The Agency's Posts

Happy 4th of July Everyone !: Enjoy the long weekend & have a fantastic 4th everyone!
Read More>

Hero Rides Again, With Big Boots to Fill: Hero Rides Again, With Big Boots to Fill In ‘The Lone Ranger,’ Tonto Takes Center....
Read More>

Robert Plant: Ever forward, evermore: The former Led Zeppelin frontman is not content to hang out on memory lane. For a man whose....
Read More>

Review: NBC's 'Crossing Lines' shoots for global action: Fast-paced and entertaining, the new show lands in a variety of European locales in its pursuit of....
Read More>

'The Heat' gleefully plays with the buddy cop genre: "The Heat"has all the elements you'd expect from a buddy cop movie — the....
Read More>

Magnificent 'Wild Horses: Running horses and helicopter.Wild Horses, a film by Director Stephanie Martin and....
Read More>

'The Heat': Bullock, McCarthy 'like sisters' at N.Y. premiere: NEW YORK — While promoting a film, most actors wax poetic about how fantastic their....
Read More>

Review: 'Under the Dome' seems in a rush to tell a good story: The CBS adaptation of Stephen King's tale of a small town mysteriously trapped looks promising,....
Read More>

'World War Z' gets a rise from the undead: With a manic energy (those zombies) and a charismatic leading man (Brad Pitt), the smartly done....
Read More>

Howard Stern has tough 'Tonight Show' advice for Jimmy Fallon: Never one to mince words,Howard Sternhad some tough advice forJimmy Fallonabout the latter's....
Read More>

3 Helpful Tips to Eliminate Nerves On an Audition!: by Gwen Alyssa Do you ever feel those sweaty palms coming on or notice your hands start to shake....
Read More>

Melissa McCarthy Goes Over the Top: Rising celebrity means she can have roles rewritten for her; and it has made her a target for....
Read More>

Man of Steel: Part Man, Part God, All Hunk: Part Man, Part God, All Hunk ‘Man of Steel’ Depicts a Striving Stranger in a....
Read More>
Review: 'Premium Rush' a thrilling bike ride
Posted on: 08/24/12
Share/Save/Bookmark
 

Bad New York cop plus a guy on a bicycle make for a tightly wound, radically fresh slice of street action in the film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shann



"Premium Rush," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon, is a lot like the ticking-clock thriller of "Speed," except instead of a big bus and a bigger bomb, there's a brakeless bike and a small envelope. Which actually doesn't sound like it would work at all as a tightly wound slice of street action, but it does, and in radically fresh ways.

In a sense, the movie has its bomb in Shannon's dirty NYPDDet. Bobby Monday. He's a wired whack job with a gambling habit and rage issues. The envelope he's after has a ticket that promises to pay off his debt with some brutal Chinatown backroom money lenders. The guy who is holding the bag in every sense of the word is Wilee (Gordon-Levitt), one of New York City's cocky bike messengers. And like his namesake — Wile E. Coyote — when he's riding full tilt it's not unlike watching that infamous cartoon blur.

Basically, a story like this boils down to getting from Point A to Point B without getting killed. The challenge is how to make the obstacle course interesting. In this, writer-directorDavid Koepp and his frequent writing partner John Kamps have, as the saying goes, put it all on the screen. In fact, the screen becomes a scene-stealing player.

PHOTOS: 101 films to see in 2012

It all begins at the end. In an almost balletic deceleration of motion, the film opens with a slow pan of a bit of blue sky, then skyscrapers and finally, limbs, Wilee's, float through the frame. When body meets concrete, the time appears on-screen, and soon everything is spinning backward to a point just before this race-for-his-life officially began. Watching the seconds click off, or spin back, creates something akin to a lethal stopwatch effect so that you cringe any time it appears. It's just one of the nifty elements that keep the tension high.

The story picks up on Wilee's last run of the day. It's a premium rush job but otherwise ordinary enough — pick up a package, race through crosstown congestion and deliver it on time. Not surprisingly, it's what's inside the package that matters, and what's interesting is the way in which the film keeps you guessing about what will happen next.

Besides the cop called Monday, who keeps turning up like a bad penny, other players who become mitigating factors include Wilee's on-and-off-again girlfriend, Vanessa (Dania Ramirez); his main competition, a macho messenger named Manny (Wole Park); and Nima (Jamie Chung), the girl who gives Wilee the ticket to ride. There are reasons why Nima is so desperate, why Wilee and Vanessa's relationship is rocky and why Manny is obsessed with racing him through Central Park. But rather than fully developed plot twists, they function more like shots of Red Bull, something to give the movie a jolt when watching a guy ride a bike for 90 minutes straight threatens to get boring.

What the filmmakers have done with such pizazz is exploit all the latest cultural touchstones. The bike messenger scene has its own ethos of rebellious outsiders who thrive on extreme athleticism.

The action is inventive, extensive and exciting, a bang-up job by cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen, one of the town's hot new shooters. But it is the way in which the big screen is turned into a kind of giant cellphone map app that is the real kick. Every time Wilee has to make a decision on which route to take, it comes to connect-the-dots life in a way that anyone who's ever used MapQuest will immediately recognize. (For those who know New York City well, it is even more fun.)

Wilee is a nice stretch for Gordon-Levitt, who more typically plays a hipster charmer as he did so well in "(500) Days of Summer." There was the suggestion he could go rogue in 2010's "Hesher," but almost no one saw that little indie. As Wilee, he's toughened his inner core — both literally and figuratively — in a way that makes him a more formidable presence on-screen. That was critical considering the actor had to go up against the towering force-field created by Shannon, who seems to be working his way through 50 shades of crazy. The actor has the ability to emotionally unhinge himself right in front of you, and he makes Monday fearsome even at a distance.

The guy on the bike and the bad cop prove to be a combustible combo. Who knew a bike ride could be so thrilling?


COMMENTS
Be the first to post a comment!


Post A Comment:




  • It's 2020! Start booking roles in commercials, fashion, films, theater and more with The Agency Online!

  • NEW WORKSHOP with Barbara Barna & Sean De Simone!

    Hi Everyone and Happy Summer! Sean at Sean De Simone casting and Barbara Barna are teaming up for a super informative and fun Hosting for Home Shopping workshop. A great opportunity for established or experienced TV Hosts and Experts interested in learning how to get noticed and how to get in....
  • MASTERCLASS W. Robin Carus & David John Madore

    A Special Offer for the Agency Community, from one of our favorite NYC Casting Directors! EMAIL FacetheMusicWithUs@gmail.com Or Eventbrite To Sign Up! Class Size is Limited.
  • Don't Fall Into The Comparison Trap

    Hi Everyone! As the second installment in an ongoing series of features by the Agency's amazing community, here's some sage advice from our own Regina Rockensies; a humble (& awesome)veteran we've had the pleasure of working with for a long time. Have an excellent week! : ) - The Agency....
  • One Model's Agreement

    Hi Everyone! As the first piece in an ongoing series of original articles by the Agency community, here's a short reflection on some of the values of professional acting & modeling that we can all keep in mind for our next casting. Good luck on your castings &shoots this week! : ) -....




 
home       castings&news       privacy policy       terms and conditions      contact us      browser tips
Official PayPal Seal