Premium Rush

Though rather generic, Premium Rush provides an extraordinarily entertaining ride. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, though not having to much to do other then ride his bicycle still is a truly likable hero and Michael Shannon, who's screen time seems a bit out of proportion to me makes for an entertaining semi-psychopath. All this is skillfully delivered by director David Koepp who apparently knows how to write a screenplay too, finding breakneck pacing for the movie while twisting the plot with some timeshifts really makes the ride premium to some degree. If you are looking for some quality entertainment, look no further.

7/10

Now this is how to make an action flick! A small one, mind you, but it's one of the most fun pictures to come out this summer. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a bicycle messenger in Manhattan who lands the unfortunate job of delivering a small slip of paper worth a ton of money. Corrupt cop Michael Shannon, trying to pay off a Chinatown gambling debt, gets wind of the item and attempts to relieve JGL of it. Unfortunately for Shannon, JGL is a pretty darn fast rider and great with stunts, and soon he has the help of his girlfriend (Dania Ramirez), who is also a bicycle messenger. It's just a simple chase movie, but it's perfectly edited and paced, with well-timed jumps back in time to explain the situation. The actors are all fine (I also really liked JGL's professional and romantic rival, Wole Parks), but Shannon really steals the show. This is the perfect place for his style of menace. Well worth your time.

Premium Rush is a commercial film that sticks to being a 'B' movie with some A-movie assets - chiefly the actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon as the hero and opposition - and David Koepp does a very good job balancing those elements. It could have been just a straight to video title, but it's smart about being a little movie (that is, not quite as on the radar as a big summer tentpole), and has a script that can hold its story and juggle a few elements with more than just competency, that you can go for the ride without being insulted. And yes, it isn't just hyperbole saying it's a 'ride'; here, as in some TV shows (only here with better visual intentions than just quick- adrenaline-fixes), we see with big visual effects the scenarios our hero Wiley (yes, perhaps ironically named as he is really the Roadrunner) navigates the streets, his main route, and then when he's at a cross- walk and cars coming on all sides which of three paths he could take and if he'll die or not or kill others.

Sure, most of us (those of us walking or driving in a city, such as New York) don't like bike messengers, but it's in abstract or in the all-too personal. Koepp's cleverness is to look at a bike messenger on the street and go 'hmm, how about a movie about him and what he has to do, and then what if we throw in a crooked cop and a mob element and a woman wanting to reunite with her kid?' A lot of these elements on their own (and perhaps still the woman with the kid) could be under-cooked or just not very interesting. Altogether, they amount to something, rather that the elements can connect through Michael Shannon's cop Detective Monday (or "Officer Ackerman") who sets a lot of this into motion through his comically inept gambling addiction and inability to get money together - or a ticket from a bike messenger.

Some of this may just seem like 'screenwriting 101', with pieces like the woman with the son and the hero's conflicts (love interest, side- opponent in another bike messenger, the latter I didn't care for as it was too weak on its own and in the movie), but hey, in a first-level class there can be good work done! It's not even a 'turn off your brain' kind of suspense thriller either; Koepp has enough experience to inject, along with his co-writer, really funny or witty dialog, solid (albeit 'movie') character dynamics as people ride on their bikes and can speak on their blue-tooth phones. It's so good when watching the actors bicycling along, and some stunt doubles but who knows when they really use them it's so well integrated, it almost slows the movie down when they have to stop to fill in the spots of the story's quasi- MacGuffin object in the envelope.

But mostly, it's the acting that carries it through. Gordon-Levitt is an appealing lead, likable but has a tough attitude when he needs to, and of course you got to go with him. But without Shannon, frankly, I don't know if the movie would have been as successful, at least to the level it's at now. He's such a convincingly kooky-looking villain, brutal, nasty, but cartoonish in a big way (listen to his laugh, or chuckle, and it's a touch of Chucky the doll or something!) Even in a supposedly marginal Hollywood thrill-ride, Shannon brings his A-game.

I have just watched 'Premium Rush' and I have to say I'm very impressed with it. This isn't your huge blockbuster but it is something different and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I liked the plot and it was very clever how we saw flashbacks of various things, twists and turns, going in back in time and seeing a different perspective. This really linked the film together nicely.

The action is just thrilling and something different. The chases are fast paced and frantic, it is absolute chaos on the roads. There is some great stunts, its far fetched but its crazily fast. Definitely a film for all the adrenaline junkies out there.

One part of the film that I really liked was, when Wilee was in danger of potentially crashing the bicycle, we see how his mind works. We see 3 potential routes he can take to avoid injury so he can decide the best way to go. Some of these parts are cleverly thought out and also quite funny in parts.

The acting was up to scratch, there was a few characters who added something different. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dania Ramirez played a very likable pair.

Overall this is a good action thriller type film, suspense builds and the movie is just fast paced. I really enjoyed it, much better than expected. Would recommend it to anyone and I would certainly watch it again. 85 minutes of carnage.

9/10.

An action movie about biking through the streets of Manhattan is certainly an interesting idea, and may seem a bit silly, but writer and director David Koepp manages to create a fun and exhilarating film around this premise. Premium Rush is the type of movie that gets better as it goes on, expanding on its characters and creating riveting and never tiresome chase scenes.

The story is a little over the top, but that hardly matters. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Wilee, a bike messenger who loves to ride through the streets of New York like a maniac, with no gears and no brakes. He has a girlfriend who also works for the same company, although on this particular day she is mad at him for not showing up to her college graduation. Near the end of the day, Wilee gets a package from his girl's roommate. This package is of some special importance because a dirty cop, played with exquisite menace and insanity by Michael Shannon, wants the package in order to pay off his immense gambling debt. So of course a chase across the city ensues throughout the remainder of the day.

One of the major benefits of this movie is that it is not told in strict chronological order. The first scene shows Wilee crashing and flying through the air, only for us to travel back in time to earlier that day. Once we meet Michael Shannon's character and have a nice chase, the movie again backs up for a bit, revealing what the dirty cop was doing earlier that day. This helps the movie to avoid being simple and tired. In fact, the movie has an energy that is on par with its bike riding characters, who seem to hardly ever tire of pedaling.

Koepp directs the movie with a flare for Manhattan, where the entire movie was shot. The film makes a big deal about life in the city, while minimizing the gaudier aspects of filming in the big apple. There is no sweeping shots of Time Square or the Empire State Building, and we don't even get a wide shot of the city until the very end. Instead, Koepp immerses us in the town, and by extension the characters that know it so well. At times the script falls into the realm of cheesiness, especially when it comes to some of the one liners, and the all encompassing pride that Wilee has in his work.

Premium Rush is an exiting action movie, and the best one out about bike riding. Michael Shannon's fantastic performance and the on location shooting make this movie an energetic and awesome ride.

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