trophywife's Movie Review of Premium Rush

'Premium Rush' Movie Review
trophywife - wrote on 09/07/12

I need to make a confession: I’m not a huge fan of “cyclists”. I don’t mean people who go on casual bike rides through the countryside, or a quick spin around their neighborhood with their kids. I mean the ones who wear spandex shorts, and jerseys, and look like they have 1% body fat. The ones who fly through intersections while the rest of us impatiently wait our turn at the stop sign. I even had the chance to watch a leg of the Tour De France while I was living over there, and all I could think was: “I’ve never seen so many men with less leg hair than me!” However, after seeing ‘Premium Rush’, I have a newfound admiration for anyone who can commandeer such a small mode of transportation through areas that aren’t meant to be fit through safely.

THE GOOD: ‘Premium Rush’ is the story of a group of daredevil Manhattan bike messengers who obey traffic laws about as well as – well, probably everyone else in New York City – but in a way that makes those crazy cab ride stories you hear about seem pretty tame. No gears. No brakes. No good reason why any of them are still alive and not in traction. They aren’t doing it for the money – apparently $80 is a good day – they’re doing it for the thrill and the ability to thumb their noses at sitting in an office cubicle. And Wilee –as in Wil E. Coyote (played by Joseph Gordon Levitt) -- is the one who’s most bent on sticking it to the establishment. He’s the star employee –the fastest -- so it’s no surprise when he is requested by name to make a delivery to Chinatown that needs to be there immediately. Of course, he doesn’t know that what he’s carrying is the marker for a large sum of cash, and as fate would have it, there’s a dirty cop with gambling debts to pay off (played by Michael Shannon) who is willing to make Wilee’s job a lot more difficult….and possibly cause him to reevaluate that whole cubicle thing.
I don’t particularly enjoy mindless chase scenes in movies, but in this case where bicycles are speeding recklessly through already crazy traffic, and Wilee has some very Sherlock Holmes-esque moments of running “what if’s” in his mind while mapping out escape routes – it’s a lot of fun and keeps you transfixed.

THE BAD: I don’t know if Hollywood has decided that women won’t be interested in movies like this unless there’s an element of romance in it, or that they just think all movies need to have a relationship angle, but in this case it seemed less than pertinent to the story. Wilee’s fellow coworker Vanessa (Dania Ramirez) is also his on again, off again love interest, and they try to weave it together in the storyline – but as much as I enjoy a little kissy face in movies, this one would have been just fine without it. I think it might have been better to develop the “my male co-worker is jealous of my success at the company and wants to outperform me” angle a little more.

THE UGLY: No matter how many times I remind myself that I’m at a movie and that what I’m looking at is completely staged, I never get over the shock of seeing someone get hit by a car. I’m sure that residents of New York are able to take it all in stride – after all, it appears that bike messengers are a pretty common feature there, and if you’re going to have people on bikes weaving in and out of traffic like complete maniacs, you’re bound to have someone take one for the team now and then. All I know is that I’ve never been to New York, and if this movie is any indication of the traffic policies there, I don’t feel any inclination to go visit.
This weekend, if you are looking for a movie to challenge your intellect, or make an emotional connection with your significant other, this one doesn’t meet the criteria. But it is fun, fast and witty – and it made me a little more willing to share the road with cyclists – even if they do look better in spandex than me.

The Trophy Wife gives this movie 3 trophies.

‘Premium Rush’ has a running time of 91 minutes and is rated PG 13 for some violence, intense action sequences, and language. (F word used one time)