Capsule Movie Review – Premium Rush (2012)
by HELEN GEIB
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays an adrenaline junkie NYC bike messenger and Michael Shannon is a gambling addicted cop after the goods in the slight, but enjoyable actioner Premium Rush. Real time action is interspersed with same-day flashbacks that explain the who, what, and why. The main attraction is, unsurprisingly, the riding as the messenger, his bike messenger girlfriend, his rival, and his pursuers race on the miserably congested streets and sidewalks of Manhattan. (In a nice bit of realism, the good guys don’t emerge unscathed from their confrontation with big city traffic.) The trick riding is consistently impressive, culminating in a showy escape from an impound lot. There are fun touches in the visuals, like the hero’s near-instantaneous mental simulations of his options at intersections. The momentum falters at times and some of the comic relief is labored. The staging of the finale is fairly terrible. It’s surely no coincidence that at that point, he has both feet on the ground.
2 1/2 stars
Double feature it with… in real time suspenser Nick of Time
I hadn’t watched it and will probably wait for video (because Seed this ain’t) but am interested in knowing whether you’d enjoyed the fact that Gordon-Levitt’s character name is Wilee (Wile-E-Coyote).
Correction: Speed. :O)
I did (but would have enjoyed it more if the script hadn’t underlined the connection in dialogue).
lol
I’m just surprised that someone made a film that stars bike messengers. I don’t know of a single person that like cyclists. I know I hate them (one reason why I always drive on the left lane). :O)
That may be the reason they give him a noble mission ^_^
lol
One less cyclist is a-okay by me!
I enjoyed it for a popcorn flick, but it wasn’t much better than that.
@Aaron: Yeah, I went in expecting a bit more substance because of the casting (Gordon-Levitt and Shannon), but in the end it’s all about the racing and trick riding.