I have always wanted to live a more
adventurous life. Now I don’t mean being a spy or anything like that. No, what
I am talking about is doing things like sky diving or scuba, things where you may
not have complete control of what happens. Well it seems I might need to add a
new one on my list, bike cycle messenger in New York City. It may not sound as
dangerous as the other things I mentioned, but after watching “Premium Rush”,
you might change your mind.
Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a
bike cycle messenger in New York, not because he has to be, but because he
wants to be. Wilee likes the open air and living his life on the edge. You see
Wilee has no brakes or gears on his bike, things that have caused him to have accidents.
Wilee’s life is pretty uncomplicated, except for the trouble he is having with
his girlfriend Vanessa (Dania Ramirez). All of that is about to change though,
when Wilee is requested to deliver an envelope. Everything seems normal until a
guy tries to stop Wilee before he even starts his trip. That guy is Detective
Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon), and his reason to wanting to get the letter is
truly personal. Wilee is able to elude Detective Monday, but is perplexed as to
why the package he is carrying is so important to so many people. After getting
away a couple of times, Wilee decides he wants nothing to do with the package
and takes it back to where he got it. Things change though when Wilee finds out
what he was carrying and he will do anything to get it to its correct
destination.
“Premium Rush” is a fun ride, but is
lacking a solid story that would have made the film better. Directed by David
Koepp, who also wrote the film with John Kamps, it really doesn’t give the
characters much depth. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon are both good
in their roles, but they don’t really have a lot to work with. Where the movie
shines though is the bike scenes. Those scenes really show the dangers of being
a bike messenger with all the daily peril that they go through. The good thing
is, with a movie like this, I don’t think you really care about the story and
characters. All you do care about is that the movie is fun and entertaining. I
had higher expectations for this movie because of Koepp and Gordon-Livitt, and
was let down. Don’t get me wrong I was not expecting a masterpiece, just
something a little more entertaining. I didn’t get the rush I wanted, but I
still got a decent ride, a ride most people might enjoy.
Brian Taylor
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