Premium Rush (DVD REVIEW)
Premium Rush
DVD Review by Kam Williams
Levitt
and Ramirez Co-Star in Adrenaline-Fueled Bike Thriller
Traffic is so congested in Manhattan nowadays, it’s
hard to see that terminally-gridlocked terrain as a viable setting for
high-octane chase scenes. Yet, that is precisely what we have in Premium Rush,
an adrenaline-fueled adventure revolving around the derring-do of daring bike
messengers who dart between cars and dodge
pedestrians to make their deliveries.
At
the film’s point of departure, we’re introduced to several staff members of a
bonded company called Security Courier. Employee of the Year Wilee (Joseph
Gordon-Levitt) is a Columbia
Law School
graduate who prefers this liberating line of work to being stuck sitting behind
a desk in a business suit every day.
Similarly,
his gorgeous girlfriend, Vanessa (Dania Ramirez), sees it as a refreshing
alternative to waiting tables in a restaurant. However, one hazard of the job
for her is having to fend off the sleazy overtures of fellow messenger, Manny
(Wole’ Parks), and of their equally-flirtatious dispatcher, Raj (Aasif Mandvi).
Nonetheless,
this picture is more about action than romance, and the fun starts soon after
Wilee accepts an assignment to transport an envelope designated “Premium Rush”
from his alma mater to Chinatown. But before
he even has a chance to leave campus, a gentleman (Michael Shannon) identifying
himself as the Dean of Students asks permission to take possession of the
parcel.
Wilee’s
suspicion is aroused when Dean Ackerman inexplicably goes ballistic when denied.
And that concern escalates to fear when the guy starts frothing at the mouth
and gives chase by auto, running lights and driving against traffic.
The
plot thickens further when the pedal-pushing protagonist stops at the police
station to report the attempted theft. There, he discovers that he’s on his own
because Ackerman, lo and behold, is ostensibly a crooked police officer with a
hidden agenda and a pecuniary interest in hijacking the package.
Like
a compelling cross of Crank (2006) and 16 Blocks (2006), Premium Rush unfolds at a breakneck pace that doesn’t
give you a chance to pause and wonder whether what you’re watching is even
credible. But nothing else matters when such an urgent roller coaster ride, or
should I say bike ride, manages to keep you on the edge of your seat for its
dizzying duration.
The Big Apple as the congested
setting for a Tour de Gridlock!
Excellent
(4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violence, ethnic slurs and profanity.
In English and Mandarin with subtitles.
Running time: 91
minutes
Distributor: Sony
Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: The
Starting Line: Meet the Cast; and Behinds the Wheels: Action, Stunts and
Chases.
To see a trailer for
Premium Rush, visit:
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