Thursday, October 11, 2012

Premium Rush (2012)



Living in New York City, Wilee (Joesph Gordon-Levitt) is a reckless bicycle messenger, who enjoys the thrills and excitement from his job. Wilee is trying to win back Vanessa (Dania Ramirez), his ex-girlfriend and co-worker, but Wilee runs into some trouble, when he crosses paths with an NYPD officer. Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) is a dirty cop, who can’t control his urges for gambling, and Monday owes money to the wrong people. Wilee holds the envelope, that will solve all of his problems, and avoiding Monday becomes a life-or-death struggle.

Director David Koepp’s hectic and fast-paced style provides some good thrills, and Premium Rush delivers plenty of excitement. Although, Koepp’s style of storytelling is repetitive. Wilee’s “sixth sense” is a prime example of redundancy. While delivering packages, Wilee uses his sixth sense to plan out possible routes and avoid dangerous mistakes. Wilee’s sixth sense is a cool trick….. when you see it for the first time, but eventually, this trick reaches the point of overkill, and Wilee’s sixth sense loses its wow factor, as the story progresses.

Wilee is a wisecracking smart-ass, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt really nailed this character, but Michael Shannon delivers the best performance here. Monday is a psychopathic asshole, who will do anything to get his hands on Wilee’s envelope. Michael Shannon’s angry and unhinged performance is amazing, and Shannon outshines Gordon-Levitt here.

Premium Rush is filled with adrenaline, and the face-off between Monday and Wilee provides an engaging rivalry. It’s the corrupt cop versus a hard working average man, who’s trying to do the right thing. It sounds simple and clichéd, but the high quality performances from Shannon and Gordon provide an extra boost for this plain concept.

Final Rating: 7/10


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