Premium Rush

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
Premium Rush
Released 8/24/12, now in theaters

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a busy man this summer.  He returns in this week’s Premium Rush directed by David Koepp.  The film co-stars Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, and Jamie Chung.

Wilee (Gordon-Levitt), as in “Wile E.” Coyote, is a New York City bicycle messenger.  He studied to become a lawyer, but never took the Bar.  Wilee prefers the wide open, if often congested , space of the NYC streets to wearing suits and sitting behind desks.  He’s fearless and reckless on his bike dodging in and out of traffic, on to sidewalks, etc. to get his packages to their destination in time.  He has removed the brakes on his bike for an even greater adrenaline rush.  He works alongside his girlfriend, Vanessa (Ramirez).  Vanessa’s roommate, Nima (Chung), delivers $50,000 saved over a couple years (for a very personal reason) to Leung, a money launderer.  In exchange for the cash, Leung gives Nima an innocent looking movie ticket to be delivered to “Sister Chen” in Chinatown.  Leung warns her that whoever has the ticket can claim her money.  Nima needs this securely delivered to Chen and can’t risk taking it herself if anyone were to know about it.  So she does the next best thing.  She calls Wilee’s courier service and gets Wilee himself.  Almost as soon as he takes the envelope with the ticket, he is pursued by NYPD detective, Bobby Monday (Shannon).  It seems Bobby is a bad gambler who is in to local loan shark, Lin, for high gambling debts.  Lin knows about the ticket and wants Monday to retrieve it for him.  Wilee has a deadline of 7 p.m. to get the envelope to Sister Chen, and it’s a race against time, Monday, and rival couriers to meet the deadline.

Premium Rush is loaded with death defying feats on bicycles and near death close calls.  Many of the conflicts could probably be solved if the characters were just a bit smarter.  But you know what else Premium Rush is?  Dumb fun.  It’s a nice end of summer distraction.  The main characters’ back stories are told in flashback.  Sometimes that can be good, sometimes that can be confusing.    Luckily,  Premium Run, shifts seamlessly from the present to the past and vice versa.  One great little nuance in the film is how Wilee runs through various outcomes in his head when confronted with a dangerous situation on his bike.  The scenarios range from tragic to ridiculously hilarious.  And let’s not forget the poor bicycle cop Wilee torments throughout the movie.  Good for a few laughs.

There really are no standout performances.  The closest is Shannon’s manic, borderline psychotic detective.  He’s good, but he’s more of a cartoon character with his violent tantrums.  Entertaining to be sure.  But, award-winning?  Not quite.  The other character seem to be caricatures.  There’s Wilee as the smarter than what he’s doing in life daredevil, his put upon girlfriend/ex-girlfriend (wasn’t sure) who wants out of the life and thinks he should do more, the sleazy co-worker who tries to get between them, the lecherous boss who cheats his employees, and so on. 

Premium Rush is an entertaining thrill ride.  It has enough near death experiences on speeding bikes to keep your eyes glued.  Kudos to the great camera work. Don’t expect much as far as storytelling because, as I said earlier, the characters could probably solve most of their problems if they just sat down and thought for a minute.  Shut your brain off and enjoy the roller coaster is my best advice.

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

***stars

Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.