User reviews

For me the best short from The Hire-series, season 1. Guy Ritchie directs his wife Madonna and it is definitely his style, seen in 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and 'Snatch'. Husband and wife should have stopped after this one instead of making 'Swept Away'.

The story: Madonna is a very arrogant star and The Driver has to take her to some event and he has to lose some followers, like her manager.

With more funny moments then I have seen in the others, a great ending, and music very well used, this is my favorite.

"STAR" is the most entertaining film of the great BMW film series. The ironic wit is great and the race through the city is superbly well done - everything fits here: the cinematography, the editing, the great music by Blur, the actors and of course the BMW M5 who gives the best performance of them all!

Enjoy this ride - you won't be disappointed!

10/10

"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.

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.

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.

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.

I love these shorts. Make sure you watch the subfilms. I think BMW has a novel idea. Has anybody wondered if Clive Owen would make a good James Bond? Anyway, in "Star" Madonna plays the quintisential prima donna (a stretch, I know). I don't want to give too much away as the movie is only 6 minutes long.

Guy Ritchie yet again demonstrates his ability to tell the whole story in the minimum number of frames. All the BMW films are worth the download time, but STAR is definitely the pick of the crop. Clive Owen is a fine dramatic actor (I really enjoyed his performance in Croupier); now he gets the chance to do comedy - and he does it very well. Considering that he spends the entire film sat in a car he does a great performance with his eyes alone. The script is very funny, the editing sharp to a frame, and Madonna demonstrates that being a pop diva doesn't mean that you can't laugh at yourself.

Why are you reading this when you could be downloading it?

Of the BMWfilms this is probably the funniest and most enjoyable. Seeing Madonna thrown around the inside of a 3 series is pretty funny. The previous three films were all pretty serious. In this one Guy Ritchie has Clive Owens acting unpredictibly, adding to the humor. The pacing was really good, longer cuts early on, to fast cuts during the car stunts. Compared to the previous three this one had a bit more realism in the car action. It also broke significantly from, what had become in the other three, a formula for car chasing. The only down side was the very ending, not sure I really liked the coffee spill so much. Guy spent a bit too long building that moment.

Guy Ritchie did a fantastic job of weaving a tight story and good stunts into just under 7 minutes. The editing, music (particularly the use of Blur's Song 2 and Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries), driving, and Clive Owen and Madonna's performances are stellar. And the very last scene will have you laughing for several minutes. Watch it once for content, then turn the director's commentary on again for some other insights from Guy Ritchie.

One of the best short films I've ever seen!

This is the best, so far, of the BMW Films series 'The Hire'. Guy Ritchie does a magnificent job directing this piece, showing off the performance of BMW cars and providing a lot of laughs in the process. The film is, to say the least, hilarious.

Clive Owen's performance as the driver is fantastic, much less severe and more light-hearted than in the other films in this series, which fits this film perfectly. Madonna is great also in an uncredited performance as the arrogant harpy of a Superstar 'travelling' as the passenger.

This is definitely worth seeing. It's also worth getting the high quality version through the film player (which you can download from the site), even though each film is an extra 80mb download.

"The Hire" goes British style this time. The style is comparable to movies like "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", "Snatch and "The Boondock Saints". It is filled with some typical humor and overall is a lot of fun to watch.

Still the short suffers from one big problem; Madonna. I'm sorry but she really can't act. Even in the scene's were she has no lines she acts horrible. She really pulled the professionalism of the movie down.

Also thing I was not to happy about was the editing, it was kind of messy especially in the car speeding sequences.

Still the fourth "The Hire" short is a lot of fun to watch and the ending itself is really funny!

6/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I'm a huge Ritchie fan. If you haven't already you MUST go out and buy the DVDs to his two prior films Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

In his latest, an internet only project, a snobbish pop star who wants to escape her bodyguards is sent on a rubber-burning chase through the streets of London. One of the best parts of a Guy Ritchie film is the unique story, and his unique ways of telling it. Sstar, however, doesn't have much of a story (just a cool car chase with the BMW logo promintely displayed in each shot) so Ritchie's potential isn't put to great use. If y ou have a fast connection, go ahead and check it out, but if you have a low bandwidth, you're not missing much.

P.S. Snatch just came out in a special edition DVD, check it out!

Before the review, a brief plot summary: Star is a famous rock star visiting a small town who is sick of poor service and bodyguards swarming around her. In addition to this, she is spoiled and cocky. In an attempt to loose her protectors, she jumps into The Driver's BMW and orders him around, critizing his driving and demanding he hurry up so that they outrun the guards. Finally, The Driver decides to listen.

As you probably know, BMW has made a series of short films called "The Hire" about a mysterious driver played by Clive Owen as it's driver and a chaueffeur for hire. Each of these films have suprisingly big directors, like John Frankenheimer (of "Reindeer Games") and Ang Lee (of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). They are really just commercials with an action-film plot. Most are just fun car chases, but this and "The Follow" are the ones with true stories. So, they are both sort of expiriments, in different ways. "The Follow" directed by Kar-wai Wong (of "In The Mood for Love") shows, as it involves drama and emotion. This film is an expiriment with comedy.

To put it shortly, it works.

