The Escape (2016)

This short is a return to the very famous driver series of short films. These were made to market the BMW – featuring as very short adverts on television but fuller short films on the internet. The Escape returns to that with a plot seeing the driver transporting some form of clone with a heavy private military security escort.

As someone who watches a lot of short films, there is something good about seeing brands entering this space. It adds legitimacy for the casual viewer, and brings people into the habit of watching 8-9 minute long stories on the internet. So to see BMW putting their money and product back into it is encouraging – it is just a shame that the film itself is not. There is a lot of money here; it has names in front of the camera and behind it, and all of it looks expensive and very slick. But this is all it is. The vague plot has no hook, and the enigmatic style works against the film – keeping the viewer out emotionally, so the action has no weight.

It is a shame, because I wanted it to have the drama and intensity that the budget was more than able to support, but it doesn't deliver on that front, leaving the rest just looking expensive and glossy but without anything of more substance than that.