Ambush (2001)

In 2001, BMW produced a series of 8 short films starring Clive Owen as The Driver.  They were made with the top action directors and various famous actors to showcase the performance aspects of various BMW cars.

Director: John Frankenheimer

Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker

Composer: Michael Wandmacher

Starring: Clive Owen, Tomas Milian, Franklin Dennis Jones

More info: IMDb

Plot: The Driver is a shadowy BMW driver who serves as a chauffeur. On a dark night, he is carrying an elderly old Cuban. They are startled by a van full of armed terrorists, demanding a cache of diamonds stolen by the passenger. At first the Driver is willing to give it up, but when he learns that his cargo actually swallowed the diamonds, he decides to do the right thing.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

I was shocked to see that it was Tomas Milian in the backseat.  Holy crap does he look different.  This is the first of teh BMW short films and it was just about the last thing Frankenheimer directed before his death the following year.  This guy knows how to film a car chase.  If you've ever seen RONIN (1998) then you know what I mean.  This film is really short at 6 minutes when you remove the opening and end credits.  It's good but it's not all that memorable or exciting.  The coolest thing about it was seeing Milian.  I don't think I've seen him in anything outside of the Spaghetti Westerns and Italian crime films of the 60s and 70s.