Review of Premium Rush (2012) by Giovanni C — 21 Feb 2013

Premium Rush is a fun movie to just sit back on with a popcorn on your lap. While it's a B-Movie, it plays out as your usual hollywood flick from beginning to end. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's what I wanted out of this movie. What really stood out to me were the awesome bike stunts, funny moments, and a good performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It was an entertaining flick, but that still doesn't say much about some of the flaws it has.

The plot follows a bike messenger, Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). A bike messenger who rides his bike everywhere without any brakes, but his skills at bike-riding makes him get the feel for it. His life is on the line, when he picks up an envelope he thought was his, but it turns out to be different. With that in hand, a detective wants to take it away from him by force.

The plot wasn't really well told, and that's something that kept me from giving it a perfect score. It started out okay by showing what happened before the insident. We see the way it leads us to something interesting, yet it just seems too cliche. It felt like there were a lot of things missing from the story, which made it felt rushed. On the brightside, it wasn't taking itself too seriously, unlike most popcorn flicks. The bike tricks and the action were the only thing I cared about. I enjoyed every minute of it.

We don't really know much about the characters, but they were decent enough for us to laugh with them and have a great time with. The no-brakes concept is also something we have trouble understanding, but it's pretty interesting. I hardly know anyone who does that, especially when it can be pretty dangerous.

The cast made their decent characters look pretty good with their performance. The only stand out actors were Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon. They did a very good job here. I've been a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt since 500 days of Summer, and ever since I became a fan of his work, I explored some of the low budget movies he was hired to do. I first saw him in Angels in the Outfield when I was a kid, but it didn't do anything for me to fully get into his work. He really had a fun last year, and he's becoming one of the best actors in this generation. Michael Shannon played a decent antagonist and delivered something good to the screen. He made me laugh at some parts of the movie, and I can't picture anyone else playing his character. It's been a while since I've seen him in a movie. the supporting cast were pretty decent, but not the best. The cast also made this film stand out, especially the characters they played.

Overall, Premium Rush wasn't perfect, but it was good for what it was. The casts, the action, and the funny moments were the only things that made this movie entertaining and worth seeing. This a good film to see when you get bored and have nothing to do on your spare time. If you're expecting something oscarworthy from this film, you will not be able to find it here. Most critics like it, but people might not disagree with them, which I truly understand. Even though it's a little overrated, it pretty much enjoyed it, and I laughed from beginning to end. Whoever wants to see a good popcorn flick, this is a movie for you. Flawed but you're in for a good treat.