Premium Rush

This high-octane action flick speeds forward at such a suicidal pace that its end comes before the Road Runner can blurt out his trademark “Meep Meep”. The stereotypical characters (a corrupt psychopathic cop, a desperate honest cop, a jacked rival in love) are seriously reminiscent of characters from an animated grotesque. After all, Premium Rush does not demand any other kind of (more serious) viewing from us. Everything is overwrought and simplistic in the manner of a B move as if it was about power, even though it is about life. However, that does not mean it is a stupid or bad film at all. The simplicity of the plot and the flatness of the characters allow us to fully enjoy the ride, whose fluidity takes priority over all of the narrative components. ___ With textbook efficiency, Koepp uses only a few characters whose paths cross several times, each of which is fully utilised, sometimes simultaneously on multiple levels (Wilee and Manny compete not only to see who will be faster and thus help to resolve the plot, but also to see who is the stud and will get the girl). The condensing of the narrative, structured into several acts with its own deadline, flashback and climax, is manifested in the characterisation of the characters on the run (because there is no time to stop) and in the confident management of time as a very flexible variable (stop, rewind, coincide). It has been a long time since I last saw action so consistent in the use of every minute of the runtime. ___ Though the film bears an obvious eco-message (in a depersonalised major city, only cyclists stick together, while villains live and die in cars), there are a lot of “trends” in relation to modern communication technologies. Wilee uses a smartphone that guides him to his destination based on the example of a map in GTA-style video games, where it is usually also necessary to arrive within a certain time limit. In the fashion of video games, it is also possible to read a visualisation of the protagonist’s possible decisions on where he should continue on his ride. As in games that allow the player to return to the starting position after a failure, we see the consequences of bad decisions. These scenes concurrently help to illustrate the nature of the protagonist, who basically does not use the brakes and does not stop himself – time has to stop him. He is obviously a maniac, but thanks to Gordon-Levitt, he is a likable maniac in whose case you have no doubt that his “moral compass” will always point him in the right direction at the last minute. The actions scenes, which were shot mostly without CGI right on the streets of New York, are highly entertaining. Thanks to the greater vulnerability of a cyclist compared to a motorist, we almost physically experience the seductive battle against time. ___ Premium Rush is not just incredibly fast-paced action, but mainly action that is fast-paced in such a well-thought-out way that there is still enough room for jokes, ecological agitprop, romance, family melodrama and thorough topographical mapping of New York. 80% (08/06/2018) (less) (more)