Premium Rush Review

I love a good chase film. You know the type – think Apocalypto. There’s a good guy on a mission to get from point A to point B, and there’s a bad guy doing everything he can to stop him. The good guy tries to outwit and outrun the bad guy, and the bad guy tries to lay traps to keep the good guy from making it to his objective. It's a cat-and-mouse game. When done right, these types of films are smart, fast-paced, and thrilling.

I’m happy to say that Premium Rush is a very good chase film.

The story follows a bike messenger (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who must deliver a mysterious package across Manhattan while being pursued by a cop (Michael Shannon). Along the way, we are introduced to a collection of interesting characters, have a fast-paced tour through New York City, and are treated to non-stop action.

JGL is great as usual as Wilee, a charming and intelligent guy who prefers to risk life and limb as a bike messenger rather than do grown up stuff. Michael Shannon puts in a fun performance as Bobby, the cop who is having a very bad day and desperately tries to get the package from Wilee. These guys share most of the screen-time, and it’s fun to watch them dive into the cat-and-mouse gamesmanship. All the support roles, mostly Type-A personality bike messengers zipping about the city, are capably acted.

The real star of the film, however, is someone who never makes it on screen. Writer/director David Koepp does a masterful job on this film. There are a few important elements of a great chase film. And Koepp nails most of them.

The first is pacing. The film has to start fast, and it can never waiver. Koepp uses a non-linear approach to achieve this. Essentially, we are treated to cool little action bits, and by jumping around through the narrative, Koepp lets us piece together the details and grasp the magnitude of the chase. It’s a risky move as too much jumping around can leave us lost or disoriented. Koepp chooses the breaks wisely, and good editing actually ratchets up the intensity of the film with each of these time changes. In a nice touch, an actual clock dialing backward and forward signifies each change so we’re never lost in the timeline. This approach means that the action is nearly constant. We don’t waste twenty minutes at the beginning of the movie setting up dominoes; they’re already falling when the movie starts. I should also note that the film is only 91 minutes long, which is very short in today’s Hollywood. This means the film doesn’t linger on any one plot point before moving on to the next story beat. A fast pace is a good pace, especially when each of the story elements is this well organized.

Another important element is geography. We have to know where each of the players is and where they are going at all times, especially when the timeline changes throughout the film. Things could be very disorienting otherwise. Koepp handles geography directly by showing us what are essentially glamorized Google Maps. Stylish animations zoom around a map of Manhattan showing us where each character currently is located, where they must go, and the path they must take to get there. It’s effective, it looks slick, and it goes a long way to keep us on the same page with the characters. It never feels like we’re lost.

Tw guys having one very bad day

Solid action also is an element of a good chase film. Riding bikes may not have the same appeal as high-speed car chases, but I’d wager that weaving a bicycle at breakneck speed through Manhattan traffic is as nerve wracking as racing an Audi through Paris streets. The risk and danger are there. JGL had several stunt doubles on the film and still went to the hospital for stitches. The action, which showcases just how crazy bike messengers must be to do their job, is intense and keeps your eyes glued to the screen. Plus, Koepp mixes up several different and interesting camera angles so that it’s not the same viewpoints over and over.

In the end, it’s the final element of the chase film blueprint that misses the mark ever so slightly and keeps Premium Rush from being a masterpiece. The stakes of the chase must be high from the beginning. However, we don’t know the magnitude of the stakes until very late in Premium Rush. Sure, we know that delivering the package is important to Wilee since he’s the best delivery guy in the city and his pride dictates it gets there on time. We don’t know much about the contents of the package until halfway through the film. More importantly, we don’t know what the contents actually signify until the final act of the film. To be fair, the reasons are interesting and compelling and we root for the package to be delivered on time. It’s just that unveiling the reality of the situation so late makes most of the film seem like a childhood game. It’s Wilee saying “I’ll deliver the package and you can’t stop me” and Bobby saying “I can too stop you.” It would have been nice to know how important the package delivery was for all the people involved earlier in the movie.

There are many things done very well in Premium Rush. The story is fun, the characters are great, the action is intense, it’s easy to follow, and there’s a surprising amount of humor and heart to the film. It’s not quite the perfect chase film, but it comes very close.

4 out of 5 stars

Does Premium Rush make inspire you to grab your Schwinn and give it a cruise around the block? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter!