Batkid1
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 episode directed by Ang Lee ( of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, Hulk and Brokeback Mountain fame ) , our hero has to transport an Asian "golden child" and has trouble trusting his sources. The Asian musical score is excellent and I think near the end you can see a couple of bullet- holes in the BMW car!
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
I know that many think of Ang Lee as a very good, interesting director... but I don't. He makes action(if you can even call it that, when he's directing) look pretty, poetic... I'm sorry, have I been asleep and awoken in the future, where action isn't supposed to be cool, exciting and intense, like it has been since sometime in the 70's? He can make even the most interesting and exciting scene seem boring and dull. He ruins everything by choreographing his car-chases like cars dancing(like another reviewer points out) and by using classical music during action(again, I don't know if anything in this can be classified as action, since it's so dull). Lee screwed up Hulk by making it drag a hell of a lot and by directing poorly(half of the acting was bad). He ruined what little potential Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had, by having them dancing instead of fighting. He seriously needs to turn his attention to something other than action, or learn how to properly direct action, before the rest of the world wises up and ignores his work. No intensity, no laughs and a cringe-worthy ending make this a waste of time. Skip this one. 6/10
HypnoticEye
While John Frankenheimer's AMBUSH was a hardboiled vignette, Ang Lee's THE CHOSEN is an attempt at doing a lighthearted mixture of action and comedy. Unfortunately Ang Lee's comedy falls flat. While he might showcase the BMW's maneuverability to good effect; The actual chase between Clive Owen's enigmatic driver escorting a small Tibetan boy and the mysterious henchmen seeking to harm his charge, is staged in a light jokey tone that eliminated all tension and replaces it with uninspired slapstick.
Indeed, as the film progresses to its punchline of a conclusion, one suspects that Ang Lee was seeing how to make a film that kids would like along with adults in preparation for his then-upcoming HULK movie (as hinted at near the end). While the final result might be something BMW owners can show to their children, adults will find themselves bored and frustrated.
Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr
You can actually download this freely from BMW's website. As it is a plug for BMW, it is strongly focused on the automobile scenes. BMW, however, did allow Lee enough license to create a captivating film. It is somewhat enigmatic, yet the necessary information is beautifully presented, leaving the viewer more curious than frustrated. Clive Owen is no great shakes, but he gets the job done. The car scenes are beautifully executed and filmed. The kind of cinema that makes you want to go buy a BMW. Watch in the end as Lee alludes to a future project.
AD
