PREMIUM RUSH

RYAN: The title kinda says it all, doesn’t it?

CAROLINE: Oh really?  Was it that bad?

RYAN: It’s the quintessential example of a marginal movie.  It boasts a movie star on the rise, semi-suspenseful plot and a completely average script.  Safe in every way.  This is not Hollywood at it’s best, to say the least.

CAROLINE: Please, honey… say the most.

RYAN: I really like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and he’s fun to watch.  And he’s very good on a bicycle but that’s about the extent of the film that’s positive.  There are some great tricks on a bike and some of the camera work, from the POV of a cyclist in Manhattan is also innovative, but this is not a brilliant film.

CAROLINE: Yeah I figured.

RYAN: I’ll admit those bike messengers in NYC can be very annoying in traffic and even to pedestrians.  And this movie certainly offers a perspective, their perspective, though completely dramatized… that I’ve never considered before.

CAROLINE: Yeah I don’t give too much thought to bike messengers but they do tend to be all over the place.

RYAN: One of the biggest problems in the film is the casting of the two female supporting characters played by Diana Ramirez and Jamie Chung.  They’re terrible in this movie.  I was embarrassed for them in certain scenes; acting so bad I was cringing.

CAROLINE: Wow. Even in a bad movie I don’t hear you say that.

RYAN: This isn’t a heinous movie.  I teetered on giving it a ‘rental’ rating but when you break down some of the cheesiness I ultimately couldn’t even go there.

CAROLINE: That’s understandable.  How’s Michael Shannon?  He’s the bad guy right?

RYAN: Yeah.  He’s pretty good as a corrupt NYC cop.  And I liked his confrontation scenes with JGL.

CAROLINE: His eyes…

RYAN: Yeah he’s a bit of a strange-looking bird.  One interesting thing about the movie is how it jumps back in time.  It takes place all within an afternoon but jumps backward in time throughout in order to catch you up on what’s happening and why.

CAROLINE: I’m sure that would have confused me, LBH.

RYAN: It’s a simple action movie on a bike.  It’s mindless entertainment with a mixed bag in the acting department and a cheesy score that borderlines annoying.  It’s not the worst movie ever but it’s certainly not worth springing for.