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Movie Review: Pemium Rush

daniel mays | Friday, August 24, 2012 |

(rogerebert.suntimes.com) "'Premium Rush' is a breakneck chase movie about the daredevils who work as Manhattan bicycle messengers. With a map of the city imprinted in their brains, they hurtle down sidewalks, run red lights, go against traffic, jump obstacles and insist on using bikes without brakes. Whatever they're paid, it's not enough. ... Why do they work so hard and dangerously for relatively little money? They seem to do it for the high. They don't see themselves wearing suits and working in office cubicles. In the story told by 'Premium Rush,' it's less of a job, more of a noble mission, as three messengers outrace the NYPD to deliver a gambling ticket that only one of them knows the story behind."

If you're looking for depth and profundity, this is the wrong movie. But under the direction of David Koepp ("Secret Window," the screenplays for "Mission: Impossible" and "Spider-Man"), this is an expert and spellbinding adventure. I'm very weary of routine chase movies. There's nothing routine about "Premium Rush." Any action formula can be brought to life with enough imagination and energy.