There shouldn't be anything controversial about a bicycle action movie. Anyone whose rode one through traffic knows how intense the ride can get. Yet Premium Rush, a slick and stylish bicycle chase movie powered by a ticking clock, is about to be ignored by audiences nationwide. Which is a shame because this is the sort of unpretentious breezy fun you wish Hollywood would make more of. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Wilee, an adrenaline-fueled bike messenger who weaves through the busy streets of New York City to deliver a highly-wanted package. Hot on his trail but always one step behind is a dirty cop with impulse controls - Michael Shannon bugs his eyes and sings his silly dialogue as if he was actually playing WIlee the Coyote to JGL's Road Runner. The Looney Tunes aesthetic is best represented by the way Wilee evaluates a situation, seeing two ways that will lead to sudden death before zipping down the right path. It's a clever device that is used sparingly for maximum effect. Thanks to stylistic restraint but an abundance of practical stunts, Premium Rush is an endearingly cheeky chase movie along the lines of Smokey and the Bandit or The General. If it falls short of those classics it's only because it occasionally slows down for brief prologues. Even though these add valuable context that add emotional stakes to the chase, Premium Rush is at it's best when capturing the sheer kinetic energy of bicycles.

B

It's goofy as hell, but that's where its charm lies. I could've done without the half-hearted political commentary, though, as well as the prologues mentioned by MovieDude. A real-time chase movie, without any context or background, and with the package merely a MacGuffin, would've been much more fun.

I liked it, trixster's mostly right because the quasi-seriousness and moral standing goes on far too long. JGL still a little to manly for me, but very sexy nonetheless.

I enjoyed it: a brief, crisp, exciting, and mostly* charming action movie. The cycling sequences are shot and edited to near perfection. Michael Shannon is electrifying. B

*This movie should not have ended with the antagonist dying from a gunshot to the head. Way too grim and violent for a film otherwise so light.

Yeah, not so much. The antagonist kills a guy by stomping on him while his head is wedged between the metal trailer of a truck. He torture JGL a little, and does nothing but selfishly abuse his power to steal from innocent, hard-working people to fund a gambling addiction. He's an awful, awful person and his death is neither grim nor violent, it's a joyous moment when he can no longer poison the world, and his head just bulges a bit, and drips a line of blood. It's quiet and non-violent for a shooting, and was fine in the tone and context of the film.

I could've done without the (partly unintentional) murder, too.

I see Shannon's character more as a...Snidely Whiplash type figure. He's a dastardly douche. A heightened mustache twirler. Feel free to disagree, but, in my opinion, an ending where he's exposed and arrested would have been more fitting. Him being coldly shot in the head felt out of step with a movie mainly focused on a buoyant, featherlight sense of fun and motion.

I don't disagree with the final murder being unnessecary. But JGL relying on the cops to arrest one of their own might have also been disingenuous, and arguably even more unrealistic.

This is light, yet fun entertainment with JGL leading the way well. Though what was with that horrible accent Jamie Chung was using?

This was decent.

6/10 (B-)

I must've been in just the right mood when I saw this. An absolute blast.

One of those movies which aren't really bad, just very forgettable.

B

Fast-paced (literally, heh) fun ride with a very likable Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a very villain-y Michael Shannon. I enjoyed the hell out of it, though it is also forgettable.

Infinitely predictable, packed endlessly with coincidental occurrences and horrible movie cliches.

But damn, if it wasn't a lot of fun while it lasted. Too bad this wasn't given more exposure as a summer popcorn flick. I guess the idea of riding around the city on a bike wasn't exciting for audiences but this is the exact movie I would have loved as a kid and watched endlessly.

The breaks from the action are a minor qualm. Too often it seems the story gets too complicated for its own good, like it needed to be less fluffy, but that's what it is.

I agree with David on those two deaths, especially Michael Shannon's. A more ambiguous ending to the character would have served the movie well.

B

This gets a very consensus B, nice! ( I agree).

Who gave it a C?! Why?

Just noticed this was made for 35mil...whaaatttt?!

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=premiumrush.htm

That seems way to much for a movie like this.
Putting that into contrast, Don Jon only cost 3mil to make.

Was it the actor's salaries? There wasn't any special effects going on in there.
The costs for shutting traffic to film the cycling scenes?
All in all, still..pfew...could never imagine this costs that much too make.

I imagine it was shooting on location in New York City.

Yes, gotta be. The location added a nice feel to the movie, but in hindsight it seems that it wasn't worth to splurge on that as the GA was just not interested in seeing this movie very much.