Thursday, September 27, 2012

Premium Rush (3 Stars)

I've been to movies that claim to be edge of your seat thrillers or ones that are supposed to be so action packed that your heart will catapult out of your chest due to increased palpitations. More times than not, I get a kick out of some of those film's action scenes, but never truly feel a rush. 

Premium Rush, like the title suggests, supplies the audience with the creme de le creme of rushes. The whole movie follows Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a bike messenger, as he maneuvers through the dangerous streets of New York City... on a bike... WITHOUT brakes! His mission is to deliver a package that a dirty cop, played brilliantly by Michael Shannon, desperately wants to intercept. Along the way, Wilee attracts more unwanted attention and seems to constantly be avoiding people and cars. 

The director's unique way of filming the scenes add to the excitement. He allows the audience to get inside Wilee's head and see bike riding as he sees it. The audience witnesses alternate travel routes right before Wilee has to maneuver around tricky intersections or turns. This twist on the action could pose as a huge risk because it slows everything down, thus potentially taking the audience out of the moment. Surprisingly, it actually adds a different, much welcomed element to the action by incorporating more action and comedy.

So why you might ask, is this masterful action flick downgraded to three stars? Well, simply put, the story has a large layer of cheese spread over the top. The story centered behind the package that Wilee is delivering is extra sappy and doesn't feel like it fits in with the high octane thrill ride. To put it simply, the reveal of the package needed to be edgy to coincide with the rest of the film.  

Side Note/Suggestion: Run a couple blocks before watching Premium Rush like I did when my wife and I were feverishly trying to get to the theater on time. The sweat and increased heart rate add to the overall experience. 

The Bottom Line: This flick cleverly keeps the story moving at a rapid pace which makes it impossible not to be absorbed into the film. The story falters at times and is a bit over the top however, if you're an action movie fan and looking for an energetically fun flick to watch, you can't go wrong with this unexpected summer gem. 

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