'Premium Rush' Review - A Quirky Kind of Fun

Premium Rush opens to a crash scene, watching bike messenger Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) flying through the air... and then we jump back in time by around 90 minutes or so to see how he got there.

Bruce reviews Premium Rush

And how he got there includes picking up a package, getting intercepted by a guy (Nicknamed Douche bag by Wilee) whose real name is Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) who wants the package.  But rules are rules and no one gets the package unless Wilee's dispatcher tells him to.

It's complicated yet simple all at once.  Wilee will try to deliver the package, but Monday desperately wants it.  He's a gambling addict and the envelope represents a lot of money that he can pay his gambling debts with.

There's more to it than just that, but that's the gist of it.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Premium Rush

Premium Rush is a very unique kind of movie that will probably only appeal to a certain demographic of movie fan.  As proven by it's opening day box office and worldwide numbers to date, which aren't awesome.  (Estimated movie budget of $35M, worldwide take is at $25M.

Being someone who just rolled over the four thousand mile mark on my bike, I was truly taken aback by some of the riding, stunts and even the CGI'd moments.

Though some of the top moments of riding came near the end during some serious 'trials bike' riding scenes.

The story itself is pretty basic as we experience the character of an extreme bike messenger in Manhattan being chased by a desperate bad guy and via his actions, a bike cop.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon in Premium Rush


Because I'm a biking enthusiast who relates to Wilee's kind of riding, so I'm giving this fun movie a 7 on my popcorn movie scale.

The movie is directed by David Koepp, whose resume includes Angels and Demons, Indiana Jones/Crystal Skull, War of the Worlds and such.  So he has experience with action flicks.  And the style of which the story is delivered, at times, felt a little like a mild Scott Pilgrim experience, what with some of the time shifting back and forth to show spell out the story, and how they show the bike routes that Wilee pulls up on his smart phone.

Gordon-Levitt does what he usually does, which is deliver a believable character.

Michael Shannon is the consummate bad guy, no matter where you catch his performance, whether it's in HBO's Boardwalk Empire or Man of Steel, he tends to deliver.  And he does not fail with this quirky kind of desperate, dirty cop.

Both Gordon-Levitt and Shannon deliver not too over the top characters, but they seemed to have fun making this movie.

Wolé Parks and Dania Ramirez in Premium Rush

Other cast includes Jamie Chung (The Bachelor films), Dania Ramirez (Quarantine, X-Men: The Last Stand), and Wolé Parks (Devious Maids, As the World Turns).  (Keep your eye out for this guy... if he has good representation, you'll probably being seeing more of this guy.)

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I think any bike fan will have fun with the film while others might feel a bit challenged to enjoy.  But who knows.  The action is fun, the stunts fairly realistic and in the end... oh wait, I ain't telling you how it ends.  You'll have to watch it to find out.

 
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