I see the problem… no helmet.
Wilee (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is one of 1,500 bike messengers operating daily in New York City, piloting a thin yet expensive frame through much larger and heavier vehicles for low pay, with every day being filled with split decisions that can shave seconds off a journey or leave those guessing incorrectly in the hospital or worse.
Wilee is over-qualified for the role but detests the very thought of being a ‘suit and tie drone’, apparently the allure of a constantly sweaty back does it for him. He also is a bike messenger ‘purist’, no gears, no brakes and many would say no brains. But for today it is approaching knock off time and Wilee embarks upon the last job of the day, a high payer – $30! – simple delivery job to Chinatown.
But as Wilee picks up the harmless looking envelope from his ex-girlfriend Vanessa’s (Dania Ramirez) ex-roommate Nima’s work, he runs into Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon). Bobby is loud, obnoxious and impulsive, and clearly desperate for the envelope. Wilee is equally determined to make his $30 and heads off ignoring Bobby’s overt threats, which sets up the classic B movie chase scenario.
Over the course of a taut 90 odd minutes Wilee avoids Bobby, a bicycle cop and a rival bike delivery boy intent on both his pay for the job and Vanessa, with the stakes raising constantly and the plot becoming ever more convoluted. (Where was the bike cop when Bobby was wreaking havoc across the city?)
The chase sequences in Premium Rush are to be admired, navigating a bike through heavy traffic must be hazardous at the best of times, even without a stressed out madman on your tail. And the sequences in this film are frequently exhilarating – until you start to wonder just how these same 4 or 5 guys ‘n’ gals keep running into each other every 137 seconds. I mean this is supposed to be New York City after all, not an Olympic sized swimming pool.
What very nearly grants Premium Rush ‘worthwhile’ status is the direction, Wilee’s decision making process is mapped out for us all in entertaining fashion, and the timeline chops up nicely to keep us on our toes and to fill in key moments from earlier in the day. It’s hardly Memento 2, but you’ll still have to pay attention.
Unfortunately though while I really liked parts of it, and Joseph Gordon Levitt is a worthwhile leading man, Premium Rush stretches credulity with every tyre squeak, especially when near the end they went for the over the top ending instead of the slightly less ambitious – but far, far, far more believable – one.
Final Rating – 6.5 / 10. The chase sequences are great, the cast OK, the direction full of flair and creativity. Somehow though Premium Rush ends up as being a whole as less value than the sum of its parts.
(Very much worth a rental though in a while.)
