On paper and from a financial standpoint, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense that Premium Rush was made. It is a high speed action film about bike messengers delivering packages set in New York. Not saying that there is no potential for entertainment there, but it seems like it would be down the list for green-lighting compared to fighting robots and action heroes blowing half a city up. But somehow, Premium Rush was given the go-ahead, landed some quality names in Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon, and the film hit theaters. Unfortunately, the thriller ended up being nothing more than a middle of the road action film that is easily forgettable.
Gordon-Levitt stars as Wilee, an energetic bike messenger that lives by the simple rules of riding like hell, only using a fixed gear/steel framed bike, and never using brakes. One afternoon he is sent to deliver an envelope by his girlfriend's roommate, Nima, but finds himself in a fight with a crooked cop (Shannon) who wants the delivery. Turns out, the envelope holds a receipt for a great deal of money that Nima trusted Wilee to deliver. It also turns out that the crooked cop is in a good deal of trouble with gambling debt and plans on stealing the receipt to pay off his problems.
So the plot is nothing great; need to make a delivery, crooked cop chasing you, can't trust the police. But what does the film have to offer? Well, Gordon-Levitt and Shannon both play their characters well, but there is not much too it. The characters are pretty one dimensional and seem more like a payday gig than a role someone really wants to take up. Perhaps they seem like better actors because Jamie Chung who plays Nima is so bad. Every line that roles out of her mouth is forced and she seems extremely uncomfortable on camera. Not only was this extremely distracting, it made everyone around her worse, specifically one scene in a bathroom between Nima and Wilee's girlfriend, Vanessa. Maybe Dania Ramirez is pretty poor throughout the film, but her scenes with Jamie Chung are particularly brutal.
To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/premium-rush/
Gordon-Levitt stars as Wilee, an energetic bike messenger that lives by the simple rules of riding like hell, only using a fixed gear/steel framed bike, and never using brakes. One afternoon he is sent to deliver an envelope by his girlfriend's roommate, Nima, but finds himself in a fight with a crooked cop (Shannon) who wants the delivery. Turns out, the envelope holds a receipt for a great deal of money that Nima trusted Wilee to deliver. It also turns out that the crooked cop is in a good deal of trouble with gambling debt and plans on stealing the receipt to pay off his problems.
So the plot is nothing great; need to make a delivery, crooked cop chasing you, can't trust the police. But what does the film have to offer? Well, Gordon-Levitt and Shannon both play their characters well, but there is not much too it. The characters are pretty one dimensional and seem more like a payday gig than a role someone really wants to take up. Perhaps they seem like better actors because Jamie Chung who plays Nima is so bad. Every line that roles out of her mouth is forced and she seems extremely uncomfortable on camera. Not only was this extremely distracting, it made everyone around her worse, specifically one scene in a bathroom between Nima and Wilee's girlfriend, Vanessa. Maybe Dania Ramirez is pretty poor throughout the film, but her scenes with Jamie Chung are particularly brutal.
To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/premium-rush/