Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A Brilliant Conflict

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

In 2001 and 2002, BMW debuted 8 different short films on the internet by some of the top directors in the world. It's hard to imagine, but they got the great John Frankenheimer, Wong Kar Wai, John Woo as well as top acting talent for these films. Each film had to have two things in common--they had to feature BMWs and each starred Clive Owen! In addition, actors such as Gary Oldman, Madonna, Forrest Whitaker and mickey Rourke made appearances in some of the films. Wow...it's obvious BMW pulled out all the stops when it came to the budgets for these amazingly slick films.This particular film was made by Ang Lee and while I'll freely admit that it was not among the best of the eight, it was fun to watch and I did laugh at the end--something I don't tend to do when I see films. The problem was not his direction or the acting--they were just great. But the film, aside from the end, was almost all action and little story--the sort of films that just don't appeal to me. HOWEVER, I must also point out that much of the seemingly shallow story did attain some greater depth at the end and overall it is a very nice little film. I won't say anything about the plot--just see it for yourself.

This is the first time when not only all user comments but also the IMDb.com's official plot summary misses the point completely.Well, as it's one fine oriental story, this is nothing to be terribly ashamed of. Let me help you a bit: Hint #1: Where is Ang Lee born? Yes, right - in Taiwan. So what? Ha, let me explain - can you name a country that Taiwanese people fear the most? Hai, you are right again - this is China. So don't expect too positive approach towards the People's Republic of China here.Hint #2: (As one comment already correctly mentioned it) the boy (and the monks) are Tibetans. What did Chinese do to Tibet in 1949-1950? They invaded an independent country and Tibet is occupied since then. What happened to unique Tibetan culture under Chinese rule? It was systematically destroyed. Not a good example for Taiwanese people..**** SPOILERS START *****The boy is "chosen for a strange ritual" :) I think we can be more precise now. What is the greatest ritual in Tibet? The finding of the next Dalai Lama, The Chosen One.**** SPOILERS END ***** Only one piece of this fine oriental mystery left unsolved - who are the bad guys, then? No, i can't tell you, i already wrote SPOILERS END above here.. :)I gave it 7 points out of 10, because it is impossible to join the commercial and oriental art. But Ang Lee's masterpiece gives us fine example how close we can get.

A previous review here called it the worst of them all. It wasn't that bad, though I can agree with some of the comments made. I actually enjoyed the film up until the disappointing rescue of the kid. He really should have had to fight a little more... one karate chop to the neck wasn't enough action for my taste. However, the comments made comparing the ending to crappy Christmas specials... well... you need to take notice of one particular thing that quells any problems you may have with it... *****SPOILER ALERT!!!!!******Look at what is on the bandaid... The Hulk... a little in-joke about Lee's involvement directing the Incredible Hulk movie... pretty sweet little tidbit, I thought... made everything else worthwhile.

Ang Lee took to the helm for this second movie in the "The Hire" series. If you think his beautiful style of choreography and cinemotography only applies to humans, or if you never thought about it before, take a look at this one, my favorite entry in the series.The driver is hired to transport a young asian immigrant, who is obviously of some mystical importance, from the docks to a location in the city. Almost immediately after the young passenger straps in to the second-only-to-the-M5 540i 6-speed, the bad guys present themselves and the chase is on.What follows is truly a ballet on wheels. A whole bunch of clumsy american cars and a "lesser" German car show their deficiencies to the amazing skill and ability of The Driver and his performance machine.A first for the series occurs in this film when we see The Driver take a role outside of the car, and you'll see that the role that is played adds a depth to the Driver, and the storyline.On a cool side-note, you'll notice a certain...er... "character"... imprinted on the gift that the young passenger gives to The Driver - this was a subtle reference by Ang Lee that completely put to rest rumors that had been floating around the net, and concretely said to the world - "Yes, I am directing this movie due out in 2003"take notice.:)Overall, though all the other films had great things to offer ("The Star" being absolutely hilarious), this is my favorite. 10/10