Guy Ritchie (of "Snatch") writes and directs this comic action short. All "The Hire" films have fairly popular actors, but this one has the biggest by far: Guy casts his wife Madonna in a role similar to that of her real life. The chemistry between her and Clive is fun, and it's entertaining to watch The Driver slowly respond to Star in a witty way. Then the hilarity begins, as he finally listens and "steps on it".... totally suprising her. You can't help laughing as Madonna gets tossed around in the BMW, and the whole film belongs in the "memorable quotes" section (although viewers should note this has stronger language than the other films as Clive uses the word "c**t" once). It even has the "whoo hoo" song in it!

The previous films are good action flicks, but if you want a bit of humour, check this out. The closing scene is hilarious as Star is humiliated in front of all her fans.

I bought the Dvd after seeing two of the second season films online. This is by far my favorite one of the eight. Guy Ritchie is probly one of my favorite directors and he proves his talent with this short. The humor is witty and the camera movements/angles are superb. Definately a must see... Watch it here =>

The Plot: Clive Owen ( before he was in "The Bourne Identity," "King Arthur," "Elisabeth: The Golden Age," and "Sin CIty" ) plays a "hire" who drives people places they desperately need to go.

Often times, they are working for something "top secret" and can only give our protagonist limited information.

Also, this is meant to show off the BMW car and is executive-produced by Tony Scott, Ridley Scott and David Fincher ( Panic Room, Alien 3 ).

In this tale directed by Guy Ritchie ( of "Snatch" fame and Madonna's current husband ), our hero must transport a mean celebrity ( Madonna in an uncredited role ) to her destination.

Incredibly funny and some addicting songs that get a lot of radio play are featured as well!

Guy Ritchie is surely one of the most visually and aurally creative directors. Even "Snatch" alone makes a strong point for this case, and "Star" adds even more to it. With just a BMW and a classic song (as well as an extract from another great piece), Ritchie makes one heck of a funny ride that's well worth taking for its entire 6 minutes. Then, when its over, you'll want to take it again.

However, it is not just the frenetic car chase, as with his previous films the plot here (yes, plot, in a music video/advertisement) is also amusing with that Ritchie touch of unexpected cahoots and twists. This is easily the funnest (and funniest) of all the BMW short films. --- 10/10

And I haven't got tired of watching it yet. I admit I didn't think it was REALLY Madonna in this little short but I guess it is. Clive Owen is quickly becoming the actor I would most like to see in other projects. Of course I hope that the projects are more substantial than this but if he were to sign up for something with Guy Ritchie I would be delighted.

I loved this film. The camera work is fantastic and the story is really funny. I really liked the scene when the car began speeding up, Blur's song comes out and when the car flies, classic music comes out and Blur's song comes out again when the car lands. Through the whole film, I could see how clever the director is.

I have seen all but the last of The Hire, and Star was not anything like the first three. It was a comedy, no action, except for a few maneuvers made by the same BMW. What are they trying to prove? That The Driver is driven by a feminine luminary? Well, he certainly gives her her needed comeuppance, but it definitely has nothing to do with The Hire Series.

After the introspective FOLLOW, Guy Ritchie's STAR is a complete 180-degree turn away in terms of style, mood and subject. Fortunately, it's a roaring success.

Clive Owen showcases a previously unseen facility for comedic timing. From his mock innocence as the Star berates him to a later moment when he says with tongue firmly planted in cheek, "I've think we've lost them.", Owen is a delight in this charming little revenge fantasy for those who have had to put up with rude, insolent customers in their line of profession.

Ritchie directs the film pretty much as an extension of the style he used in SNATCH and LOCK, STOCK, & 2 SMOKING BARRELS. All his trademarks are here; Freeze frames, voice overs, and gratuitous use of English pop songs. Combined with the fact that yes, as everyone now knows, that's his wife Madonna as the Star who gets her fateful comeuppance, and the film ends up being the most crowd-pleasing of the series. Highly recommended.

The only problem I have with this commercial, the only thing in it that makes me like Ambush better is that it's based almost entirely on the humor... and unlike action, humor is not a good enough base for a car commercial... at least not for me. Ambush was primarily based on action, but also had some humor. This is almost all humor, and not great humor at that(not in my opinion, anyway). Guy Ritchie is a talented director, and his stylish direction really helps here... in fact, had it not been his style of fast-paced editing and overdone sound effects as well quickly changing camera angles, I probably wouldn't have cared too much for this commercial. The humor just was too lame for my tastes... OK, we have this big star who's convinced that she's better than anyone else and constantly gets what she wants. How old is that? Madonna does this part well, but the jokes are just too old. Clive Owen stills does great work as The Driver, but his character was a little too... childish, I think, in this one. The ending was good, with the stuck-up star getting what she deserves, but it's still just a tad dull. The car-chase stuff was cool, though, and Ritchie's stylish direction make this worth watching. I recommend this to fans of Guy Ritchie and the The Hire commercials. 8/10

Have not had so much fun in less than 7 minutes...

Wondering that Madonna accepted to participate in this movie...

But great and surprising...

Tien

If you love fast cars, this is on one of the best "commercials" ever made! "Madonna" really gets beaten around in the back seat of this M5! Guy Ritchie does an excellent job; filming, cut, etc. Not to forget the music, it really heightens the experience of this short movie!