film makers have turned into something that is slightly more for we the audience. --- 8/10

The BMW Films series are not supposed to be cinematic masterpieces. They are intended to have car chases that involve BMWs going really fast and doing really cool tricks. This film delivers that in plenty.Clive Owen is perfect as the deadpan, unflappable Driver. He gives the impression that nothing can get him upset, not even getting his 7-Series (not a cheap car at all) all riddled with bullets and smashed up.Tomas Milian, the diamond-smuggling Passenger, is also excellent in his role. His fear and nervousness contrasts perfectly with the Driver's relentless calm.As with all the BMW Films, you're not supposed to worry about the plot. The car chase comes first. The plot is built around the chase, not the other way around. That's the important thing to remember. Just enjoy the chase and wish you had a 7-Series.

John Frankenheimer was hired for this probably due the impressive car chases he filmed for RONIN rather than the last film he did the mediocre REINDEER GAMES. Fortunately he's in top form for this short film. In a mere 6 minutes we get an lean, mean vignette about how Clive Owen, as an unnamed driver-for-hire, does his best to escape from a van full of masked gunmen out to kidnap and kill the driver's passenger: a diamond smuggler who swallowed his precious cargo. While later films in the BMW series would get more ambitious in scope, it's AMBUSH that lays the groundwork for the later films to work from.The film's style and approach to action is hard-edged, the actual car chase is exciting, and Clive Owen gives a sense of man who gets out of dangerous situations by a mixture of complete professionalism and ruthless self-interest. Only in later films do we begin to see a more human side to his character.

What a cool little short! I happened to catch this on IFC one day and was blown away when I saw John Frankenheimer, Andrew Kevin Walker, and Clive Owen in the credits. The story is simple, a man carrying diamonds (presumably stolen) is being driven by Owen. Along the way, they are ambushed by a van full of terrorists who are after the diamonds. This being a Frankenheimer film, the chase that ensues is spectacular. Owen has got to be one of the coolest cats out there. He brings such a confidence to the screen that it's impossible not to feel awed in his presence. A very cool film, due mostly to Owen's super-cool persona. Note the little homage to "Marathon Man."