Clive Owen is back behind the wheel in BMW Films ‘The Escape’

By Stephen Edelstein Published October 24, 2016

Clive Own is back behind the wheel of a BMW in The Escape, the latest installment in the BMW Films series.

Owen reprised his role as anonymous wheelman “The Driver” from the last series of BMW Films, The Hire, released in 2001 and 2002. The plot of this latest film involves human cloning and a heavily-armed team of bad guys led by Jon Bernthal, best known for playing The Punisher on Marvel’s Netflix series Daredevil. The film also stars Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds) and Vera Farmiga (The Departed), and was directed by Neil Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium, Chappie). You can watch it on BMWFilms.com.

Recommended Videos

For this outing, Owen’s character took the wheel of the 2017 BMW 5 Series, the recently revealed seventh-generation version of BMW’s midsize luxury sedan. The latest 5 Series borrows styling and technology from the larger 7 Series, and is also lighter than the outgoing model thanks to extensive use of materials like high-strength steel, aluminum, and magnesium. The car certainly gets a workout in The Escape, as Owen and Fanning try to outrun everything from a pair of Hummers to a helicopter.

Read more: BMW X7 crossover may get M performance variant

If the mission was to make the BMW 5 Series look cool, then consider The Escape “mission accomplished.” After a few minutes of setup, the whole film is basically one big car chase, with plenty of gunfire and general destruction thrown in for good measure.

The Escape follows The Hire series, which consisted of eight short films released in the days before YouTube and viral marketing campaigns. Each film featured Own getting into some kind of trouble behind the wheel of a BMW. The carmaker wrangled some impressive talent, with directors such as Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Ang Lee, Joe Carnahan, Guy Ritchie, John Woo, and Tony Scott taking charge of individual films.

Some of the notable actors and personalities cast in supporting roles in The Hire included Gary Oldman, Stellan Skarsgård, Forest Whitaker, Mickey Rourke, James Brown, Don Cheadle, Madonna, Adriana Lima, Danny Trejo, Kathryn Morris, Marilyn Manson, Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick, and Dennis Haysbert.

Topics

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Eaton, Treehouse to boost home capacity for EV charging, energy storage

eaton treehouse ev charging news releases

Power-management firm Eaton likes to point out that when it launched in 1911, it invested in a new idea -- the very first gear-driven truck axle -- just at a time when both transportation and power management were on the cusp of dramatic change.
More than 113 years later, Eaton is again seeking to lead innovation in the current energy transition.
The power-management firm just signed a deal with Treehouse, an AI, software-enabled installation platform for electrification projects. The end goal: accelerating the electrification of homes for electric-vehicle (EV) charging, energy storage, or heat pumps, while seeking more efficiency and cost savings.
“At Eaton, we’re all-in on the energy transition and we’re making it happen at scale by delivering breakout technologies and industry collaborations needed to delight customers and make it more accessible and affordable,” says Paul Ryan, general manager of Connected Solutions and EV Charging at Eaton.
The partnership will ensure consumers are provided with accurate and fast pricing, as well as access to licensed electricians to deliver code-compliant installations, the companies say.
The collaboration also integrates into Eaton’s “Home as a Grid” approach, which supports the two-way flow of electricity, enabling homeowners to produce and consume renewable energy when they need it, Eaton says.
“For more than a century, power has flowed in one direction—from centralized power plants into homes,” the company says. “Today, there’s a new reality thanks to solar, electric-vehicle charging, energy storage, digitalization, and more.”
Projects to change homes and EVs into energy hubs have multiplied recently.
Last month, Nissan joined ChargeScape, a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) venture that is already backed by BMW, Ford, and Honda. ChargeScape’s software wirelessly connects EVs to power grids and utility companies, enabling consumers to receive financial incentives for temporarily pausing charging during periods of high demand. Eventually, consumers should also be able to sell the energy stored in their EVs’ battery back to the power grid.
In August, GM announced that V2G technology will become standard in all its model year 2026 models. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted that Tesla could introduce V2G technology for its vehicles in 2025.

Cars

Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and EVs offer big incentives as year nears its end

chrysler dodge jeep ev incentives record my24 hybrid gallery 04 exterior desktop jpg image 1440

It’s no secret that automakers and dealerships typically climb over each other to offer the best incentives before the year ends. But this year’s sales season is expected to be particularly competitive, with slowing sales translating to greater urgency to clear inventory.

According to research from Kelley Blue Book, the respected vehicle-valuation firm, overall incentives on new vehicle sales were up by 60% in October compared to the previous year.

Cars

Jeep, Ram EREVs will get 690-mile range with new Stellantis platform

A 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger sits in a vineyard.

Stellantis, the giant automotive group, is betting big on extending the range of both its hybrid and fully electric vehicles (EVs).

Last month, the company, which owns the Jeep, Dodge, and Ram brands in the U.S., invested nearly $30 million into an advanced wind tunnel at its research center in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The goal is to study airflow around a vehicle’s wheels and tires to further optimize its EVs and boost their range.